38 pages • 1 hour read
Darcie Little BadgerA Snake Falls to Earth
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2021A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Essay Topics
Little Badger uses different naming schemes for the chapter titles that follow Oli and the ones that follow Nina. Why is that? Compare and contrast how the chapters’ titles shape your experience of the stories of the two protagonists.
A Snake Falls to Earth consists of vignettes, or short episodes, following Nina and Oli and jumping forward and backward through time. Why do you think Little Badger chose this structure? What would be different if she had only used Nina or Oli as the sole protagonist?
The end of the novel leaves several loose threads—namely, the Nightmare’s continued existence and the adventures ahead for Oli and his family. What would you like to see addressed in a potential sequel and why?
Only two originators are present in the novel: the bighorn sheep and the Nightmare. Why do you think Little Badger decided to portray the only human originator in the novel as a violent ruler? What does a comparison to the legacy of colonialism bring to the story?
In Chapter 27, an extensive passage details Oli and his friends watching a video by Thou Own Dave. Why do you think Little Badger decided to write a detailed look at a fictional content creator’s work? Compare this scene to Mockingbird’s impersonation of Thou Own Dave. How do the two scenes differ?
The exact nature of the path to anywhere-you-please is left vague. Do you think the path is a literal, magical path, or is it a metaphor? Cite examples of how characters talk and think about the path. What does its existence add to the novel?
Why is the magical world Oli and his friends inhabit called the Reflecting World? What, exactly, does it reflect about Earth?
There are many animal people that care about Ami and want to rescue him. Why is Oli the protagonist? What would change if Risk, Reign, or Brightest were the protagonist of the novel? What unique perspective does Oli offer to readers?
Nina faces a language barrier with Rosita, and it takes Nina years to translate Rosita’s final story. What importance do stories hold in A Snake Falls to Earth, and why is this barrier to the transmission of stories significant? Reflect on how events would be different if there were no language barrier between the two, or if Indigenous languages existed in digital dictionaries.
Compare and contrast the roles played by the catfish cultists and the Nightmare Knights. How do they play similar and differing roles in Earth and the Reflecting World? How might these roles compare to the real history of colonialism that Nina’s family has dealt with?
