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. In the Cage, the author uses images of darkness and light both literally and figuratively.

• How does Riva’s experience of darkness and light shape the reader’s understanding of the Holocaust? (topic sentence)
• Identify 2 pivotal moments in the text that use images of darkness and light. What is the author trying to convey about how Riva and other Jewish people felt during the Holocaust?
• In your conclusion, discuss how the author uses darkness/light to convey a message about Humanity and Community Memory.

2. Riva and Yulek share a mutual adoration for “beauty.”

• What is the role of beauty in the conflicted, death-riddled world of The Cage? (topic sentence)
• Does beauty serve a single function in Riva’s life? Or does it have dual purposes?
• In your conclusion, explain how beauty is a source of both hope and pain for Riva, as part of the renewal process in Nature and Life Cycles.