Pax

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. Some humans and animals, such as Peter and Pax, share a deep connection.

• To what extent does the connection between humans and animals in the story impact the survival of both? (topic sentence)
• Compare the relationship between Pax and Peter with the relationship between other humans and foxes in Pax. How and why are these relationships different?
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain the lesson the author likely intends for readers to see in the relationship between Pax and Peter.

2. Pax’s character changes and grows over the course of the novel as he acquaints himself with life in the wild.

• In what ways does Pax change in the novel? (topic sentence)
• What qualities must Pax master in the woods in order to stay alive? How do the other foxes challenge his sense of self? How do these moments contribute to Pax’s change?
• In your concluding sentences, summarize the parallel between Pax’s change in the novel and Peter’s coming of age.

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. Peter carries his mother’s bracelet adorned with a phoenix at all times. He does this to remember her and her love of the phoenix, which Peter associates with rebirth. How does the theme of rebirth play out throughout Pax? Consider the characters who are reborn in the novel. Which ones are reborn, and how do they change? What is the role of rebirth in the novel, and why does this concept guide the trajectory of many characters?

2. Peter remembers the tragic death of a baby rabbit in his mother’s garden. How do you think this experience changed Peter, and how does it explain his understanding of his mother? In what ways does this episode in his life connect to his intended rescue of Pax? In what other ways does his mother’s memory influence Peter’s decisions throughout the story?