The Last: Endling #1

Byx feels that she is too small and incompetent at many skills that her siblings can perform more competently than she can. Why does she feel this way? In what ways does she fall short? How does this insecurity impact the way Byx views the world and her place in it? Does this view change as the novel progresses? If so, how?

Identify at least three roles that Tobble serves through the story. Use specific examples from the text to chart his character development.

How do Khara’s rescue of Byx and her continued attempts to help Byx compare to Byx’s relationship with Tobble?

Khara pretends to be a boy and also hides her true family name. What benefits are there to being a boy over being a girl in Nedarra? Analyze the various ways in which Applegate uses the character of Khara to challenge stereotypical gender roles.

Analyze the roles that truth and lies play in the fabric of the narrative and explain the complex politics that surrounds the dairnes’ ability to tell truth from lies. Be sure to discuss Araktik, Luca, and the Murdano in your response.

Review the scenes involving Luca and analyze the ways in which Applegate walks a fine line in raising suspicion about this character’s motives without giving the game away. Use at least three quotations from the text to illustrate how Applegate builds up the ambiguity surrounding this character.

Examine the complex politics surrounding Araktik’s position in the story. How is she viewed by the Murdano, by her minions, and by the crowds at large? How does she engage in half-truths and lies to pursue her own aims?

Why do Byx and Gambler save Renzo from the Knight of the Fire, and how does this rescue compare to Byx’s rescue of Tobble and Khara’s rescue of Byx?