Gathering Blue

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. Matt is an unusual person in the context of his community’s culture.

• What qualities make Matt different from most of the people around him? (topic sentence)
• Give at least three distinct examples of Matt’s characterization that show he is unusual for his community.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, show how Matt’s character supports the novel’s thematic concerns with Mercy and Difference and Diversity.

2. Blue is the only color the people of Kira’s community do not know how to make.

• What is the symbolic meaning of the color blue in this novel? (topic sentence)
• Give at least three pieces of evidence, drawn from different places in the novel, that support your interpretation.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, show how the symbolic meaning of blue supports the novel’s thematic concerns with Mercy and Power.

3. Kira’s Artistic Genius is depicted as part natural and part supernatural.

• What is the purpose of giving Kira’s artistic abilities a supernatural quality? (topic sentence)
• Give at least three pieces of evidence drawn from throughout the text that support your interpretation.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain what message the supernatural quality of Kira’s abilities conveys about Artistic Genius.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. How does the nature of Kira’s society shape family dynamics? How does Katrina approach motherhood? How does Vandara? What do the differences between these two women illustrate about the tough choices people must make in a culture such as this? What other examples of the parent-child relationship are there in this book? How do siblings seem to treat one another? Write an essay in which you analyze the impact of the community’s culture on family relationships. Show how the nature of these relationships supports one or more of the book’s thematic concerns with Power, Mercy, and Difference and Diversity. Support your assertions with evidence drawn from throughout the text, making sure to cite any quoted material.

2. Both Kira and Jo have a kind of Artistic Genius, but their experiences of developing their gifts are very different. Annabella acts as a mentor to Kira: What kind of relationship do they have, and how does this impact Kira’s gift? Who teaches Jo, and how? How does this impact Jo? What do the differences between Kira’s and Jo’s situations illustrate about the teacher-student relationship? Write an essay in which you compare and contrast Kira’s and Jo’s experiences as you analyze the text’s messages about mentorship and teaching. Support your assertions with evidence drawn from throughout the text, making sure to cite any quoted material.

3. There is a distinct pattern in the diction used to name places and things in this novel. Consider “the Council Edifice,” “the Field of Leaving,” “the Object,” the “Ruin Song,” and similar choices Lowry has made. What does the capitalization of certain words imply? How formal or casual is the language used in these names? Why are these names so generic? Why do they lack descriptive detail or specificity? What does this say about the way the people of this community think and what they know about the world outside their immediate experience? Write an essay in which you analyze what Lowry’s choices for the names of places and things conveys about Kira’s community. Support your assertions with both quoted and paraphrased evidence drawn from throughout the text, making sure to cite any quoted material.