Some Additional Questions About the Book as a Whole
Do you find Oskar sympathetic or annoying? Or both?Oskar "plays Yorick" (the long dead jester whose skull Hamlet holds in his hand!) in a school production. What is the significance of that...
View ArticleChapter 17: Beautiful and True
What is so important about the interaction between Ron and Oskar?Why is Oskar so interested in Gerald's daughters and his relationship with them?What does Oskar mean when he refers to digging up his...
View ArticleChapter 16: My Feelings
Oskar's grandma says something interesting when he offers to get her magazines like he used to do: "I told him to bring a suitcase so he could come back with one of everything." She follows this up by...
View ArticleChapter 15: A Simple Solution to an Impossible Problem
Notice the parallel between Oskar's thoughts on not knowing when the "last time" would be and the thoughts on this in the previous chapter. What is significant about this?Where does Oskar think Mr....
View ArticleChapter 14: Why I'm Not Where You Are 9/11/03
What did you make of the way this chapter was started?What is different about this door knob?Why does Oskar's grandmother allow Thomas back into her life?The code using telephone pad numbers may have...
View ArticleChapter 13: Alive and Alone
I think it's the first time I've seen the phrase "extremely loud" in the book. In this case, it's pessimistic thinking that is so loud in his mind...not sure where that will lead...Why are all of the...
View ArticleChapter 12: My Feelings
Why is the interview with the father of the missing girl so important to this story?There's a shift in the conversation...she starts off the story by referring to Oskar as "you"...then she shifts and...
View ArticleChapter 11: The Sixth Borough
Why does Oskar's father tell him the story of the Sixth Borough? What is the moral of the story here? How does it tie in with Oskar's earlier search in Central Park?
View ArticleChapter 10: Why I'm Not Where You Are 4/12/78
Why has this chapter been marked up in red? What does that tell you?So Oskar's grandfather had gotten Anna pregnant before the bombing of Dresden. How does this change your view of him and his behavior...
View ArticleChapter 9: Happiness, Happiness
A very graphic, first-hand description of the atomic bomb attack on Japan. What is significant about Oskar's choice to share this with the class? How is it connected?How does the story of Buckminster...
View ArticleChapter 8: My Feelings
Oskar's grandmother states, "He never took pictures of me, and we didn't buy life insurance." What does this statement tell us about the character and their relationship?When did his grandma move?...
View ArticleChapter 7: Heavier Boots
What do you think compelled all of the Blacks to show up for Oskar's play?Why does Oskar fantasize such a violent ending to Hamlet?I wonder if The Cyclone is still standing after Hurricane Sandy...just...
View ArticleTiger's Wife Chapter 6
It seems that a lot of older people get together to discuss and reminisce about things, sometimes at the VFW, sometimes the bingo hall, or sometimes at bridge parties. Do your grandparents do this?...
View ArticleTiger's Wife Chapter 5
Why would her grandfather have gone in search of the deathless man so late in his life?How did the barman figure out that she was related to the man who had died (her grandfather)?What is significant...
View ArticleTiger's Wife Chapter 4
How is anthromorphism put to work in the story of the tiger? What purpose does it serve for the author?How does this tiger's story parallel that of Pi's story? How are the two tigers different at this...
View ArticleTiger's Wife Chapter 3
Why is Dure so adamant about not taking his kids to a doctor?Do you see any parallels or links between this chapter and the the story of the deathless man?Does your family or anyone you know still...
View ArticleTiger's Wife Chapter 2
What happened at Sarobar? What is rakija?Have you ever had a ritual or standing date with a parent or grandparent that you grew out of over the years? Did you make it clear that you had outgrown it?...
View ArticleTiger's Wife Chapter 1
In the epilogue, why isn't the narrator more affected by the tiger attack? It must have been traumatic to watch...After the attack, how is she able to still love the tigers instead of fearing them?40...
View ArticleThe Tiger's Wife: Chapter 13
So who is it that the narrator has followed? The deathless man? The mora? Someone else? What evidence leads you to your conclusion?Is there irony in the fact that the narrator has promised not to tell...
View ArticleThe Tiger's Wife: Chapter 12
What is it about the apothecary's story that explains who he became as a person? What attributes would you imagine him having based on his experiences before he became an apothecary?The apothecary...
View ArticleThe Tiger's Wife: Chapter 11
What would it be like to watch the bombing of Bedford on TV as we sat in our Bedford homes? Would we be like the characters in the book and stick it out? Go to coffee houses? I hope it never happens,...
View ArticleThe Tiger's Wife: Chapter 10
What explanation can you come up with for Arlo's death based on the information provided? What causes the awkwardness in the conversation between the narrator and Fra Anton as he tells the story of his...
View ArticleThe Tiger's Wife: Chapter 9
How closely are taxidermy and the profession of the butcher associated? Is there a tie between Darisa and Luka? If taxidermy is "restoring the dead," what is the job of a butcher?Interesting...we have...
View ArticleThe Tiger's Wife: Chapter 8
What do you think is in the blue bag?Why does Dure stuff his relive's body into the valise? How would one even manage this?Why does the narrator volunteer to go to the crossroads for Dure and his...
View ArticleThe Tiger's Wife: Chapter 7
Why start the story of the tiger immediately following the story of the deathless man? Is there a connection?Notice the foreshadowing in the first section of Chapter 7 (pg. 191 in my version).What is a...
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