The Catcher in the Rye
Essay questions courtesy of Sparknotes
1. Think about Holden’s vision of the nature of childhood and adulthood.
Are the two realms as separate as Holden believes them to be? Where does
he fit in?
2. The novel is structured around Holden’s encounters and interactions with
other people. Does any pattern seem to emerge, or does anything change in
his interactions as the novel progresses? How do Holden’s encounters with
adults, children, women, and his peers evolve as the novel progresses?
3. Throughout the book, Holden longs for intimacy with other human
beings. Discuss the different types of relationships Holden attempts and the
different types of intimacy in the book. What is the role of sexuality in The
Catcher in the Rye? How do Holden’s sexual relationships differ from his
nonsexual encounters?
4. The most ambiguous encounter in the book is Holden’s night at Mr.
Antolini’s apartment. What do you make of Mr. Antolini’s actions? Was he
making a pass at Holden? What is the significance of his actions, and how
do they relate to his role as someone trying to prevent Holden from “taking a
fall”?
5. Holden often behaves like a prophet or a saint, pointing out the phoniness
and wickedness in the world around him. Is Holden as perfect as he wants to
be? Are there instances where he is phony and full of hypocrisy? What do
these moments reveal about his character and his psychological problems?
Fahrenheit 451
Essay questions courtesy of Sparknotes
1. How does Faber define the value of books? Does his definition of
“quality” apply to media other than printed books? Do you think his
definitions are accurate or not? Explain.
2. Discuss Montag’s relationship with Mildred. Is this a typical marital
relationship in their culture? Discuss the role of family in the characters’
lives, particularly in relation to the TV parlor “families” and their nature and
function.
3. Describe Clarisse’s effect on Montag and her function in the novel. How
and why does she change him? Why does she vanish from the novel?
4. Discuss the use of quotations from literature in Fahrenheit 451. Which
works are quoted and to what effect? Pay specific attention to “Dover
Beach,” the Bible, and quotes from Shakespeare.
The Bell Jar
Essay questions courtesy of Sparknotes
1. What role does Esther’s memory of her father play in the story?
2. The Bell Jar is both a true story and a novel. Describe the ways in which
Plath selects and presents the episodes that she describes to give her
narrative dramatic shape.
3. There are several recurring images in the novel, such as the bell jar, the
dead baby, and the fig tree. Select one of these images and trace its
occurrence from the beginning of the novel to the end, describing how its
meaning evolves.
4. How does Esther’s attitude toward men change over the course of the
novel? What role does this attitude play in her madness and recovery?
5. When Esther tells Dr. Nolan that she hates her mother, Dr. Nolan
interprets this statement as a breakthrough in Esther’s recovery. What role
does Esther’s mother play in her insanity? What does Esther’s attitude
toward her mother tell us about Esther herself?
Slaughterhouse Five
Essay questions courtesy of Sparknotes
1. Many Vonnegut novels deal with traffickers of “useful lies.” Are the
lessons of Tralfamadore useful lies? Why or why not?
2. Is Billy Pilgrim sane or insane? Does it matter?
3. Discuss the use of irony or black humor in Slaughterhouse-Five.
4. What does Vonnegut achieve by placing himself as a character in the
story?
The Color Purple
Essay questions courtesy of Sparknotes
1. Describe Celie’s relationship with Shug. How does it change? What is
significant about Shug’s last fling, with the young man named Germaine?
2. Consider the seemingly ideal world of family and friends that surrounds
Celie at the end of the novel. What are the gender roles in this world like?
Do you see any benefits or problems with Walker’s vision?
3. What role do you think Sofia plays in the novel? Describe her character
and how she contributes to the themes in the book.
4. How are Celie’s letters to God similar to the African-American slave
narratives collected in the 1930s? How are they different?
5. Why does Sofia tell Miss Millie “Hell no” when she offers Sofia a job as
her maid? What is offensive about Miss Millie’s behavior prior to Sofia’s
response?
Dracula
Essay questions courtesy of Sparknotes
1. Discuss the appearances Dracula makes throughout the novel. What does
Stoker achieve by keeping his title character in the shadows for so much of
the novel?
