• *How are the roles of men and women portrayed in the novel? What gender expectations do they follow or fight against? • *Who is the author and what is their story? Were there controversies associated with their work? • *How does it reflect the society and beliefs of its time? How has society’s views changed? • What themes of the novel are still relevant today? How? • How has reading changed in the past 10 years? How will it change in the next 10? • What is censorship and how does it manifest in modern literacy and society? • Why has there been a shift in attention to dystopian topics in literature and media? • What genre is the most popular now and why?
• How do demographics influence a story? Consider the difference in topics and writing styles of a Y/A book compared to a fiction novel.
• How does literature affect the media and the entertainment industry?
• What is the difference between a comic book and a graphic novel? How did graphic novels come to be known as literary? Should this extend to comic books?
• What topical differences are there between Western literature and literature from abroad? Pick a specific country and compare the characteristics.
• Does summer reading benefit students? Why or why not,
• Consider the books you read in high school. Should schools continue to teach ‘classic” novels? Why or why not?
• How does society benefit from high levels of literacy?
