Maggot Moon is a great novel and it handily provides an excellent introduction to dystopian fiction; there’s also plenty in it that’s up for grabs regarding unconventional heroes. I’m a total fan. I’ll be reading it with one of my classes in the new year, so I put together a basic study booklet in preparation. Each section has four parts to it:
- Big question
- Vocabulary
- Basic review questions
- Extract to annotate
I’ve tried to keep things fairly simple. The idea is for everything to link back to the big questions – discussion, debate, writing (and so on). And each big question should be explored over a series of lessons. At least that’s the idea. I’ll no doubt change stuff as I go along. Here they are…
- ‘Standish Treadwell isn’t bright’ – How is the character of Standish Treadwell initially presented?
- ‘Are you going to kill us?’ – How does the relationship between the Treadwell and Lush families develop?
- ‘Everyone was silent’ – In what ways are our expectations subverted?
- ‘You and your grandfather are in grave danger’ – What more do we learn about how the Motherland is governed?
- ‘The wound kept oozing grief’ – How do Standish and his grandfather react to the sudden disappearance of the Lush family?
- ‘I was bloody terrified’ – In what ways does life get increasingly dangerous for Standish and his grandfather?
- ‘Bring down the curtain’ – In what ways do both Standish and his grandfather demonstrate bravery?
- ‘The more I see of all this, the less optimistic I feel’ – Why doesn’t Standish give up when his chance of success is so small?
- ‘That’s when I make my move’ – To what extent is Standish a heroic character?
Click on the link below to download the study booklet.
Hope it’s useful –
Doug
hello@douglaswise.co.uk