The Lovely Bones

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 below bulleted outlines. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. According to the novel, after great trauma comes the deconstruction of a person followed by reconstruction.

• Which character in the novel best represents this notion of deconstruction followed by reconstruction? (topic sentence)
• Describe at least three details or situations with this character that depict their deconstruction/reconstruction process.
• In your concluding statement, explain whether you agree with the novel’s depiction of deconstruction and reconstruction after a traumatic event and summarize why you feel this way.

2. Harvey manages to avoid capture throughout the novel.

• What three personality traits best help Harvey to elude the police? (topic sentence)
• Describe the ways in which each trait serves to help Harvey avoid capture by referencing plot points or details from the text.