Dune

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. The Fremen view Paul as a messianic figure, a role that he initially rejects but eventually embraces. Have you ever been asked to assume a role that you struggled to see yourself in? What was the outcome?

2. Throughout the novel, Paul receives prophetic visions, but these glimpses are always uncertain and often terrifying. If you were able to see the future, would you want to? Why or why not? 

3. Paul and his family move from the lush world of Caladan to the desert planet of Arrakis. Have you ever had to adjust to a new environment? What helped you make the change?

4. One of the Fremen’s main goals is to protect their planet’s ecosystem from those who would exploit it. Is there a place or an aspect of nature that helps you feel connected to the environment? What positive benefits do you see in cultivating a personal connection to nature?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. The Fremen are oppressed by those wishing to control access to the spice. How does this science fiction text reflect real-world issues like colonization and exploitation of natural resources?

2. The Harkonnens plot to damage Arrakis’s environment to make it easier to harvest the spice while Paul and the Fremen seek to transform the arid Arrakis into a water-filled world that is more hospitable to life. How might this story resonate with contemporary readers who seek environmental justice? What potential tactics or solutions can be gleaned from it?

3. Throughout the Dune series, Herbert employs many terms drawn from Islamic cultures’ languages, histories, and beliefs. For example, the author describes Paul’s war as a jihad. How does reading Dune offer a nuanced understanding of Islamic beliefs that challenges the oversimplification and anti-Islamic bias often seen in Western media?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. The gom jabbar used by the Bene Gesserit represents self-control. How does this symbol bring the novel full-circle and illuminate the differences between Paul and his sworn foe, Baron Harkonnen?

2. How does the setting of Arrakis develop Herbert’s exploration of ecology? How are the characters’ beliefs and actions shaped by the world of Arrakis, and what do the Fremen’s and Harkonnens’ diverging plans to alter the planet’s ecosystem reveal about these characters?

3. How does Herbert use spice to symbolize power? What is the thematic resonance of melange’s addictive properties and the violent visions that the spice shows Paul?

4. How does Herbert’s treatment of the theme of the power of prophecy subvert the Chosen One trope? In what ways is Paul’s ascent to power the result of secret conspiracies and personal decisions rather than supernatural forces? What point is the author making about the ways leaders utilize their followers’ beliefs?

5. Like Frank Herbert’s Dune series, N. K. Jemisin’s Hugo Award-winning Broken Earth trilogy (The Fifth Season, The Obelisk Gate, and The Stone Sky) is set on a planet with an extreme environment. Compare and contrast how the authors’ usage of setting shapes their stories’ structure, characterization, and themes.

6. One of the novel’s main themes is religious violence. How do the Bene Gesserit lay the foundation for religious violence among the Fremen, and how does Paul use this as a weapon in his fight against the Harkonnens? What does this book have to say about war and the role of religion in conflict?