The Wall

Analyze how Bella, Lynx, and the cat each interact differently with the protagonist. What is the role of each animal in the text? How are they different or similar to one another?

Consider Haushofer’s use of similes and metaphors that draw upon the natural world. How does this figurative language function in the text? How does it illuminate characterization, mood, and/or some of the novel’s key ideas?

Examine how the protagonist’s experience of, and attitude toward, nature changes over the narrative. How has her relationship with nature changed by the end of the novel, and what remains the same? What do her experiences suggest about the ties between humans and the natural world?

Like many novels before it, The Wall focuses on the power of connecting with nature to achieve personal growth. While many of these novels feature male protagonists, like Walden (1854), The Wall features a woman instead. What difference does this make to the meaning of the novel, and why might its message be different from novels like Walden?

Analyze how the protagonist’s reflections of her past life reveal key aspects of her experiences and characterization. How does she characterize herself? How does her former life contrast with her present life?

How does the protagonist describe former human society? How does she reveal the strengths and weaknesses of human civilization in her account?

The Wall is presented as the unnamed narrator’s first-person account. How does this choice and style of narration shape the text? What does the narrator’s attempt at keeping an account of her experiences symbolize?

Analyze the role of violence in the text. How does the novel explore different forms of violence and their significance?