The Night Gardener

After reading The Night Gardener, how would you define stories and lies? Are the two completely different, or do they have some overlap? What is the point of telling stories and of telling lies? Support your answer with evidence from the text.

Choose three stories or lies that are told in The Night Gardener. How might the book have been different if that story (or lie) hadn’t been told? What would have changed about the characters involved in the telling of that story or lie? How would the plot and conflicts (internal and external) be affected?

Analyze the backdrop of Victorian England in relation to the events and conflicts of The Night Gardener. How does the setting influence the story? How would the novel have been different if it were set in modern times? Why do you think Auxier chose to set the story at this specific point in history?

In Chapter 55, Kip observes that he and the Night Gardener of legend aren’t so different. Compare and contrast Kip and the Night Man. What about Kip’s character keeps him from following in the Night Man’s footsteps where the tree is concerned? What characteristic of the Night Man’s may have led him to be absorbed by the tree? What do the two characters say about the book’s theme of The Link Between Desire and Dependency?

Based on what you learn about the tree and Night Man throughout the novel, add to the story and fill in the gaps of the Night Gardener legend that Hester tells in Chapter 31. Things to discuss include the origins of the tree and its powers, the night-blooming garden, and the Night Man’s powers. Are there other critical elements to the legend that the author leaves unexplained? If so, what are they, and why are they important?

Analyze Dr. Crouch’s character. Is his presence necessary for the advancement of the plot? Why or why not? If so, what does he bring that the story would lack without him? If not, why do you think Auxier chose to include him, and what might have been used in his place? Support your answer with evidence from the text.

Examine Kip’s character in the context of his disability. Is Kip’s journey dependent on his disability, or would he have experienced the same growth if he were not physically disabled? Does Auxier subvert the common trope of making a disabled character arc about “overcoming” their disability? Why or why not? If you were to rewrite The Night Gardener, would you keep Kip’s disability? Why or why not?

What messages about fear are present in The Night Gardener. Examine how the characters respond to people or ideas that frighten them. What do these different responses say about how fear affects us? What do you think is the best way to deal with fear, and how would you instruct the characters to deal with being afraid? Support your answer with evidence from the text.