The Sea of Trolls

Jack makes many allies along his journey. Select two supporting characters and compare and contrast their personalities and character arcs. How do they each play an important role in the novel by advancing the plot, developing a theme, or contributing to Jack’s growth?

Analyze Farmer’s use of the rune of protection to develop the novel’s themes of compassion and survival. Select one of these two central themes and use specific evidence from the text to trace the motif’s development over the course of the story.

In what ways is Thorgil’s identity shaped by her beliefs? How does Farmer use the motif of the afterlife to show how the deuteragonist’s perspective on life and death changes over the course of the story?

How does Farmer both employ and subvert literary conventions about heroes, and what do these authorial decisions reveal about the novel’s message of compassion as the true measure of heroism? Give particular attention to Jack’s character traits and the author’s use of the hero’s journey plot structure in your analysis.

Throughout the novel, Farmer provides detailed imagery about her protagonist’s surroundings. Citing specific examples from the text, discuss how this literary device contributes to the novel’s settings, mood, and character development.

One of the novel’s major themes is the relentless struggle for survival. How do elements like the story’s historical setting, Hrothgar’s hall, and the protagonist’s inner conflict contribute to Farmer’s examination of this theme?

Research one of the Norse myths alluded to in this story, such as Odin’s sacrifice at Mimir’s Well, the Fenris Wolf, or Thor’s journey to reclaim Mjolnir from Thyrm. Connect the myth to Farmer’s novel by discussing how it informs the characters’ worldview and actions.

The Sea of Trolls belongs to a tradition of children’s fantasy stories that fuse myth with history, including Rosemary Sutcliff’s The Wanderings of Odysseus (1995) and Lloyd Alexander’s The Iron Ring (1968). Compare and contrast how the authors utilize their mythopoeic source material and interweave elements of historical fiction and fantasy.