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 novel over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Compare and contrast Hanneke’s friendship with Elsbeth and Mirjam’s friendship with Amalia.

• How does Hanneke feel about Elsbeth? (topic sentence)
• How do Hanneke and Mirjam react to their best friends’ seeming betrayals? Analyze the moments when Hanneke and Mirjam discuss their best friends’ betrayals.
• In your conclusion, show how Mirjam’s description of Amalia changes Hanneke’s perspective on her own relationship with Elsbeth in terms of the book’s theme of The Conflict of Love and Friendship.

2. Discuss the importance of letters and writing in this book, particularly between Bas and Hanneke.

• How does Bas’s (unread) letter affect Hanneke? Consider how Bas’s character is established early in the novel with things left unsaid: (topic sentence)
• How does Bas’s real letter to Ollie compare with Hanneke’s expectations? Perform a textual analysis on Bas’s letter to Ollie.