The Underneath

How do Ranger and Gar Face operate as foils for one another?

The Alligator King is a lethal hunter who is responsible for the deaths of countless animals and humans. On the other hand, he warns Grandmother against acting vengefully and angrily. Overall, do you think the Alligator King is a character who elicits sympathy? Why or why not?

Night Song slips away while Grandmother is sleeping. Do you think this was the right thing to do, considering both her overwhelming love for Hawk Man and her Grandmother’s overwhelming love for her? How might Night Song have acted differently?

The story pits humans’ cruelty and ambition against the resilience of animals and the ancient wisdom of the forest. Which plot points denote a victory of nature over man? Cite examples from the text in your answer.

Do you think Gar Face is wholly a sinister antagonist, or do you feel somewhat sympathetic toward him? Justify your answer with textual evidence.

Puck blames himself for leaving the safety of the Underneath, whereas his mother blames herself for raising kittens, who are inherently curious, in such dangerous conditions. Of Puck and the mother cat, who do you think is more to blame for the events that transpire (the mother cat’s drowning and Puck’s separation from his family)? Why?

Do you think Grandmother deserved imprisonment in the jar for more than 1,000 years? Was it a fitting punishment? Justify your answer with textual evidence.

How does Appelt use poetic justice to reward and punish characters according to their deeds and misdeeds at the story’s close? Do you think each character’s end is appropriate? Justify your answer with textual evidence.