The Misfits

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. 

Scaffolded/Short-Answer 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. Throughout the novel, Bobby and his friends are the target of bullying. How does this affect them?

• Write a topic sentence that makes a claim about how bullying affects Bobby and his friends.
• Give at least three examples of different kinds of bullying that Bobby and his friends face.
• Use evidence from the story to show how this bullying affects their feelings about themselves and their beliefs about what they can accomplish.
• Write a concluding sentence or sentences tying your observations to the idea of the social and psychological harm caused by bullying.

2. How does the novel show that we should avoid judgments based on first impressions?

• Write a topic sentence that makes a claim about a person in the novel who judges someone else based on a first impression.
• Explain what happens during this first encounter and what ideas the person gets because of it.
• Give evidence from the story that shows why the person’s first impression turns out to be incorrect, and show why this is a problem.
• Write a concluding sentence or sentences that tie this situation to the novel’s message about avoiding judgments based on first impressions.

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. How does Addie’s relationship with DuShawn change as the story progresses, and how does this evolving relationship illustrate Addie’s growth and change? What does Addie want from DuShawn at the beginning of the story, and what are her motives? Does Addie understand her own motives? What is DuShawn’s reaction, and why? As the story goes on, how does their relationship become more about who they are as people instead of being about race? What evidence in the story shows this? How do her interactions with DuShawn help Addie understand more about the way she has treated him? By the end of the story, what evidence is there that Addie sees DuShawn as a complete person, not just a person who happens to be Black?

2. This is a story that really has two endings: one part of the story ends with the election that Bobby and his friends lose, and the other part of the story ends with the description of what happens to them as adults. Compare and contrast these two endings and explain how they support the novel’s concern with what really constitutes a happy ending. What is “happy” about the ending where they lose the election? Why is this not a “perfect” happy ending? How is this similar to and different from the kinds of happy endings that Bobby and his friends experience later in life, as adults? What overall message is the novel sending about the idea of happy endings?