Discussion Questions: The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
English III H – Summer Reading
1.
Why do you think Larson chose to tell Burnham's and Holmes’ stories together? How did the juxtaposition affect the narrative? Did they work well together, or would it have been better to read about just Holmes or just Burnham?
2.
How did the Chicago’s World’s Fair change Chicago? America? The world? Discuss some of the inventions and ideas that were introduced at the fair that still impact life today?
3.
What ultimately led to Holmes’ capture and the discovery of his crime? Was this inevitable?
4.
How did Holmes’ hotel contrast with the buildings of The World’s Fair? Can architecture reflect goodness or evil, or are buildings neutral until used?
5.
How did the White City contrast with Chicago, the Black City?
6.
Burnham, Olmsted, Ferris, and Holmes were all visionaries in their own ways. Discuss what drove each of these men, whether they were ever satisfied, and how their lives ultimately ended.
7.
How was Holmes able to exert such power over his victims? What weaknesses did he prey upon? Why wasn’t he caught earlier?
8.
In his speech before his wheel took on its first passengers, George Ferris “happily assured the audience that the man condemned for having ‘wheels in his head’ had gotten them out of his head and into the heart of the Midway Plaisance” (279). In what ways is the entire Fair an example of the power of human ingenuity, or the ability to realize the dreams of imagination.
9.
At the end of the book, Larson suggests that “Exactly what motivated Holmes may never be known” (395). What possible motives are exposed? Why is it important to try to understand the motives of a person like Holmes?
10.
How was Holmes able to get away with so many murders without being caught?

Discussion Questions: The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
English III H – Summer Reading
1.
Discuss the metaphor of a glass castle and what it signifies to Jeannette and her father. Why is it important that, just before leaving for New York Walls tells her father that she doesn’t believe he’ll ever build it?
2.
The first story Walls tells of her childhood is that of her burning herself severely at age three, and her father dramatically takes her from the hospital: “You’re safe now” (14). Why do you think she opens with this story, and how does it set the stage for the rest of the memoir?
3.
Walls’ mother insists that, no matter what, “life with your father was never boring” (288). What kind of man was Rex Walls? What were his strengths and weaknesses, his flaws and contradictions?
4.
Describe Walls’ relationship to her siblings, and discuss the role they played in one another’s lives.
5.
The two major pieces of the memoir – one half set in the desert and one half in West Virginia – feel distinct. What effect did such a big move have on the family? How would you describe the shift in the book’s tone?
6.
What character traits, both good and bad, do you think Walls inherited from her parents? How did these traits shape Walls’ life?
7.
Though the book is brimming with unforgettable stories, which scenes were the most memorable for you? Which were the most shocking, the most inspiring, the funniest?
8.
Rex Walls often asked his children, “Have I ever let you down?” Why was this question (and the required “No, Dad” response) so important for him – for his children? On what occasions did he actually come through for them?
9.
Discuss Rose Mary Walls. What did you think about her description of herself as an “excitement addict”? (93).
10.
In college Walls is signaled out by a professor for not understanding the plight of homeless people; instead of defending herself, she keeps quiet. Why do you think she does this?

