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Exploring Themes in “A Northern Light” by Jennifer Donnelly

Answer ALL of the following topics.  You should use your copy of the book. Label your response document appropriately with your name, and topic numbers. Answers should be 3-5 sentences. Giving specific examples (like quotes or other evidence) to support your responses is the only way to get full credit. Include page numbers for your evidence. Each topic will be worth 20 points.  
1.      Mattie says there are two types of books…books that tell entertaining “stories,” and books that tell “the truth” about life and make you think.  In your opinion, which category does this novel (A Northern Light) fall into?  Cite examples from the novel and/or evidence from the time period supporting your classification. 
2.      Mattie says, “I know it is a bad thing to break a promise, but I think now that it is a worse thing to let a promise break you” (374).  In the novel, Mattie breaks two (or three) significant promises. What are those promises?  Do you think she did the right thing in each case?  Explain and support your opinion.
3.      Mattie wonders what would happen if characters in books could change their fates (the things that happen to them).  Are there characters in Mattie’s story whose fates you would like to change?  Which ones?  In what ways?  Why? (FYI: Grace Brown was a real person—can’t change her fate).
4.      Do you think it would have been possible for Mattie to pursue her love of books without losing the “love” of Royal Loomis (such as it is)?  Even if she did not marry him, could she still have become a writer (like Emily Baxter) if she continued to stay in the North Woods and care for her family?  Cite examples from the novel and/or evidence from the time period supporting your opinion.
5.      What was it about Grace Brown’s story that inspired Donnelly to write this novel? Why do you think the author chose to interweave Mattie’s story with Grace Brown’s story?  What are the main parallels between the two young women?  What are the differences?

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