The Trumpet of the Swan

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. Sam and Louis’s relationship with teachers and mentors is explored periodically throughout the novel.

• To what extent do teachers and mentors impact the main characters in the novel? (topic sentence)
• Identify at least three teachers or mentors in the story. How do Sam or Louis change because of their instruction? Discuss the importance of these changes to Sam and Louis to the overall story.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, summarize the connection between teachers or mentors and the theme of The Journey to Adulthood.

2. Sam and Louis share a special bond from the first time they meet to the novel’s conclusion.

• What quality or value might the relationship between Sam and Louis represent? (topic sentence)
• In support of your topic sentence, describe three aspects of Sam and Louis’s relationship that influence both of their lives. Refer to specific scenes or events in the story in analyzing the importance of these aspects.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, summarize the lesson that the author is likely trying to convey through Sam and Louis’s relationship.

3. After Louis attends school, he can communicate in both the swan and human world.

• Why is it important in this story that Louis learns to communicate with both swans and humans? (topic sentence)
• Identify and analyze two instances when Louis benefits from human communication and two instances when he benefits from swan communication.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain why Louis chooses to abandon his communication with humans when Sam is grown.

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. Consider the difference in perspective between adults and children in the novel. Describe three instances in which adults and children demonstrate different perspectives on nature and the world around them. Analyze the differences between the viewpoints and the possible reasons for these differences. Evaluate the impact of the different viewpoints on the story. Use specific quotes to support your analysis.

2. Louis’s father and mother demonstrate specific characterization details at the beginning and end of the story. What traits and qualities does Louis share with his father or mother? In what ways is he quite different from either of his parents? Cite examples from the novel to corroborate your answer.

3. Initially Louis is unable to communicate his thoughts and emotions because of his disability. In what scenes and conflicts does Louis demonstrate perseverance regarding his quest to communicate? How does perseverance as a skill benefit other characters in the novel, and in what ways is perseverance demonstrated? Include specific examples from the novel to support your answer.