Morning Girl

How does Morning Girl depict storytelling across generations? What role do stories play in the characters’ culture, history, and sense of identity?

Analyze the role of cultural rituals or belief systems that Morning Girl, Star Boy, and their family experience. How do these ceremonies or practices function, and how do they contribute to The Significance of Cultural and Familial Bonds?

How does the natural world serve as a character in the novel? How does it contribute to the broader cultural identity of the Taíno people? Use specific evidence from the text in your answer.

How does the novel portray the role of legacy and the afterlife? How do Morning Girl and Star Boy experience their ancestors’ influence on their lives? Consider their grandfather or She Listens as examples to prompt your conversation.

Examine the relationship between individuality and community in the narrative. How do Morning Girl and Star Boy navigate their desires in relation to their responsibilities to their family and community members? Discuss specific situations where their choices impact their relationships with those around them. How do these dynamics illustrate The Search for Identity and coming-of-age experiences for the characters?

What is the role of curiosity in Morning Girl? Analyze specific plot points where Morning Girl and Star Boy demonstrate an inquisitive nature. How do their actions contribute to their character or plot development?

Analyze the author’s decision to put Christopher Columbus’s landing on the island in the epilogue. What is the impact of this happening at the end of the novel? How might it change the narrative if this plot point instead occurred in a prologue? Consider the centrality of the Taíno experience in the novel in your response.

How do solitude and reflection show up in the novel? Consider the refuge and solace Morning Girl and Star Boy experience in the morning and night, respectively. What does this time alone afford both characters?