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. Billy is drawn into the house by a strange force, even though he had originally planned to look at some other lodgings first.

• What is the nature of the “strange force” that pulls Billy into the bed and breakfast? Do you think that it is emotional, supernatural, or both? (topic sentence)
• Identify 1-2 examples from the text to substantiate your argument.
• How do the elements that draw Billy to the house connect with the larger theme of The Anonymity of Modern Life?

2. Billy’s youth is referred to numerous times throughout the story.

• Is Billy’s youth considered to be a positive or negative attribute in the story? (topic sentence)
• Find 2-3 examples to substantiate your argument.
• How does the story’s theme of The Fetishizing of Youth connect with the reality of youth and wisdom?

3.