Nimona

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Characterization Body Map”

In this activity, students will deepen their understanding of characterization by creating a body map that represents a character’s internal and external conflicts, physical traits, motivations, actions, fears, and beliefs.

For this activity, you will create a body map that analyzes a character or characters from Nimona. After drawing a character, tracing an outline, or creating another representative body, “map” the elements of this character onto the body, including characterization elements such as internal and external conflicts, physical traits, motivations, actions, fears, and beliefs. Consider aligning elements of characterization with specific body parts, such as the head for thoughts, the heart for beliefs, or the hands for actions. Direct quotes should be incorporated, and any background elements that may contextualize the body map should be included. Please include a brief explanatory map key that identifies and explains the location of each element of characterization and how each element relates to the character as a whole.

Your body map and the explanatory key will be presented and/or displayed.

Teaching Suggestion: Before beginning, students may benefit from discussing any parameters to the body map or from previewing examples. Listing and discussing elements of characterization as a class may help students analyze more deeply. To showcase student work, you could have your students present their body map to the class or small groups. If your class has less time, body maps could be displayed in the classroom and students could have time to examine and reflect on them.

Differentiation Suggestion: For students with organizational or executive functioning differences, graphic organizers or step guides may be beneficial. For English language learners, preselected and/or pre-highlighted passages related to their character may help with time management and ease the transition from language comprehension to character analysis. To include more learning styles, it could be helpful to adapt the activity to include a performance or a monologue with the body map.

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. The novel explores the role of found family in providing support for moral and emotional development.

• How does Blackheart and Nimona’s relationship contribute to their moral and emotional development? (topic sentence)
• Explain how Nimona and Blackheart influence each other, and include an example of when this influence led to a transformative moment for each character.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explore how this relates to the book’s theme of The Significance of Found Family.

2. The rivalry between Goldenloin and Blackheart complicates the good versus evil trope despite appearing as this trope on the surface.

• What deeper truths might the rivalry between Goldenloin and Blackheart reveal about human conflict and resolution?
• Explain why Blackheart and Goldenloin’s rivalry is more complicated than a clash between good and evil and explore what this says about the complexities of human conflict.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, comment on how Goldenloin and Blackheart’s relationship relates to Ambivalent Morality and Moral Dilemmas.

3. Nimona’s shifting defies explanation and offers contrast to the rigid moral and social roles Goldenloin and Blackheart represent.

• How does Nimona’s shapeshifting symbolically critique binary gender norms and/or moral codes? (topic sentence)
• Explore two or more moments in the text where Nimona’s shapeshifting provides more freedom of thought, expression, or conduct compared with other characters. Does this freedom expose any limitations?  
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, connect this symbolism to the book’s theme of Shifting Identity as Queer Symbolism.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by textual details, and a conclusion.

1. Consider the roles presented by archetypes such as the hero, villain, and monster. What expectations or stereotypes are associated with each? To what extent do major characters in Nimona conform to these roles and what difficulties do they face either in conforming or breaking with these roles? What might these difficulties suggest about the power of socially constructed roles and the benefits and drawbacks they provide?

2. As a graphic novel, the imagery offers as much insight into the story and characters as the dialogue. What role does color play within the story? How does Stevenson use color to characterize Nimona, Goldenloin, and Blackheart? What palettes are associated with each, and how might the interrelationship between color palettes add to story elements such as plot, conflict, or characterization? How does color support elements such as tone, mood, and theme?

3. Allusions to popular fairytales appear throughout the story. What fairytales are alluded to, and how do they contextualize the characters, plot, and themes of the novel? How does Stevenson play with the stereotypes and expectations each allusion raises? What depth do the allusions add to Nimona’s character in particular, and how might the different associations function as an extension of her shapeshifting ability?

Multiple Choice and Long Answer Questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, exams, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. What convinces Blackheart to hire Nimona?

A) She has insider knowledge of the Institution.

B) She has a good reason to hate Goldenloin.

C) Her resume is impeccable.

D) She is a shapeshifter.

