93 pages • 3 hours read
William BellCrabbe
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 1986A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Essay Topics
Discuss the role of setting in the novel. How does setting shape the experiences of Crabbe and other important characters? How does Crabbe’s experience in Toronto differ from his experience in the wilderness? What accounts for those differences?
Crabbe is an example of a coming-of-age story, a narrative in which the reader has the opportunity to see a character go from being a child to being an adult. Discuss Crabbe’s transformation over the course of the novel. What is he like before he matures? What challenges does he have to overcome to become an adult, and how does he overcome them? What is he like after he matures?
How does the author portray nature in the novel? How do different characters react to and interact with nature? What point is Bell making about the relationship between humanity and nature?
An important theme in the novel is the difference between actions and words. How is this difference portrayed in the novel? Why is this difference significant to the major characters, especially Crabbe? Does his perception of that difference change over the course or the novel, and if so, why?
In terms of form, Crabbe is told through a series of journal entries, several digressions, and the hospital chart at the start of the novel. How does the use of the journal entries shape the reader’s perspective on the characters, especially Crabbe? What is the purpose of the hospital chart in terms of characterization and plot? How do the digressions differ from the journal entries? What is gained by having the novel in this form? What is lost?
A reliable narrator is one whose perspective the reader can generally trust, while an unreliable narrator is one whose perspective the reader cannot trust, sometimes because of the mental state of the character or because the character is deluded. Is Crabbe a reliable narrator or an unreliable narrator? Discuss the moments in the novel that support your answer to this question.
Several adults in the novel serve as mentors who help Crabbe make the journey from child to adult, while others are failed mentors who are impediments to his maturation. Identify the mentors in the novel and discuss what distinguishes the successful ones from the unsuccessful ones. What positive or negative lesson, or lessons, does Crabbe learn from each mentor?
Discuss the most important symbol in the novel. Identify the symbol and explain its function in the novel.
Any form of education inculcates not only specific content but also values that are reflected in what and how people choose to teach. Consider the education Crabbe receives in the traditional school setting and from Mary. What values does he learn from each? How do these forms of education shape who he is a person? How does the author view these forms of education, based on his portrayal of each?
One of the important hallmarks of adulthood is the ability to strike a balance between being autonomous from other people and being in relationship with other people. Too much emphasis on autonomy can mean isolation and missing out on important support that can come from being with others. Being too much in a relationship with others may lead to a loss of one’s identity. Discuss how Crabbe’s efforts to strike that balance change over the course of the novel. Does he ever achieve a balance that works for him?
