Name play

The author has more than a little bit of fun with names in this story. For example, the Professor of Herbology is Professor Sprout, and even the authors of the textbooks Harry must study are puns and riddles. Can you find other examples of this wordplay and show how the names reflect the characteristics of their owners? What about names that are the opposite of what you'd expect? — for example, the huge, terrifying three-headed dog named Fluffy? What effect do you think the author achieves with this name?

Borrowing from fantasy

Many novels of high fantasy borrow from the traditional stories of fairy tales, myths, and legends. The dog Fluffy which guards the trapdoor at Hogwarts School resembles Cerberus, the three-headed dog which guards the underworld of Greek mythology. What other creatures from traditional tales are paralleled in the story? How does each of these creatures play a pivotal role in advancing the plot?

Title chapters

. The title of each of the chapters provides some clues as to what will occur in each. Do the titles tell the whole truth? How do they reveal some of the more symbolic meaning of the story?

October 2009: Persuasion by Jane Austen

Recommendation

Would you recommend this novel to a friend?

Novels end

Did the novel end the way you expected? How? Why?

Likable characters

Did you find the characters likable? Are they persons you would want to meet?

Anne

Is Anne Elliot consistent in her actions? Is she a fully developed character? How? Why?

conflicts

What are the conflicts in Persuasion? What types of conflict (physical, moral, intellectual, or emotional) did you notice in this novel?

The title

What is important about the title?

Wit

Does Jane Austen ridicule a particular set of people with her wit? Or is she witty at the expense of everybody? Is it possible to derive a system of values from her wit?

September 2009: The Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World by Jennifer Armstrong

Discussing the book

Were there any things that stuck with you? Favorite parts?

What did you think?

What did you think of the book? Did you enjoy reading a non fiction adventure book?

How would you do?

How do you think would have done if you were a member of the crew? How about if you had been in Shackleton's shoes? Would you have handled it well?

August 2009: A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

About the book

What are your thoughts about this book? Are you glad we read another book by Burnett and have another one coming up?

Imagination

Sara's imagination plays an important role in getting her through hard times. Have you ever used your imagination to get you through a crisis? What did you pretend?

Magic

Sara's belief in magic is renewed when the attic is mysteriously decorated while she is asleep. Do you believe in magic? Does finding out that Mr. Carrisford and Ram Dass are responsible for the transformation make it any less magical for Sara?

Princess in rags and tatters

Sara says, "Whatever comes cannot alter one thing. If I am a princess in rags and tatters, I can be a princess inside." Do you agree? In what ways will Sara always be a true princess?

Pride

When Guy Clarence gives Sara a coin she accepts it, but she realizes that doing so means she must "put her pride in her pocket." What does this mean? Does Sara's pride make her situation easier or harder on her?

Quite a different creature..

When Sara walked up the stairs to her new room in the attic, she felt like she was "quite a different creature." Why? how do you think you would feel under the same circumstances?

reasons

Why did Miss Minchin dislike Sara? have you ever had someone dislike you for something that wasn't your fault or wasn't true?

News

Why did Miss Minchin tell Sara about her father in the way that she did? How would you have reacted to Miss Minchin upon hearing the same news about your own father? How would you have handled the same situation if you were in Miss Minchin's position?

What do you think would have happened if one of the other children's parents had died instead of Mr. Crewe? Would that child have received the same treatment as Sara?

motherless children

Neither Sara nor Lottie has a mother. In what ways has this affected them? How are the two girls similar, and how are they different?

tempers

Sara says, "Perhaps I have not really a good temper at all, but if you have everything you want and everyone is kind to you, how can you help but be good-tempered? Perhaps I'm a HIDEOUS child, and no one will ever know, just because I never have any trials." Do you believe this is true?

The consolation of books

Sara tells her father that "if she had plenty of books she could console herself." Have you read any other books in which the character felt the same way? Do you have a specific book you read when you feel sad or lonely?

July 2009: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

Thoughts?

Did you enjoy the book? Was it your first time reading it? Favorite parts?

neither happiness nor misery

As he takes his leave from Maximillian, Dantes claims that "there is neither happiness nor misery in the world; there is only the comparison of one state with another, nothing more.” What does that statement mean—in the context of the story and in real life—and how does it reverberate throughout the novel?

The four enemies

Consider the four enemies of Edmond Dantès and discuss how the punishment that the Count of Monte Cristo inflicts upon them is related to their deepest ambitions.

Recognition

Do you think it was significant that Mercedes recognized Edmond Dantes after seeing him and her husband didn't realize who he was even after talking to him?

Julie and Emmanuel

How do Julie Morrel and Emmanuel Herbaut redeem humanity in Monte Cristo’s eyes?

Wait and Hope

Monte Cristo’s last words to Maximilian are “Wait and hope.” What is the significance of this statement? How does it connect to the larger narrative of the novel?

Prison death

Dumas often writes of Edmond Dantès’s time in prison as if it were a death. What do you think is the significance of this choice of language?

Values

Can a system of values be extracted from this novel? Is Dumas as a moralist conventional or original?

Revenge

Western literature begins with the Iliad, a tale of revenge. It continues with the Odyssey, which ends in massive revenge as well. the theme remained popular through medieval romance and epic, Elizabethan drama, and the novel, from its inception to the latest potboiler. Count of Monte Cristo is also based on this theme. Why is this plot so popular? Is the avenger, in this case Edmond Dantes, a stand-in for the reader, in whose mind Dantes avenges the slights and injuries we all suffer? If you hit the lottery for $100 million would you avenge yourself against those who have harmed you? Or would having all that money be its own revenge?

What is it about the book?

"There is no doubt that the elder Dumas was the greatest story teller of the nineteenth century," wrote a critic in the New York times. George Saintsbury describes The Count of Monte Cristo as "the most popular book in Europe." and it has never not been popular in England, America, and the Continent. The question is why? What is it about the novel that has made it so popular? What does it do for the reader that is so satisfying?

June 2009: Princess Academy by Shannon Hale

The secret

Were you surprised when you learned about Britta's secret? How did you feel about Prince Steffan's final choice?

The Hawk

Miri treasures the carved linder hawk that Peder gave her when they were small. In a fateful twist, it helps her escape from the bandit Dan, though she loses it as it falls down the mountain. What do you think the hawk means to Miri, and to Peder?
What do you think is the symbolic significance of the hawk?

Helping Gerti

At a critical moment in the mountain girls' training at the academy, they must all pass an oral test in order to attend the ball with the prince. At one moment, Miri notices Gerti struggling to answer the question. Convinced it would be unfair for the girls to be banned from the dance if they can't pass the test, Miri finds a way to help Gerti get the answer through quarry-speech. Do you think Miri did the right thing or not? Why?

Miri flower

Miri's father tells her that her mother named her "after the flower that conquered rock and climbed to face the sun"( page 14). How is Miri like the flower she is named after?
Do you know why you were given the name you have? Did it hold special meaning for your family?

Lessons

How did the lessons in diplomacy, conversation, and courtesy help Miri and the other academy members?

Asland

How did Miri's visit to Asland change the way she thought of her Mount Eskel home?

The better match

Who seemed like a better match for Kiri: Prince Steffan or Peder? In what ways?

Olana

The girls disliked and feared her, but was there anything about Olana that made her a good choice to be their tutor?

Quarry-speak

What did you think of "quarry speaking"?

Making friends

What qualities does Miri have that helped her to make friendships with the other girls, even the more difficult ones like Katar?

To be a princess... or not

As you read the book, were there times you wished for Miri to be chosen as princess? And times when you hoped she would not be chosen?