In My Dreams I Hold A Knife

Each member of the East House Seven carries a secret related to the night Heather died. Though Mint is responsible for stabbing her, each betrays Heather in their way. Using examples from the text, write an argumentative essay discussing their roles in her death. In what ways does the network of responsibility spread from Mint to the other five?

Jessica’s father puts unrealistic pressure on her college and career aspirations. Frankie’s father lives vicariously through his son’s football career. Jack’s parents suffocate him with stringent religious beliefs. Mint’s mother flaunts her affair, humiliating her husband and son. Heather’s parents idolize and spoil her. What roles do parental pressure and parental failure play in the narrative? How do they shape the themes of the novel?

Jack and Frankie struggle with coming out as gay college students. How do their attempts to reconcile their identities and relationships differ? What does this difference reveal about their characters and the broader themes of the novel?

Jessica sees herself in competition with everyone around her, especially women. How does this aspect of her personality compare with Caro's “girl code”? Does Jessica show solidarity with other girls or women? How do her feelings connected to gender shape her character?

The East House Seven is described as an idyllic friendship group at the beginning of the novel, but as the story progresses and secrets are revealed, the dysfunction in the friendships becomes more pronounced. Research healthy college friendships. Which aspects of the friendships in the book might be considered healthy or unhealthy?

Jessica goes to therapy to bring back memories of the night Heather died, but even when hypnotized, she remembers nothing. Discuss the memory fragments that gradually return over the course of the novel and their relationship to Jessica’s shame and her forgiveness of herself.

The novel follows two timelines, a “now” timeline of the 10th college reunion and a “then” timeline of Jessica’s high school and college years. How do the novel’s parallel narratives manipulate the reader’s experience of the text, providing suspense?

Jessica slowly comes to terms with imperfection, or the dark and light tapestry within human nature. How does embracing her imperfections and guilt allow her to move on from the trauma of Heather’s death, and what does it mean that she keeps that last bit of shame hidden from everyone, including Coop?