Zia

How does the use of historical elements in the novel contribute to O’Dell’s exploration of Colonial Injustices Against Indigenous Peoples? In what ways does his perspective as a white male author impact the narrative lens?

How does O’Dell’s narrative counter or reproduce stereotypes of Indigenous people? Cite specific examples from the text to support your argument.

The Santa Barbara Mission is the novel’s main setting. Analyze how the characters of Zia, Mando, and Karana respond to this environment differently. How does O’Dell position the California Mission system as complicit in a larger infrastructure of colonial oppression?

Analyze Zia’s relationship with her brother. In what ways do their perspectives connect and diverge? What do their viewpoints reveal about Indigenous people’s experiences in a postcolonial reality?

How does Zia’s journey in the novel reflect The Struggle for Cultural Preservation and Survival? What parallels can be drawn between her experiences and contemporary issues of decolonization and land reclamation?

In what ways did the historical role of military violence against Indigenous tribes contribute to forced removals and cultural genocide? What does O’Dell’s portrayal of military presence and surveillance reveal about the strategies used by colonial power structures to oppress and disenfranchise Indigenous communities?

Throughout the novel, O’Dell traces a long history of Indigenous Resistance to Colonial Oppression and cultural erasure. What are the key events, collective or individual, that demonstrate Indigenous resilience in O’Dell’s novel?

Compare and contrast Karana’s character arc in Island of the Blue Dolphins to Zia’s arc in Zia. How does each character approach the concepts of freedom and identity?