Forbidden City

Use these essay questions as writing and critical-thinking exercises for all levels of writers and to build 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. Alex makes distinctions between his school in Canada and the school he attends in China.

• What differences does Alex identify between his school in Canada and his school in China? (topic sentence)
• Describe the differences Alex notices between the interactions with his teachers, the hours the students work, and how Alex feels about these changes.
• In your concluding sentences, explain how Alex’s personal experiences at school play into the greater plot of the novel.

2. Alex has a complicated relationship with his father particularly because of the work his father does.

• How does Alex’s relationship with his father, Ted, evolve and change? (topic sentence)
• Explain why the relationship between Alex and Ted is strained, what Alex perceives is most important to his father, and how their relationship evolves throughout the novel.
• In your concluding sentences, explain whether you believe Alex’s negative feelings toward his father are justified or not.

3. Alex is interested in military history and finally begins to understand aspects of military history he was unable to learn from historical texts.

• What does Alex come to learn about war while in China that he was unable to learn by studying military history? (topic sentence)
• Describe what Alex learns about military history from China and explain why he was not privy to that information prior to his visit.
• In your concluding sentences, explain how Alex’s experiences with the military in China are related to the novel’s theme of Journalistic Integrity as a Means of Democracy.

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. What does Alex learn about social engagement and activism via the students he encounters? What comparisons does Alex make to his own activism in Canada? Why does Alex find the students’ struggles inspiring? How do you think Alex will use his experience in China in the future?

2. What roles do personal and political loyalty play in the novel? What are Ted and Eddie loyal to personally and politically? How are Lao Xu’s loyalties different from Ted’s, Eddie’s, and Alex’s? What are the personal and political loyalties of the protesters? In what ways does the military in China exhibit loyalties?

3. Alex tells his story through diary entries. How is the format of the novel significant in the portrayal of these historical events? How do the entries influence the reader’s concept of the passage of time? How would the story be different written in another format?