The Last Graduate

What tactics does Novik use to articulate the tension between moral responsibility and survival instincts? How do El’s choices challenge or coincide with the existing system of values that dominates student culture throughout the Scholomance?

As a loner, El initially rejects overtures from potential friends, allies, and enclaves, but she does eventually spearhead the collective project to save everyone in the school. How does El’s journey from loner to leader allow Novik to critique real-world societal models of community and privilege?

How does Novik convey a sense of the Scholomance’s sentience? Identify and analyze at least three instances in which it functions as a character rather than as a setting.