Highly Illogical Behavior

Analyze Lisa’s relationship with her mother. Is it fair that Lisa is desperate to not repeat the life her mother leads? What is it about Lisa’s mother that makes Lisa believe she wants to be more important, and far away?

Analyze the relationship between Clark and Lisa. Are they truly in love? Is their relationship a healthy one? Consider their relationship throughout the book, not just at one particular moment.

Was Lisa wrong for trying to use Solomon as the subject of a psychological experiment? What are the potential counter-arguments to your own response?

Make a prediction. Do you think Solomon will continue venturing out from his home on excursions? Or will he stick to his house and his backyard? Why?

Put yourself in Solomon’s shoes. If you had the choice of staying home all of the time and never leaving the house, would you take that life? What would you miss from your daily life? What would be the benefit, if any, of being a recluse?

Analyze the motif of water throughout the novel. In what ways does Whaley use this motif to develop his characters and his plot?

Consider what it means to have and be a friend. Analyze and compare Lisa’s friendships with Janis, Clark, and Solomon.

How far would you go to achieve your dreams? Would you use other people to get ahead?