Nation by Terry Pratchett. Discussion Questions DO NOT READ QUESTIONS BEFORE THE CHAPTER! IT WILL GIVE AWAY IMPORTANT PARTS OF THE STORY!

Transcription

1 Nation by Terry Pratchett Discussion Questions DO NOT READ QUESTIONS BEFORE THE CHAPTER! IT WILL GIVE AWAY IMPORTANT PARTS OF THE STORY! Chapter One: The Plague (pp. 3 24) 1. Mau is at the end of his rite of passage from boyhood to manhood. After 30 days on Boys Island, he leaves his boy soul behind and begins his journey back to his family to earn his man soul. What are some of the rites of passage in our culture? How have these changed over time? How is this different from Mau s Nation? 2. Mau remembers how worried he was for months over the impossibility of building a canoe with only a knife on his quest for manhood on Boys Island. Yet, he saw that every man had done this. When he finally arrives at Boys Island, he finds the alaki with a sign that says "MEN HELP OTHER MEN." How did this influence his behavior? What lesson was he expected to learn from this? What were his father and uncles trying to tell him? (p. 13) 3. On page 24, Prachett writes, Mau cried for his parents, because he was afraid, because he was cold and very tired, and because he was fearful and couldn t pretend. But most of all, he cried because only he knew. Mau returns to the destroyed Nation utterly alone. How would this experience of returning after a disaster have felt differently if he had found his family and friends? Chapter Two: The New World (pp ) 1. On page 33, Prachett writes, "There were marks on it. They spelled out Sweet Judy in faded white paint but they spelled 'Sweet Judy' in vain. Mau was good at reading important things. He could read the sea, the weather, the tracks of animals, tattoos, and the night sky. There was nothing for him to read in lines of cracked paint. What kinds of things can you read? How might these be different if you grew up in a different place? 2. In a flashback on page 40, Grandad Nawi talked about the papervine bush. Take one vine lengthwise and yes, it needs the strength of two men to pull it apart. But weave the five strands of it into a rope and a hundred men can t break it. The more they pull, the more it binds together and the stronger it becomes. That is The Nation. Later, on page 44, Mau notes that he is the one piece of this papervine. What did Grandad Nawi mean when he spoke of the Nation as the papervine? How do you think this impacts Mau, knowing he is now alone? Lauren Ross Hülphers 1

2 3. What are some of the characteristics of a good man in Mau s Nation? How is being a good man in Mau s culture different and similar to our culture? Chapter Three: Calenture (pp ) 1. Both Mau and Ermintrude feel unprepared for the challenges they are facing, though they received the best educations their people could provide for them. How were their educations different? How is your education different from and similar to theirs? 2. When Ermintrude changes her name to Daphne, what other changes does she make? 3. On page 58, Mau thinks, So there are still rules. I brought them with me in my head. What are some of the rules that Mau carries in his head? That Daphne carries in her head? What kind of rules do you carry in your head? From where do these rules come? Chapter Four: Bargains, Covenants, and Promises (pp ) 1. On pages 84 85, Mau stands guard over the ghost girl from what? Why is he doing this? 2. The voices of the grandfathers in Mau s head speak to him of the god anchors. What are these? Why are these important to the people of the Nation? 3. Mau believes he lost his boy soul. He thinks the wave washed it away. (p. 101) He still has not gone through the ceremony to earn his man soul. How does this impact his behavior? How does it impact others views of him? Chapter Five: The Milk that Happens (pp ) 1. Mau thinks, I need there to be the old man and the baby and the sick woman and the ghost girl, because without them I would go into the dark water right now. I asked for reasons, and here they are, yelling and smelling and demanding, the last people in the world, and I need them. Without them I would just be a figure on the gray beach, a lost boy, not knowing who I am. But they know me. I matter to them, and that is who I am. (pp ). On page 122, Mau thinks, And we become what we have to be Mau struggles to figure out who he is and how he fits into this new world, and he finds that other people are a huge part of his identity. Do you think other people help to define us? Why or why not? Lauren Ross Hülphers 2

