Okay for Now

Throughout the novel, several of the characters experience injustice at the hands of abusers, townspeople, and people in authority. Explore the idea of injustice in the novel. As a motif, how do instances of injustice serve the themes of the novel? Use these questions to guide your thinking:

• How do the townspeople treat Doug when his brother is suspected of theft?
• What injustices does Doug experience at the hands of his father?
• How and why does Christopher mistreat Doug?
• Why might the selling of the pages of the Audubon book be considered unjust?
• In what ways do people in the community and outside the community mistreat Vietnam veterans?
• How do people in the school mistreat Doug?

Teaching Suggestion: Because there are so many injustices in the novel, it may be beneficial for students to create a written response to the questions to refer to when responding to the analysis prompt. Students may find it beneficial to brainstorm, share, and jigsaw responses to the bulleted questions in small groups as they create their written responses.

Differentiation Suggestion: Students with executive functioning learning differences and those who find whole-text tasks difficult in terms of focus and organization may find it beneficial to narrow their topic to injustices that are committed against Doug.