Discussion Questions: Enchantment by Orson Scott Card
English III H – Summer Reading
1. One of the main characters affecting the plot is Baba Yaga. What happens in each dilemma t that she adds to the story? Describe the situation and how characters are affected.
2. The book as many similarities to the well-know fairy tale “Sleeping Beauty.” Early in the story,
Ivan muses “that in a French or English retelling of the tale, the prince and princess would live happily ever after, But, “only a fool would want to live through the Russian version of any fairy tale.” Explain what he means by this. Give specific examples from the story.
3. Orson Scott Card has woven threads of history, religion, and myth together into a convincing, time-hopping tale that is part love story, part adventure. How do these thread help develop and expand the story? Give specific examples.
4. Ivan's good-witch mother, Ester, is also a powerful witch. What does she specifically do to help Ivan and Katerina. Give examples and explain the impact of each one.
5. Ivan finds that he has no skills useful in the ninth century, and yet he must find a way to defeat the witch Baba Yaga, who has harnessed the power of a god to take over Princess
Katerina's kingdom. What skills does Ivan lack, and what does he do to compensate?
6. Which character do you feel is the best example of being a dynamic character? Describe the character, and explain how the character changes by the end of the book, what causes the character to change, and how does the plot twist because of the change.
7. Which character do you feel is the best example of being a static character? Describe the character, and explain why it is important that the character does not change over the course of the story. What purpose does the character play in the plot?
8. Choose three characters and a symbol that represents each of them. Be prepared to explain the significance of each.
9. Does setting the story in two different time periods detract or add to the story. How does it add to the development of the plot? How does it detract from the story? Explain.
10. The point of view shifts several times during the book, giving the reader the opportunity to hear the story from eight different people including Ivan, the princess, and even the wicked Baba Yaga. Which ones are the most/least effective? Explain, and tell why the point of view is important (or not) for that section of the story.

Discussion Questions: Columbine by David Cullen
English III H – Summer Reading
1. Compare and contrast the two main characters, Eric and Dylan. How are they similar, and what are the differences between the two boy
2. How does the author build and maintain suspense and mystery in the book? How does he deal with the fact that the readers may know – or think they know – the outcomes or details of the book’s events.
3. What do you make of the relationship between Eric and Dylan? Did this relationship remain consistent throughout the book? If there were shifts in their roles, can you pinpoint when and why they happened?
4. Why is it important that books like Columbine be written and read? Who should read the book?
Why?
5. Do you this book glorifies Eric and Dylan and perpetuates the legend that they wanted to leave behind? Explain.
6. As you read the book, what surprised did you encounter? Why do you think you hadn’t known about them before?
7. What if you were able to meet the killers’ parents. What would you want them to know? What if you could meet another character in the book. Who would you want to meet, and what would you say to them?
8. Which, if any, of the book’s characters do you consider heroes? Which were scapegoats? Were there more that two people responsible for the killing?
9. Which characters had reason to feel guilty? Who do you think still feels guilty now? Explain.
10. Do any of the characters change or evolve through the course of the story? Do they change their view of the world and their relationship to it? If so, what events trigger such changes?
11. Which passages were most difficult of you to read? Which scenes are the most memorable for you?
12. Were you surprised by ay of the revelations about the attack? Which ones? Were you surprised by the community reaction in the aftermath? How do you think your community would react after such an event?
13. At what point in the narrative could one decision or one action have changed the outcome? Which characters had a chance to make a difference but didn’t?
14. With school shootings being featured regularly and predominately in the media for over a decade, does the public react differently to them now? Do students react differently? School personnel? Law enforcement? The press?

Discussion Questions: God Help the Child by Toni Morrison
English III H – Summer Reading
1. Morrison opens God Help the Child with a character insisting, “It’s not my fault. O you can’t blame me.” How does this set up what follows?
2. Multiple themes weave through the novel: childhood trauma, racism, skin color, social class, freedom. What would you say is the primary theme and why? Give examples to support your answer.
3. Several of the primary characters have different names from the ones they received at birth: Bride,
Sweetness, Rain. What do these new names tell us about the characters?
4. What does it symbolize when Booker throws his trumpet into the stream with Queen’s ashes?
5. How did Adam’s death change Booker? Why did it affect him more than the rest of the family?
6. When Bride is taken from the white hippies, she is cut off from the world for weeks. How does this change her?
7. Bride holds on to Booker’s shaving brush, and Sofia keeps Bride’s earring. Why are these totems important?
8. The reader’s understanding of Booker is shaped by Bride’s recollection of his saying, “You not the woman I want,” her limited insights about him, and Brooklyn’s descriptions of him as a shady character.
But in Part III we learn that he’s quite different from what we’ve imagined. What points is Morrison making?
9. Discuss Bride’s sojourn with Queen. How does their relationship develop so quickly?
10. Why is Bride so uninterested in digging below the surface with Booker?
11. Over the course of an otherwise realistic novel, Bride’s body reverts from a curvy woman to an undeveloped girl. What is happening? Why?
12. Discuss Bride’s friendship with Brooklyn. Over and over, Bride says how much she trusts Brooklyn, and what a good friend she is. What do these assertions tell us about Bride’s character? Does it matter that Brooklyn is white, with dreadlocks?
13. Why does Rain form such a special bond with Bride?
14. After Bride reads Booker’s writing about her, how does it change her impression of him?

