Tracker

Examine John’s progression through the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance? Are there other words you might use to describe John’s grieving process? What and why? How does the novel’s ending contribute to ideas about grief as a process?

How does Paulsen characterize the relationship between nature and humanity in Tracker? Does Paulsen’s depiction of wilderness reflect your own understanding? How so?

How does Tracker handle the debates about hunting? Does the novel offer any arguments for or against the practice, or are its insights more complicated? Where in the novel do you see these debates arise?

Consider the way John’s perspective of the doe changes throughout the novel; specifically consider how the doe shifts away from being only a source of food to something more anthropomorphized. Do you think this change depicts a real psychological complexity to animals, or is the change more so a literary device to symbolize John’s evolution? If a literary device, why use an animal for this symbolism?

The novel purposely leaves open whether John’s experiences with the doe were real or imagined. What do you think happened? Offer support for your answer with examples from the text.

What do you think John dreams about at the end of the book? How might the content of his dream affect the overall meaning of the story?

Why do you think Paulsen chose to include John’s grandmother in the book, even though she has little influence on the plot or conflict? What does her presence bring to the story, and what might the story lose without her?

Compare and contrast the different types of death discussed in the novel (slow, sudden, animal, human, etc.) Does one type of death seem better or worse than another? If so, which and how? What makes the difference?