3 2. How are Daphne s memories of her grandmother similar and / or different from the voices of the grandfathers in Mau s head? Chapter Six: A Star is Born (pp ) 1. On page 144, Mau thinks the pants looked fearsome. Are there some clothes that you might find fearsome to wear? 2. On page 153, as Pilu cries, Mau wraps his arm around him. Without knowing why, but also knowing, absolutely knowing, down to his bones that it was the right thing to do, Mau put his arms around him Are there things that you know are right to do without thinking? Give examples. Chapter Seven: Diving for Gods (pp ) 1. On page 168, Mau thinks, A thought could be like a spear. You do not throw a spear at the widow, the orphan, the grieving. This thought keeps him from being brutally honest and speaking his mind to those around him. This is in contrast to the proverbial saying, Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. Can words be just a painful as violence? 2. On pages , Mau sees a figure that frightens him. He wants to charge at it, but pauses first to observe it. After pausing, he realizes it was no threat to him at all. What was this demon? What would have happened if Mau had acted on impulse to attack instead of pausing first? How does this connect to what we have learned in our Mindfulness practice? Chapter Eight: It Takes a Lifetime to Learn how to Die (pp ) 1. On page 192, Pilu passionately describes the story of Mau and the shark. Why would Pilu tell this story? What was he trying to prove about Mau and why? 2. In chapter eight, Daphne s perception of Mrs. Gurgle changes. She is described as a powerful woman. What makes a powerful woman to the people of the Nation? How is this different from Daphne s England? How is this different and similar to our ideas of what makes a powerful woman? Chapter Nine: Rolling the Stone (pp ) Lauren Ross Hülphers 3

4 1. How have the voices in Mau s head and in Daphne s head changed over the course of the story? Why would these voices be changing? 2. On page, 214, as Daphne holds little Blibi, she thinks,..while everyone got food to eat and a place to sleep, there were other things that were just as important that tended to get overlooked. What are these other things, and why are they important? Chapter Ten: Believing is Seeing (pp ) 1. Daphne s experiences have changed her from the beginning of the story, when she was crippled by her own sense of propriety, to later when she is referred to as a woman of power. ( p. 199). What are some of the experiences that have changed her? How have these experiences changed her views of others? Chapter Eleven: Crimes and Punishments (pp ) 1. Daphne introduces the people of the Nation to a court of law. Why does she do this? How do they receive this new idea? 2. Chapter Twelve: Cannon and Politics (pp ) 1. Throughout the story, the author uses foreshadowing to give a hint of what is to come. Can you find some examples of foreshadowing? Why do author s use this technique? Chapter Thirteen: Truce (pp ) 1. While mutineers think Mau's people are savages, Daphne thinks the mutineers are savages. What does savage mean to each of them? Chapter Fourteen: Duel (pp ) 1. Re read the introductory passage at the beginning of the book How Imo Made the World, in the Time When Things Were Otherwise and the Moon Was Different. On page 321, when Locaha speaks to Mau of the few blessed people to enter Imo s world in the sky, he says, They saw the perfect world is a journey, not a place. What do you think this means? Lauren Ross Hülphers 4

5 Chapter Fifteen: The World Turned Upside Down (pp ) 1. One of the themes throughout this novel is how desperately people need one another. One person is nothing; Two people are a Nation. (p. 252) Terry Pratchett writes about compassion and people s duty towards one another. How is this different than what we see on TV, video games, etc. Give examples. Do you believe these have an influence on society? 2. On page 324, Mau and Daphne are a boy and a girl, and Daphne is shocked to realize that is had been a long time since she d seen him look so young. Why are the two lead characters suddenly children again? What is the author trying to say 3. Mau says he was born in the wave. (p. 326) How have his experiences changed him? Randy Pausch says, Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted. And experience is often the most valuable thing you have to offer. How do tragic or challenging experiences shape us? Today (pp ) 1. What is your favorite part of the book? Why? 2. Would you recommend this book to other students? Why or why not? Lauren Ross Hülphers 5