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78 pages 2 hours read

Richard Peck

The River Between Us

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2003

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Essay Topics

1.

Do you think Delphine’s decision to pretend that her son is really Tilly’s son is necessary? Why or why not? Support your argument with evidence from the novel as well as your own historical research.

2.

How do the different characters prepare for the possibilities, and then the realities, of war?

3.

What do the years 1861 and 1916 have in common? How are they different? Why do you think the author set the story in these specific years?

4.

The Civil War began only 55 years before Howard tells this story. Research a major event that happened approximately 55 years ago. Does it feel distant or recent? Is your understanding of time similar to Howard’s at the beginning of the book? How are the experiences of the event you chose similar to those of someone in a similar circumstance today?

5.

How does race affect the lives of Delphine and Calinda? What are the risks to each character in navigating racism and the war/postwar eras?

6.

Point out at least four cultural differences between Grand Tower and New Orleans. How are the two places different in their treatment of the war and of race?

7.

How do Cass’s and Calinda’s prophecies impact the way other characters live? How do their prophecies affect their own lives?

8.

Why does Calinda wear a tignon, and what does this head covering represent to her and to Delphine? Why does Delphine say that Cass has not earned the tignon?

9.

Consider the role of the Mississippi River in the Civil War and today. How does it connect people, places, and ideas? How does it separate them?

10.

How does Howard change from the beginning of the book to the end? Why does he feel older at the end of the book? How does understanding his family history help him discover his own identity?

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