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. Rushdie’s book contains several allusions to the Kathasaritsagara and Arabian Nights.

• What is the purpose of these allusions? (topic sentence)
• Explain at least three features of Haroun and the Sea of Stories that function as allusions to one or the other of these texts. Show how each allusion supports your interpretation of Rushdie’s purpose for making the allusions.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, show how your interpretation of Rushdie’s purpose connects this aspect of the text to the text’s larger concern with either The Importance of Stories or Linguistic Playfulness and the Slippery Nature of Language.

2. A common feature of magical realist texts is political satire.

• What aspect of politics does Rushdie satirize in this novel? (topic sentence)
• Give three pieces of evidence from different places in the novel that demonstrate Rushdie’s political satire.