59 pages • 1 hour read
Katherine RundellImpossible Creatures
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2024A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Essay Topics
How does the author manipulate Mal’s and Christopher’s alternating perspectives to create a sense of suspense or alter the pace of the narrative? Be sure to discuss the day of their first meeting in your analysis.
What literary techniques and tricks of figurative language does Rundell use to make the magic of the Archipelago come alive?
Choose two characters who represent integrity, and contrast their actions with those of two characters who embody The Corrupting Influence of Power. What choices do these characters make, and what impact do these choices have on others?
How does the power of friendship work to save the world? Be sure to discuss the relationships of at least three separate characters in your response.
Rundell deliberately mixes the ordinary with the magical. How does she create a sense that magic exists even in the ordinary details of Christopher’s world? Conversely, how does the author convey Mal’s perception of her own magical world as ordinary?
Impossible Creatures belongs to a whole tradition of children’s fantasy literature by British writers. Choose a popular series such as The Chronicles of Narnia or the Harry Potter series and compare and contrast it with Rundell’s novel.
How does glimourie serve as a metaphor for the finite resources of the real world? Be sure to analyze the various ways in which this resource is both preserved and abused.
How does the conclusion of the novel leave certain aspects open to interpretation? Be sure to consider the significance of Mal’s final moments in your analysis.
How do the basic tenets of environmentalism shape the identities of the characters and the overall structure of the novel? What is the relationship between the natural world and humanity?
Although Impossible Creatures is a fantasy, it also touches on more realistic issues that humanity faces today. How does Rundell’s depiction of the Flying Senate reflect many of the common issues and inefficiencies of real-world governing bodies?
