The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Map Homer’s Growth”

In this activity, students will demonstrate their understanding of how the novel’s picaresque structure relates to Homer’s development by creating an illustrated map tracking what Homer learns in various locations.

The novel’s picaresque structure follows Homer as he travels from place to place searching for his brother. This journey creates opportunities for Homer to learn from multiple mentor figures and experience several different ways of life. In this way, Homer learns lessons that would be less likely if the book took place in a single location with a single cast of characters. In this activity, you will show that you understand how the different locations contribute to Homer’s growth and understanding of the world by creating an illustrated and annotated map of his travels.

Make a List of Locations and Lessons

Review the novel and make a list of the different locations that Homer travels through, starting with his uncle’s farm and ending with the Gettysburg battlefield.

• Jot down some notes about the characteristics of each location: What kind of people does Homer encounter there, and what are the location’s distinguishing features?
• Also make notes about the lessons that Harold learns from being in this location—because of his surroundings, the people he meets, or the events that take place in each location.

Create Your Map

Look at some examples of illustrated maps here and here. Then, create an illustrated map of the eastern United States that includes the following features:

• A clear line that traces Homer’s journey from Maine to Gettysburg.
• Labeled illustrations that show the meaningful characteristics of each place Homer stops along the way.
• Arrows that connect each illustration to a text box that describes the lessons Homer learns in this location.

Share and Compare

When everyone has finished, compare your map with two other maps. Then answer the following questions:

1. What content differences did you spot between the three maps?

2. What do you think accounts for these differences?

Teaching Suggestion: This activity can be completed individually, with a partner, or in small groups. Students can create their maps on paper or on an electronic device, using a tool like Canva, Slides, or Prezi. If students are working on paper, you may wish to offer printed versions of this map as a starting point. Students can use this as a reference for their own maps or create their maps directly on this printed version.

Differentiation Suggestion: If your students are creating paper maps, students with aphantasia may require reference images in order to illustrate their locations. Students who have difficulties with spatial organization or who have fine motor coordination issues or visual limitations may struggle with this activity; if you have students in this situation, you might consider assigning this activity to partners or small groups rather than to individual students.

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. In Chapter 11, Jebediah Brewster tells Homer that a person has only two options: do nothing or do something.

• How does this sentiment impact Homer’s choices going forward? (topic sentence)
• Explain at least three examples of Homer’s actions or thoughts that support your interpretation of how Brewster’s words impact Homer. Choose examples from different parts of the story.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, comment on how Jebediah’s words are related to the book’s thematic concern with Purpose and Duty.

2. The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg is filled with olfactory images. Choose one such image to use as the basis for your response.

• What makes this image particularly effective? (topic sentence)
• Explain at least three elements of the image that make it effective. You might discuss diction, figurative language, hyperbole, juxtaposition, irony, characterization, or any other element of the text that you think contributes to the success of this image.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, comment on how the image contributes to the text’s overall meaning.

3. This novel features many characters with amusing names. Choose one such character to use as the basis for your response.

• How does this person’s name function as an element of characterization? (topic sentence)
• Explain at least three examples that support your interpretation of this character. You might discuss the character’s words or actions or the ways in which others react to the character.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, comment on how this character relates to one or more of the book’s thematic concerns: The Search for Safety and Freedom, Truth and Lies, and Purpose and Duty.

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. An important part of the story’s characterization of Homer is that he is a gifted liar. Does he think that lying is right or wrong? What do other characters think? Do Homer’s lies hurt anyone? Do they ever help people? What other characters tell lies in this story? Do their lies hurt or help anyone? Are there situations where characters might be tempted to lie but decide to tell the truth instead? Why do they make this decision, and how do these situations turn out? Write an essay analyzing the book’s overall position on whether lying is harmful or not. Support your arguments with evidence drawn from throughout the story, making sure to cite any quoted text.

2. The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg alludes to Mark Twain’s famous novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in several ways. How is Homer’s name a reference to Twain’s novel? How does the book’s title refer to Huckleberry Finn? Which plot events and characters seem to be indirect references to plot events and characters in Twain’s novel? What might Philbrick’s purpose be in making these references? How might reminding the reader of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn help support Philbrick’s themes related to The Search for Safety and Freedom, Truth and Lies, and Purpose and Duty? Write an analysis of the relationship between The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Support your analysis with evidence drawn from both novels, making sure to cite any quoted text and all information from either Huckleberry Finn itself or from any references you use to understand this novel.

3. The relationship between Homer and his brother undergoes important changes over the course of the novel. How would you describe this relationship at the beginning of the story? Why is Homer so determined to find Harold? When the two are finally reunited, what does Harold say about their relationship? How does Homer react, and why does he react that way? By the end of the story, how would you describe what stays the same and what changes in their relationship? Write an essay analyzing the changes in the brothers’ relationship. Comment on how their relationship helps support the novel’s thematic interest in Purpose and Duty. Support your arguments with evidence drawn from throughout the story, making sure to cite any quoted language.

Multiple Choice and Long Answer Questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, exams, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. Which adjective is least accurate in describing Homer?

A) Truthful

B) Adventurous

C) Clever

D) Kind

2. Who is the first character that functions as a father figure and mentor to Homer?

A) Squinton Leach

B) Jebediah Brewster

C) Webster B. Willow

D) Samuel Reed

3. During the medicine show, what does Professor Fleabottom’s sarcastic speech about the Union Army foreshadow?

A) Homer’s eventual reunion with Willow

B) The Union victory at Gettysburg

C) Homer’s capture by Jeb Stuart’s men

D) The revelation that he is a Confederate sympathizer

4. Whose moral beliefs are most different from Jebediah Brewster’s?

A) Homer P. Figg’s

B) Ebenezer Smelt’s

C) Mrs. Bean’s

D) Webster B. Willow’s

5. What do Minerva and Mrs. Bean have in common?

A) They are in love with Professor Fleabottom.

B) They are gathering information on troop movements.

C) They serve as mother figures to Homer.

D) They offer nursing care to wounded soldiers.

6. What do Webster Willow and the soldiers at the medicine show have in common?

A) Their hopes and fears make them easy to fool.

B) They only serve in the army because of the draft.

C) Their suspicion of Homer makes them unhelpful in finding Harold.

D) They are primarily motivated by greed and selfishness.

7. Which adjective is least accurate in describing Harold?

A) Obedient

B) Brave

C) Protective

D) Responsible

8. Which animals are a recurring motif (pattern) in this novel?

A) Chickens

B) Sheep

C) Cows

D) Pigs

9. Which idea is a recurring motif (pattern) in this novel?

A) Artistic creativity

B) Imprisonment

C) Sophistication

D) Lucky coincidences

10. Which action is a recurring motif (pattern) in this novel?

A) Gambling

B) Sailing

C) Spying

D) Planting

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. What is similar about Samuel Reed’s mission and Homer’s mission?

2. How does the character of Professor Fleabottom illustrate that most people are a mixture of good and bad qualities?