Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. The guide calls the novel a “harrowing journey.” Did you find the book more hopeful or tragic, and which moments most defined that feeling for you?

2. As the first book in a trilogy that includes Peder Victorious and Their Fathers’ God, how well do you think Giants in the Earth works as a standalone novel?

3. What role does the vast, unforgiving prairie play in the story, seeming at times to be the primary antagonist?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Per Hansa is driven by a “divine restlessness” to build his kingdom. What do you think the story says about the line between healthy ambition and a dangerous obsession?

2. Per Hansa and Beret have fundamentally different reactions to the same landscape, seeing either a kingdom of opportunity or a godless void. What does their conflict reveal about how our inner worlds shape our external realities?

3. Beret clings desperately to the big immigrant chest as a tangible link to her past. What objects or traditions in your own life serve as an anchor to your heritage or sense of home?

4. The children, Ole and Store-Hans, adapt to their new life with an adventurous spirit that contrasts sharply with their mother’s despair. Why do you think different generations often experience major life changes so differently?

5. In what ways do the settlers attempt to build and maintain a sense of community in such an isolated environment?

6. When faced with overwhelming hardship, where do different characters seem to find their strength?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. The Homestead Act of 1862 promised free land but demanded an immense human price. What commentary do you think the novel offers on the American dream and the concept of manifest destiny?

2. In what ways does Beret’s story contribute to a larger conversation about mental health, isolation, and the pressures of migration?

3. What do you make of the fact that the greatest threat to the settlers comes from fellow immigrants, not the Native Americans they initially fear?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. The prairie itself is described as a “monsterlike” force that scorns humanity. How does Rølvaag use the physical landscape, from the vast emptiness to the brutal blizzards, to mirror the characters’ internal psychological states?

2. What does the stark contrast between Beret and the competent, resilient Sörine reveal about the different qualities required for survival on the prairie?

3. In what ways does the symbolic meaning of the big immigrant chest shift for Beret throughout the story?

4. How does the name “Peder Victorious” encapsulate the central conflict between Per Hansa’s worldly ambition and Beret’s spiritual dread?

5. Let’s discuss the ending. What message do you take from the final, haunting image of Per Hansa, frozen but with his eyes still fixed toward the west?

6. How does Rølvaag’s depiction of the prairie and the immigrant struggle compare to other classic frontier narratives you might have read, such as Willa Cather’s My Ántonia?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. Imagine you’re designing a homestead for the family that addresses both Per Hansa’s practical needs for the farm and Beret’s psychological need for security and connection to home. What elements would you be sure to include?

2. If you could write a journal entry from the perspective of one of the children, like Store-Hans, what would it reveal about their experience of the prairie?

3. If you were a new settler arriving at Spring Creek, whose advice would you be more likely to follow: Per Hansa’s ambitious, risk-taking approach or Hans Olsa’s cautious and steady methods?