Isaac's Storm

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 bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. The US Weather Bureau and Isaac make significant errors in judgment in the days leading up to the storm.

• What errors in judgment do the US Weather Bureau and Isaac make? (topic sentence)
• Describe one error in judgment the US Weather Bureau makes and one Isaac makes. Support your responses with evidence from the text.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain how these errors in judgment lead to the catastrophic loss of life and property in Galveston.

2. The media, specifically newspapers, plays an important role in the lead-up to and aftermath of the storm.

• In what ways do the newspapers impact people’s lives before and after the storm? (topic sentence)
• Describe one way in which the newspapers impact people’s lives before the storm and one way after the storm. Support your responses with evidence from the text.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain how the newspapers’ decisions about what to print regarding the storm both before and after the event result in life-altering consequences for the people of Galveston.

3. Larson suggests that racism plays a role in the narrative of the Galveston hurricane.

• In what ways does racism impact the narrative of the Galveston hurricane? (topic sentence)
• Describe at least two situations in which racism appears. Support your responses with evidence from the text.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, speculate about how the narrative might be different had racism not played a role.

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. Hurricanes and other forms of severe weather are natural phenomena, but humanity’s response to them is often closely tied to politics. Why do we look to politicians as a source of blame for or salvation from severe weather events? Where do you see people reacting in one of these two extremes in Isaac’s Storm? How do these examples illustrate the theme of The Effect of Politics on Severe Weather? As you compose your essay, incorporate at least three quoted phrases from the text and an outside source that strengthen your points. Cite your quotations in the format suggested by your instructor.

2. Authors often use symbols to imbue a new or greater significance upon an everyday object. In Isaac’s Storm, Larson endows symbolic meaning on barometers, Ritter’s Café, and the rocking horse. Select one of these symbols and consider the following questions: Why might Larson have selected this object to infuse with symbolic significance? What does the object symbolize? How often does this symbol appear and to what effect? How does this symbol connect back to the theme of American Hubris at the Turn of the Century, The Effect of Politics on Severe Weather, or Interrogating the Great Man Theory of History? As you compose your essay, incorporate three quoted phrases from the text that strengthen your points. Cite your quotations in the format suggested by your instructor.