Firekeeper's Daughter

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 below bulleted outlines. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. In some ways, Daunis and Levi are almost twins (for example, their hockey experiences, their father), but in others (their tribal status, financial status, family heritage), they are very different.

• How does Levi act as a foil to Daunis? (topic sentence)
• Compare the two characters throughout the course of the novel. What does Levi reveal to Daunis about herself when she finally sees who he has become?
• In your conclusion, explain how Daunis begins to see Levi’s Whole Story for the first time, which changes the nature of their relationship.

2. At the start of the novel, Daunis tends to see the world in black-and-white terms.

• What in Daunis’s life has caused her to view the world in this either/or binary? (topic sentence)
• What is an example of Daunis’s change in thinking in her ability to accept that two seemingly disparate things can be true at once? Cite 2-3 moments in the text demonstrating this. 
• In your conclusion, discuss how Daunis’s relationship to Trusting One’s Sense of Self affects her worldview and how, at the end of the novel, that worldview shifts.

3. After the meth bust, Stormy refuses to speak English while imprisoned.

• What is the primary motivation that causes Stormy to refrain from speaking in any language other than that of the Ojibwe? (topic sentence)
• Why does Stormy choose silence, even though he knows it will keep him in jail indefinitely? Compare this to other ways in which language plays into the theme of Community throughout the novel.
• In your conclusion, decide if Stormy ends the novel as a hero, a villain, or some combination of the two; offer a brief rationale.

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. Why did Boulley choose to divide up the book by the four cardinal directions? How are the directions symbolic of Daunis’s journey? Discuss what the cardinal directions mean and represent, according to the Ojibwe tradition. Trace how Daunis learns to Trust One’s Sense of Self as she moves through her journey. Cite story details and quotations as evidence (at least one point of text evidence from each section) that show the development of Daunis’s character.

2. Daunis begins and ends the story with her name. How does her relationship with her name change throughout the novel? Consider to whom she decides to reveal her spirit name, and at what point in the story she makes that revelation. Discuss how Daunis’s spirit name relates to her Responsibility in the Community, and how that too changes over the course of the book.

3. Perform a close reading on Part 3, Chapter 52, when a group of elders come to Daunis’s aid. Why is it significant that the group of elders on the ferry saves Daunis? What does this say about the novel’s overall message concerning the past and present, as well as its message regarding Community and Seeing the “Whole” Story? What other events can be linked to the overall message regarding past and present? Provide textual evidence in your discussion and rationale.