2. How does Blackheart’s adherence to certain rules reveal ambivalent morality?

A) He claims to be a villain, but he does not condone killing.

B) He adheres to rules not to kill because it causes chaos but would gleefully kill Goldenloin.

C) He will not follow rules, making his partnership with Nimona difficult.

D) He hates the Institution but follows their rules, making him a hypocrite.

3. What deeper truth does both Goldenloin’s and Blackheart’s awareness of their own roles reveal?

A) They each take themselves too seriously.

B) They have no agency because they are following orders.

C) They act out their roles as expected, so hero and villain are social constructs.

D) Neither person wants to do their job.

4. How does Nimona’s backstory—as told to Blackheart—help characterize her?

A) The Institution’s role in her parents’ deaths and her imprisonment explains her anger.

B) The lack of conflict or problems confirms that she is simply a chaotic being.

C) She is much older than she looks, which explains her maturity and seriousness.

D) Her parents’ rejection explains her anger, self-reliance, and lack of trust.

5. Which of the following is one of Nimona’s rules for shifting?

A) Inanimate objects are easiest.

B) She must shift forms at least twice a day.

C) She is allergic to bananas in all forms.

D) Only her true form is mortal.

6. Which fairy-tale trope does Blackheart lean into to advance his plan to discredit the Institution?

A) He creates a plague of locusts.

B) He uses poisoned apples.

C) He creates a sleep spell.

D) He spins straw into gold.

7. How does the Director’s order to dispose of Nimona by “any means necessary” support the theme of moral ambivalence?

A) The Director does not really hate Nimona but cannot handle her chaos.

B) The Director is simply following orders from higher up.

C) The Director wants to use Nimona to distract Blackheart from his schemes.

D) The heroic side is willing to kill Nimona and does not mind endangering others to do it.

8. What does their meeting at the Antlered Snake reveal about the rivalry between Goldenloin and Blackheart?

A) Their falling-out was due to the Director’s stoking Blackheart’s jealousy.

B) Their feud is false, but they have to keep up appearances for the Institution.

C) They have no reason to dislike each other and might be friends if their jobs allowed it.

D) They were once friends and their feud involves a serious betrayal.

9. What is Goldenloin’s motivation?

A) He is jealous of Blackheart and wants to make a fool of him during the bar fight.

B) He loves Blackheart and will kill Nimona if it means the Institution will spare Blackheart.

C) He is being misled by the Institution and believes that Blackheart is a villain.

D) He believes in good and would never commit an immoral act.

10. Which theme does Nimona and Blackheart’s visit to the Science Expo best support?

A) Ambivalent Morality and Moral Dilemmas

B) Shifting Identity as Queer Symbolism

C) The Significance of Found Family

D) None of the Above

11. What do Blackheart and Goldenloin have in common?

A) Both make morally questionable choices in pursuit of their goals.

B) Both love to put sardines on their pizza.

C) Both view Nimona as a tool.

D) Both dislike the Director.

12. Who is the real villain?

A) Blackheart

B) Goldenloin

C) Nimona

D) The Director

13. What does Goldenloin reveal about the incident that took Blackheart’s arm?

A) The Director set them both up and is responsible for the outcome.

B) He shot Blackheart because he could never beat him in a joust.

C) There was an unidentified shooter firing from a grassy knoll.

D) The Director told him it only shot blanks and would simply startle Blackheart.

14. How do Nimona’s powers work?

A) The dragon is her true form and gives her all her abilities to shift.

B) She is not really shifting form; it is illusion magic.

C) She is dying and regenerating her cells with each transformation.

D) She is completely made of anomalous energy.

15. Which of the following actions prove Blackheart is committed to being a true friend to Nimona?

A) He risks her anger by telling Goldenloin about her weakness.

B) He tells the doctor not to call her a monster.

C) He stands up to the Institution while she is trapped.

D) He tells her she cannot keep opposing the Institute because it is too dangerous.

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating textual details to support your response.

1. How might Blackheart and Goldenloin’s awareness of their roles from the beginning provide an avenue for challenging norms?

2. What have Goldenloin and Blackheart learned about their roles and themselves by the end?