Discussion Questions: Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
English III H – Summer Reading
1.
Early in the novel, Lee abruptly announces that Jem died. Did this surprise you? What is her tone and why does she write it this way?
2.
On page 92 Jean Louise says, “There’s nothing like a blood-curdling hymn to make you feel at home.” What does she mean? Find three other examples of situations that made her “feel at home” and explain why they were comforting to her.
3.
There is a discrepancy in the storyline from TKAM to GSAW on page 109. What is the discrepancy? Knowing that Lee wrote TKAM after she wrote GSAW, why do you think she changed it when she wrote TKAM?
4.
Part of the novel is written in the present and part is written in flashbacks to Jean Louise’s childhood. Were the flashbacks necessary? Which part did you like better?
5.
When Lee submitted her manuscript for GSAW, her publisher told her that a better story would be about Scout as a child, so she wrote TKAM. Did the publisher make the right call?
Explain.
6.
Explain what the titles of Lee’s two novels mean and how they reflect the tone and storyline of each.
7.
Compare the Atticus Finch from TKAM with the Atticus Finch of GSAW. In what ways is he different? In what ways is he the same? Does this affect your image of him?
8.
On page 266, Jean Louise’s Uncle Jack (Dr. Finch) says, “Our gods are remote from us Jean
Louise. They must never descend to human level.” What does he mean? Write about a time when you have experienced this and explain how you handled it.
9.
On page 267, Dr. Finch challenges Jean Louise to reconsider how she deals with those who challenge her beliefs. Does he make a good argument? Explain.
10.
Jean Louise feels both love and disgust toward her father. Can you love someone and feel disgust toward them at the same time? How does she resolve these feelings? Do you think the depiction was realistic?

Discussion Questions: Twelve Mighty Orphans by Jim Dent
English III H – Summer Reading
1.
The opening chapter of the book gives a great deal of description of the industry of bootlegging in northern Texas during the early twentieth century. Why does Dent address this in the opening chapter of his book?
2.
How does the setting (time and place) contribute significance to the events of the book?
3.
Characterize Rusty Russell. Who is he, and how do descriptions of him add to the story’s message?
4.
Why did Russell feel that the orphans would benefit from team sports? What were some of his predictions on how team sports would help the orphans? Do you have similar experiences concerning the benefit of team sports?
5.
Describe the relationship of Russell and Hardy Brown. How do the two of them help each other, specifically?
6.
What did the boys use instead of a football during practice? Why? What other details are given about the appearances of the equipment and the lack of equipment for these boys? For what purpose does Dent give so much attention to this detail?
7.
In what ways are the Mighty Mites much less fearful of the world around them after they begin to find success?
8.
What do you think is the author’s message regarding human faith? Give specific events from the book that support your answer.
9.
Dent spends a good portion of the book giving play-by-play accounts of key games for the Mighty
Mites. Did you find this to be unnecessary, or does Dent do this for a specific purpose? Explain.
10.
Dent’s book sold over a quarter-million copies in the first five years after its release, and has been through 20 printings overall. Movies like The Blind Side, Seabiscuit, and Remember the Titans have generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue and are considered classics in the biographical sports drama genre. Why do you think Americans find stories like these to be so appealing?