Echo Mountain

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 novel over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. The Force of Healing is a prominent theme and central plot point in the novel.

• How does physical healing lead to the emotional healing of Ellie’s family? (topic sentence)
• Identify details in the story that reveal why Ellie’s family needs healing, what Ellie does to promote healing, and how the healing eventually happens. Be sure to compare and contrast the emotional state of Ellie’s family in the exposition, rising action, and conclusion. You might also discuss one symbol that is used to represent healing.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain what the novel teaches about the nature of healing.

2. Ellie and her family Persist in the Face of Great Obstacles despite their conflicts and inexperience.

• How does moving to the mountainside both crack Ellie’s family apart and bring them together? (topic sentence)
• Discuss each character’s personality and how they feel about living on the mountain. Examine the ways that living on the mountain divides Ellie and her family but later brings them back together. Connect your responses to the novel’s theme of The Duality in All Things.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain how persistence leads to a positive outcome for Ellie and her family.

3. Echo Mountain takes place during the Great Depression in Maine.

• How does the setting of the story shape what happens in the plot? (topic sentence)
• Identify three events in the story that are specific to the Great Depression or to the Maine wilderness—events that would not happen in a different time or place. Discuss the reasons why the author may have wanted to write a novel about this significant period in American history and why reading a novel with this setting is valuable to readers.
• In your conclusion, summarize how the setting of the novel is interwoven with the plot.

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’s setting and its title relate to the mountain on which Ellie and her family build their new life. As Ellie persists despite the many challenges and setbacks she faces, she climbs the mountain both literally and figuratively. How does the story of Echo Mountain take the shape of the mountain it is based upon? How does the mountain represent Ellie’s persistence, as well as the many dualities she finds both within and outside herself?

2. Echo Mountain features several strong female characters, including a fearless female protagonist. How does Echo Mountain function as a feminist novel—one that promotes the equality and rights of women in all areas of life? What do the persistence and healing abilities of its characters say about women of the time period? What barriers does Ellie face because she is female, and how does she overcome them?

3. Ellie’s mother’s mandolin is the instrument that wakes Ellie’s father after he has been in a coma for several weeks. Mandolins are also a significant aspect of Larkin and Cate’s family history. What do mandolins symbolize in the novel? How does the mandolin in Ellie’s home serve to connect the dualistic worlds of Ellie’s and Larkin’s families and assist in their healing?