Night Watch: A Novel

ConaLee’s siblings, the chap and the twins, are only present in retrospect for the first part of the novel, and only the chap returns at the end of the novel. Why are these characters important to ConaLee’s story and the novel’s exploration of family?

The asylum is part of a new system of mental healthcare driven by men like Benjamin Rush and Thomas Story Kirkbride (See: Background). How do the quotes from Dr. Kirkbride influence Phillips’s storytelling? How does the novel explore the nature of mental health and its handling (or mishandling) by society?

Analyze Papa’s role in the novel. How is he characterized? What is his wider significance in terms of the narrative and/or the novel’s key themes?

Ephraim has three “names” in the text: the Sharpshooter, John O’Shea, and Ephraim Connolly. How are each of these names used in the text, and what purpose does each one serve for Ephraim during the different points of his life? How do these names reflect wider explorations of identity in the novel?

Hexum and Dearbhla both have magical abilities, but some of their abilities are not supernatural when they are investigated further. What is the role of these magical abilities, and how do they relate to the more realistic skills these women possess?

Weed, like Eliza, does not speak often in the novel. What is the significance of silence and speech in the text?

Examine the gender dynamics in the novel. How are gender dynamics depicted? In what ways do various characters conform to, or diverge from, the expected gender roles of the time?

When Papa intrudes on Dr. Story’s office, O’Shea calls him a man “birthed in the War” (254). How could Papa and O’Shea be read as representatives of the two sides of the Civil War?