Sheep

Why does Tiffany decide to stay with the circus after the fire? What does her parting with Jack suggest about The Search for Identity and Purpose? Use specific examples from the text to support your interpretation.

Analyze the ways in which Hobbs’s use of the retrospective narrator influences the novel’s tone and structure. What narrative techniques foster emotional connections to the protagonist? How would the story change if the young Jack were to narrate each event in the present tense?

Jack’s story begins and ends on a sheep farm. What messages about life, hope, and purpose does Hobbs send by bringing Jack’s journey full circle? How do the changes in his perspective illustrate the process of growing up? Support your answer with specific examples from the text.

Analyze three names that Jack is given throughout the course of the book and analyze the symbolism and appropriateness of each name regarding that part of Jack’s life. Are the names representative of Jack’s experiences during that time? Why or why not?

Analyze Hobbs’s approach to the complex and volatile topic of animal cruelty. How does the author use Jack’s various experiences to deliver a sharp critique of common practices in human society? Pay particular attention to the similarities between such grim settings as the pound, the circus, and the orphanage.

Using the ideas discussed in The Motivational Power of Fear, compare and contrast the different types of fear that the characters of Sheep experience. How do these types of fear motivate the characters, and what key elements of fear make it a driving force toward either positive or negative outcomes? Explore the differences between the characters who let fear control them versus those who use fear as a tool. What lessons do the differences between these characters offer about coping with fear? Include specific examples from the text to support your analysis.

Sheep is an avenue for the author to impart wisdom and life lessons to the reader. What is the most important lesson featured in the novel, and what makes this lesson so critical for young readers? Explore the situations and characters that illustrate this lesson and analyze the various ways in which Hobbs delivers both implicit and explicit messages.

Analyze the meaning of Jack’s dream of the Goat Man in Chapter 15. What does this dream convey about Jack’s character? Of all the people that Jack meets during his journey, why does he end the story dreaming of the Goat Man? What significance does this character have to Jack, and why does the protagonist regard his perspective and thoughts so highly? Compare Jack’s earlier interactions with the Goat Man to the ideas conveyed in this final scene.