2. Discuss Van Helsing’s role as Dracula’s antagonist. Why is the old Dutch
professor the most threatening adversary to the count?
3. Discuss the roles of Mina Harker and Lucy Westenra. How are the women
similar? How are they different? Why, in your opinion, is Lucy the first to
fall under Dracula’s spell?
4. Discuss Dracula in relation to modernity. What, for instance, are the
novel’s attitudes toward scientific advancements?
5. What is the role of geography in the novel?
Wuthering Heights
Essay questions courtesy of Sparknotes
1. Discuss the novel’s narrative structure. Are the novel’s narrators
trustworthy? Why or why not? With particular reference to Nelly’s story,
consider what might be gained from reading between the lines of the
narration. What roles do the personalities of the narrators play in the way
that the story is told?
2. What role does social class and class ambiguity play in Wuthering
Heights? To what extent is Heathcliff’s social position responsible for the
misery and conflict so persistent in the book?
3. Discuss revenge in Wuthering Heights. In what ways is it connected to
love? What is the nature of love in the novel, that it can be so closely
connected to vengeance?
4. Think about the influence of the physical landscape in the novel. What
role do the moors play in the development of the story, and in the
presentation of the characters? How does Catherine’s abiding love of the
moors help us to understand her character? What do the moors come to
symbolize in the novel?
THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE
Essay questions courtesy of Sparknotes
1. Compare and contrast Henry, Wilson, and Jim. What does each character
seem to represent? How does Crane’s focus on the inner workings of
Henry’s mind give the reader a picture of Henry that is different from that of
any other character?
2. Thinking about Crane’s portrayal of the Civil War as a large historical
phenomenon, how does Crane depict the different armies? What differences,
if any, does he draw between them? What is his approach to the moral
element of the struggle, and how does it differ from the usual approach to
Civil War fiction?
3. Consider Henry’s flashback to his conversation with his mother in
Chapter I. What is his mother’s attitude about his enlisting in the first place?
How does her advice foreshadow the main themes of the novel?
4. In the author’s point of view, is it wrong for Henry to run from the battle?
Is it wrong for him to abandon the tattered soldier? More broadly, does The
Red Badge of Courage have a moral center, or does it deny that moral
categories such as “right” and “wrong” can exist in an indifferent universe?
Little Women
1. Alcott creates four different characters in the sisters. What is each of the
four March girls meant to represent (their “type”)?
2. Louisa May Alcott had somewhat nontraditional views of a woman's role
in the late 1800s. What non-traditional
3. At the end of the book, which March girl do you think is the most happy
or fulfilled? Is her adult reality similar or different to what she pictured for
herself as a younger girl?
4. How does Alcott portray American life in this time period? Does it all
contrast to life in Europe?
5. This book appeals to a younger an older audience. Why does it appeal to
its younger readers? Why does it appeal to its older readers?
Emma
Essay questions courtesy of Sparknotes
1. To what extent does the narrator express approval of Emma, and to what
extent does the narrator criticize her? Choose a passage from the novel and
analyze the sympathy and/or ironic judgment the narrator expresses in
relation to the protagonist.
2. Emma is filled with dialogue in which characters misunderstand each
other. Choose a scene from the novel and describe the mixture of knowledge
and ignorance that each character possesses, and how their situations
influence the way they interpret each other’s statements. To what extent are
we positioned to correct the misunderstanding, and to what extent do we
share the misunderstanding until we have more information?
3. How does humor work in the novel? Select a speech made by Mr.
Woodhouse, Miss Bates, or Mrs. Elton and describe the techniques Austen
uses to make these characters look foolish. What contradictions, hypocrisies,
or absurdities are put in their mouths? To what extent do we judge these
characters negatively when we see that they are laughable?
4. Emma both questions and upholds traditional class distinctions. What
message do you think the novel ultimately conveys about class?
5. Emma is clever but continually mistaken, kindhearted but capable of
callous behavior. Austen commented that Emma is a heroine “no one but
myself will much like.” Do you find Emma likable? Why or why not?