The Pact

Each of the four parents deals with Emily’s death and Chris’s imprisonment in different ways. Choose one parent and examine his or her behavior and thoughts in the “then” chapters. How might his/her past dictate the way this character acts in the “now” chapters?

What role do minor characters—like Chris’s sister, Kate, and Jordan McAfee’s son, Thomas—play in the novel? How do these teens manifest (or counter) some of the novel’s key messages?

How does James Harte’s shooting of the family dog, Charlie, take on greater significance when compared to and contrasted with Chris’s final moments with Emily? How are James and Chris alike and different?

Secrets abound throughout the novel. Choose a secret that one character keeps from another character and examine the character’s motives for withholding this information. Does the novel suggest that it is wise or unwise for this secret to be kept? Use passages from the text to support your point.

What do Jordan McAfee’s personal struggles contribute to the novel? In what way is this minor character an important one?

All four parents pretend that circumstances are not what they truly are or in some respect ignore or deny reality. Which of the four parents does the novel suggest is justified in his/her behavior? Are any of their actions/behaviors inexcusable or harmful? Why or why not?

Chris learns his prison cellmate, Steve, has been charged with murder as well. Though their alleged crimes are different, their situations share important parallels. Examine these parallels, assessing how Steve’s situation displays moral ambiguity. How is Chris impacted by Steve? What do Steve’s and Chris’s differing verdicts suggest about justice?

The Pact is presented through multiple points of view. As a result, readers learn the inner thoughts of all of the key characters, though some more than others. Given this, does the novel have a protagonist? Whom does Picoult mean for readers to side with throughout the novel?