DISCUSSION GUIDE
FURTHER CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
- People are banished to Zone 7 for being ‘impure’, i.e. for being different to the norm
as defined by the leaders of the Motherland.
Write a short essay discussing whether something similar to the notion of ‘impurity’
still exists in our society today. - Standish says, “Gramps was the only person that still pulled at the gravity in me,”
(p. 23).
Why is this such an apt description of their relationship? Write a story about the
person who pulls at the gravity in you. - Why is propaganda so powerful? How are people tricked into believing things
they should recognise as lies? Can you think of examples in recent history where
propaganda was used to sway the opinion of the masses? Present one case to your
classmates. - Write an extra chapter detailing what happened after Standish exposed the moon
landing as a hoax. - Standish says, “A uniform was a way of making us all the same,” about their school
uniforms, and considers this uniformity a bad thing (p. 17).
Write a short essay discussing the pros and cons of wearing school uniforms today. - What real historical setting is the book based on? Compare the characters and
countries in the story with those from the actual event. Who is who in the story? How
do story and reality compare? - Standish says, “Of course we only saw this in black and white, it was the commentator
who was doing the colouring in by numbers” (p. 95).
What does he mean? Do you think our media still does the same thing? Find examples.