Monkey's Mess of Date Pits

Chewed date pits scatter across the floor of Sallah’s truck around the dead spy monkey. The messy pile of remnants shows the monkey stole and ate poisoned dates meant for Indy. Sallah spots the pits, tastes a date, and spits it out, confirming the poison after the monkey convulses and dies in Amir's arms.

3 appearances

Purpose

Remains proving consumption of poisoned dates

Significance

Exposes Nazi treachery through the monkey's death, shifts hope back to peril, and prompts Sallah's warning about contaminated food

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

3 moments

S1E1 · RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK

Mourning and Resolve in Sallah's Truck

After the monkey convulses and dies, a mess of chewed date pits and the animal's body litter the floor; this physical evidence makes the poisoning explicit and instantly alters the group's emotional and tactical posture.

Before: Not present; the floor beneath the table was clear of such a mess.

After: The floor bears the dead monkey and a scatter of chewed date pits — tangible proof of poisoned food and a spy incident.

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S1E1 · RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK

Wrong Spot — The Staff Miscalculation

The mess of chewed date pits is the immediate forensic aftermath of the monkey's poisoning; it visually confirms the monkey ate the dates and provides evidence prompting Sallah to declare the fruit 'bad' and to recognize the active threat.

Before: Not present (dates intact on the tray).

After: Scattered around the dead monkey on the truck floor, evidence of poisoning and the cause of alarm.

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S1E1 · RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK

Bad Dates — Dead Monkey, Sudden Threat

The monkey's mess of date pits is produced by the animal's final frantic eating; it functions as the physical evidence of poisoning and turns a private triumph into an exposed assassination plot.

Before: Not present; no pits on the floor.

After: A messy scatter of chewed date pits surrounds the monkey's corpse on the truck floor, visible to Sallah and the others.

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