The House in the Cerulean Sea

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. Linus believes that some of the policies of DICOMY may actually make the situation of magical children worse.

• How do the policies of DICOMY impact magical children? (topic sentence)
• Offer evidence of three different ways that DICOMY impacts magical children.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, show how this element of the text supports the novel’s thematic concern with The Perpetuation of Prejudice.

2. Although Lucy is probably the most dangerous of the magical children, his appearance is the most “normal.”

• What idea about appearances is conveyed through Lucy’s character? (topic sentence)
• Offer evidence that describes Lucy’s appearance.
• Offer evidence from the characterization of Lucy that shows why he can be very dangerous.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain what message is conveyed through the combination of Lucy’s appearance with the reality of his nature, and connect this message with one of the novel’s larger thematic concerns.

3. Despite how diverse the characters at Marsyas are, the trauma that they have suffered in the past is something they have in common.

• What relationship is there between the trauma the characters have suffered and the bond they now share? (topic sentence)
• Offer evidence of how at least three characters have been traumatized.
• Describe the bond they share and offer evidence that this bond is related to their common experience with trauma.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, show how the characters’ trauma and the bond they feel with one another support the novel’s thematic concern with Found Family.

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. One of Arthur’s strongest beliefs is that all people are capable of good. Does he believe that all people are born good? What does he believe strongly influences good and bad behavior? How do these beliefs inform the way he runs the orphanage? How do they inform his approach to Linus and other adults? Are Arthur’s approaches generally successful? What message does this convey? Write an essay that analyzes Arthur’s beliefs about the causes of good and bad behavior and what message his beliefs convey about Nature Versus Nurture. Support your assertions with evidence from throughout the text, making sure to cite any quoted material.

2. How does Linus feel about his own body, and why? In this text, is prejudice against larger human bodies presented in the same way as or differently from prejudice against the body forms of magical beings? Is the text itself “fatphobic,” or is the reader meant to understand that Linus’s judgments about his own body are an internalized form of prejudice? What patterns of language, characterization, and detail support your interpretation? Write an essay that affirms, refutes, or qualifies the following statement: “Ironically, even as it champions acceptance of body differences in magical creatures, The House in the Cerulean Sea perpetuates prejudices against larger human bodies.” Support your assertions with evidence drawn from the text’s language, characterizations, and details, making sure to cite any quoted material.

3. Linus learns important lessons from each child at Marsyas. What does he learn from them? What is it about the children and his relationships with them that impels Linus to change and grow? Write an essay that establishes who Linus is before he meets the children, analyzes how his relationships with them create the right conditions for growth, and demonstrates how he changes as a result of knowing them. Finally, explain how Linus’s growth relates to the novel’s thematic concern with Found Family. Support your assertions with evidence from throughout the text, making sure to cite any quoted material.