The novel includes student actions and words that represent both viciousness and empathy. Which is more powerful in the novel: cruelty or compassion? Explain your rationale with text details as support and discuss how this dominant power is revealed in the story. You might reflect on these additional ideas while forming your response.

• Why do characters treat each other cruelly at times?
• What types of support do characters show toward each other and which are most powerful?
• Which characters exhibit both qualities? What, if any, lessons do these characters learn by the end of the story?
• What does the ending suggest regarding the power of cruelty and compassion?

Teaching Suggestion: A freewrite would be helpful in giving students an opportunity to ponder the questions individually first. Re-reading some scenes that include both cruelty and compassion might be beneficial for evidence gathering and using textual details for support. In a different approach, the large discussion question might be posed with a philosophical line, with compassion at one end and cruelty at the other; students stand along the continuum to show their answer. This activity might serve as an introduction or conclusion to the discussion.

Differentiation Suggestion: For students who would benefit from strategies in abstract thinking, it might be helpful to define cruelty and compassion.