Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build 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 to provide examples and support.

1. The house’s near-constant cleaning, even after the death of the family, is ultimately in vain.

• How does the constant cleaning represent the theme of Order and Chaos? (topic sentence)
• Identify at least 2 instances in the story where the house is cleaning. Consider how this cleaning juxtaposes with other plot events or literary elements.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain how the house’s obsession with cleaning in the face of nature’s onslaught explores the theme of Order and Chaos. Does the house’s attempt to control chaos work?

2. Ray Bradbury uses personification throughout the story, giving the house and fire human qualities. 

• How does personification work to replace human characters in the story? (topic sentence)
• Identify at least 2 instances where Bradbury uses personification.