Explore Kingsley’s character by analyzing how specific paintings, such as Lost and Cliffside Gothic, demonstrate apparently conflicting sides of his character.

Consider how Gothic tropes were originally used in the fiction of the 18th and 19th centuries. How does We Fell Apart adapt these tropes for a modern audience? Do these adaptations change the purpose of these tropes in any way, or do they function similarly in both classic Gothic fiction and We Fell Apart?

June Sugawara’s philosophies at times seem to conflict with her actions. Analyze her character’s complex motivations and actions, arguing whether she is ultimately a victim of Kingsley’s dysfunction or a complicit agent in the family’s imprisonment.

The novel concludes with characters actively working to “disrupt the cycle of parental rejection” (279). Analyze the specific choices made by Matilda and Meer in the final chapters: Have they successfully disrupted this cycle?

Matilda consistently frames her search for identity through the language and logic of video games. Trace this motif throughout the narrative, explaining how it functions as both a coping mechanism and a tool for self-creation that culminates in her design for the game Chandelier.

The guide identifies a network of allusions to mythology and fairy tales. Analyze how the novel uses the Persephone myth and the story of “Cinderella” to connect the characters’ modern struggles with timeless narratives of confinement, cruelty, and escape.

Choose two characters who function as foils for one another. Compare and contrast these characters and explain how their status as foils contributes to the novel’s portrayal character, plot, and theme.

Choose one detail of the setting of Hidden Beach—the refrigerator, the beach, or one of the towers, for example—and explicate how it functions as a microcosm of something larger.