Gregor the Overlander

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. At the end of the novel, Henry betrays Regalia and his family out of a mistaken belief that power should rest in the hands of the strong. Meanwhile, Gregor sacrifices himself (or so he thinks) to save Boots, his father, and the rest of the questers.

• In what ways do Henry and Gregor foil each other in the novel? (topic sentence)
• How do Henry’s and Gregor’s perspectives and reactions to events in the novel differ? Find and discuss examples from throughout the story.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, connect your analysis to how the author uses the character foil of Henry and Gregor to communicate a theme or themes in the novel.

2. In the Underland, humans live side-by-side with other species that would typically be considered repulsive to Overlanders, including cockroaches, spiders, and rats.