Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Doug’s experiences change dramatically when he moves from Long Island to Marysville, New York.

• What messages about the role and power of place does the novel offer? (topic sentence)
• Explain why the setting is important for the events that occur in the novel and what impact the setting has on Doug’s character development.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain why you believe Schmidt chose Marysville as the setting for the novel.

2. Masculinity is often explored in the novel through Doug’s family, his school, and later in his encounters in society.

• How does the novel grapple with the definition of masculinity? (topic sentence)
• Describe the toxic masculine influences in Doug’s life and how they impact his definition of masculinity.