The Cruel Prince

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

In fiction, what are the benefits associated with a first-person point of view? How might a first-person point of view be impacted by the protagonist’s perspective?

Teaching Suggestion: Jude, the novel’s protagonist, provides the point of view from which readers understand Faerie culture and learn about the people she encounters. Jude’s perspective often proves false as her interpretation of the world is colored by her own complex relationships in the Faerie realm as well as her own feelings of inferiority. These or similar resources may be helpful in discussing the value and drawbacks of perspective when observing a world from a limited viewpoint. It may be beneficial for students to create a response chart for reference as they read the novel. Consider using the chart as a reflection after each chapter section to analyze Jude’s viewpoint by listing the ways in which it is useful to the reader and the ways in which it may limit the reader’s understanding.

• This 6-minute video explores the three points of view, explaining how to distinguish between them.