Woods Runner

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Samuel is often most comfortable in the woods.

• How do Samuel’s reflections in the woods develop his character? (topic sentence)
• Provide examples in discussing specific ways in which Samuel’s experience in the woods, his reflections in the woods, and his comfort being in the woods develop his character.
• In your concluding sentences, explain why the author chose the perspective of a character who lives on the frontier rather than one who lives in the city.

2. The novel is a coming-of-age story describing Samuel’s development over the course of his journey.

• What aspects of childhood are explored in the novel? (topic sentence)
• Provide examples to describe how childhood is addressed in the novel, how children on the frontier experience childhood, and how the loss of childhood innocence is depicted in the novel.
• In your concluding sentences, explain why the author chose to include the theme of childhood and the loss of innocence in Woods Runner.

3. Paulsen wants the reader to think about the conditions of life on the frontier.

• How do the people on the frontier lean on one another for survival? (topic sentence)
• Provide examples from the novel to explain how the people on the frontier depend on one another, what bonds they build around the premise of survival, and the values they develop in harsh conditions.
• In your concluding sentences, explain how Samuel embodies the values of the frontier people throughout his journey.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. What is the importance of family in the novel? For example, Samuel’s role as a family member changes throughout his journey: son, orphan, brother, grandson, head of the family, and finally, adult son. Based on novel details, how might frontier people have seen and experienced family differently than we do today? Use evidence and examples from the novel in your response to support your ideas.

2. Food is an important recurring symbol in Woods Runner. How does the settler’s view of food differ from how we view it today? Though a human can go much longer without food than they can without water, why does the novel seem to give more attention to the instances when Samuel feeds or is fed? What might it mean on a symbolic level to provide or be provided with food? What if you cannot provide food for yourself?

3. Woods Runner is a bildungsroman (a coming-of-age story). What does it mean to “come of age”? What kinds of emotional changes might occur? How does Paulsen characterize Samuel’s change from childhood to adulthood? What values or beleifs show change or developmental in Samuel as he grows? How is Samuel’s life different after his coming-of-age experience?