P. Cady hires Fox after he flatters her and spins a story about loving art and animals as she does. Later, she feels shocked—and guilty—about what Fox did at her school. How does her role in the novel raise questions about the responsibility of leaders to protect their communities?

Zwender is a ruthless interrogator with Martin Pfenning, who is innocent, and yet he takes pity on Demetrius Healy, who is responsible for covering up a murder. What conflicting definitions of justice come into play in his decision to drop the case against Demetrius?

A custodian is one who guards, protects, or maintains. How does Demetrius fulfill the role of a custodian throughout the course of the novel? Are there custodial figures?

Consider the novel’s many allusions to Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita and to fairy tales like “The Wedding of Mr. Fox” and “Bluebeard.” How does Oates place her novel within a tradition of stories about adolescent or pre-adolescent girls threatened by predatory men? How does the novel understand the cultural significance of that tradition?

Several adult characters—Kathryn, P. Cady, Imogene, and Melissa—deny the possibility that Fox could be a pedophile, arguing that he is not “like that” despite police evidence and their daughters/students’ own behavior (513). What does this denial suggest about how people understand horrific behavior?

The opening chapters describe the Wieland Wetlands Nature Preserve in great detail, from both human and animal perspectives. How does this environment, and the characters’ responses to it, help shape the mood of the novel? What is its symbolic significance?

Each time Fox is caught and released, he says that he will never again seduce preteen girls. Are these promises simply another self-serving delusion? What institutional failures conspire to ensure that the promise does not hold?

What techniques does Fox use to manipulate the children he targets for abuse? How are these similar to the techniques he uses to disarm the adults who should protect them? What do these tactics suggest about the nature of psychological manipulation?