90 Miles to Havana

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the below bulleted outlines. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. This novel is written in a first-person perspective from Julian’s point of view.

• What changes are you able to see in Julian’s process of growing up because the story is in the first person? (topic sentence)
• Find and discuss 3 examples from the novel in which the first-person narrative reveals these ongoing changes.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, summarize the significance of the changes involved in Julian’s overall coming-of-age.

2. When Julian is in Cuba, he encounters many different perspectives on the changing political system brought by the Revolution. After his Displacement from Cuba, at Camp Kendal, he struggles along with his friends against bullying.

• What does his struggle with bullying at Camp Kendal add to his understanding of the obstacles to living democratically? (topic sentence)
• Find examples of other characters’ attitudes about Cuba’s political structure along with examples of the children’s attempts to overcome Caballo’s control over them from the text to support your topic sentence.
• Briefly conclude your essay by explaining the way or ways in which Displacement, Democracies, and Dictatorships shape Julian’s growing identity.

3. As Julian matures and moves from place to place, he learns that many of his expectations for life in the US are not the reality.

• What expectations does he bring with him about life in the US? Where do they come from? What happens to them when he is in the US? (topic sentence)
• Provide examples from the text.
• How does Julian’s understanding of the difference between Imagination versus Reality shape his growing identity?

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. The novel explores the issue of migration and escape from the point of view of Julian, a young boy who doesn’t understand why adults and governmental agents act as they do. Instead, he worries about his own need to gain respect despite his youth. Consider how this point of view fits with the theme of Coming-of-Age Amid Political Strife. How might the story be different if it revolved around an older protagonist?

2. The author incorporates several symbols and motifs throughout the novel, including the gold swallow pin, the drawing book, and the compass. Select one of these or another symbolic object in the novel and explore its meaning. What does this object represent? How is it significant in Julian’s life? What effect does it have on the overall story?