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. Spiders are a recurring motif within There There.

• What do spiders symbolize for the characters? (topic sentence)
• Examine three moments where spiders appear in this novel. What do they symbolize? How do they connect back to your primary argument?
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, consider how spiders and spider legs connect to the theme of either Violence Caused by Colonialism or Indigenous Identity.

2. Several of the characters are reflected in different mediums, such as Dene’s camera or how Tony pays so much attention to how others perceive him.  

• Why is this reflection of oneself important? Why might Orange be using these reflections? (topic sentence)
• Using three examples from the text, consider what role reflections and mirrors play in this novel.