The Name of This Book Is Secret

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. In the narrative, Cass’s and Max-Ernest’s unique skills and differences are important parts of their characters.

• How do Cass’s and Max-Ernest’s differences from others help or hurt them in the novel? (topic sentence)
• Identify the traits that make Cass and Max-Ernest different from others. Discuss how their differences help them succeed in the novel. How do they overcome challenges to achieve their goals?
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, connect the role of personal differences in the novel to one of the novel’s themes.

2. Riddles and codes are prominent motifs in the novel that offer access to hidden information and hidden worlds.

• How are riddles and codes important to the plot and other elements in the story? (topic sentence)
• How are riddles and codes a symbol of the Secret world? How do Cass and Max-Ernest use code breaking to navigate the Secret world?
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, evaluate the author’s purpose for including riddles and codes in the novel.

3. The novel utilizes an unusual narration style with an intrusive narrator who repeatedly breaks the fourth wall to directly address the reader. As such, both the Narrator and the Reader become characters in the story.

• How does the author use fourth-wall breaks to construct the relationship between the Narrator and Reader as characters in the story? (topic sentence)
• What is the role of the Reader in the story? What is the role of the Narrator? How is the Narrator like a character in the story, and how does he invite the Reader to become an active participant as well?
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, analyze how the relationship between Narrator and Reader helps communicate the story.

Full Essay Assignments

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

1. Synesthesia is a major motif in the novel. It is used by many characters as a method of communication or a way to glean special insight into things in their surroundings. What role does synesthesia play in the novel? How does it impact the characterization of characters like Pietro and Benjamin Blake? How do the senses show up in other ways in the novel, and how are both synesthesia and the five senses connected to the Secret world? In your conclusion, connect your analysis to one of the novel’s themes.

2. Consider the Narrator as a character in the novel and his distinction from the author. In general, how are the roles of a narrator and an author distinct? How does the author use this separation to construct the persona of the Narrator and influence the way the reader experiences the story? In your conclusion, discuss the author’s purpose for telling the story from the perspective of an intrusive narrator persona.

3. Analyze the role of language in the novel. How do the codes in the novel utilize linguistic structures? Consider Max-Ernest’s statement in Chapter 12 that he can tell that Pietro is not a native English speaker by the way he writes. What does that say about language and its ability to shape how we perceive the world and express ourselves? How does understanding connections between linguistic systems and structures help Cass and Max-Ernest uncover new insights? In your conclusion, connect the significance of language in the novel to world building, characterization, or another important textual element.