The Memory of Things

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“One Year Later”

In this activity, students write a creative piece showing a meeting between Kyle and Hannah one year later.

Write an epilogue to this novel, in which Kyle and Hannah reunite one year later. As you prepare to compose your scene, consider these questions:

• How would their reconnection happen?
• Where would they meet and what would they say?
• Why were they not able to meet sooner?
• Does this meeting bring closure to their relationship? If so, how? If not, how might each character view the future?

After drafting your piece, participate in a peer critique circle. As time allows, share your scene, an excerpt of it, or a summary with the class. In your notes or a reading journal, comment on the different ways in which your classmates approached the themes of The Many Forms of Courage, The Ephemerality of Life, and The Function and Complexity of Memory.

Teaching Suggestion: In their scenes, students should build from characterization, setting, and plot points established in the novel while also adding creative nuances that reveal character growth. Students may want to brainstorm a list of traits and characteristics for Kyle and Hannah and define each one’s goals in meeting together before beginning to write. Depending on students’ backgrounds with fiction writing, it may be helpful to briefly review story elements and coach students to determine basic style choices (point of view, setting, tense, etc.) before writing.

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. Life for New Yorkers and many others changed in an instant on 9/11.

• What overall message or lesson does the novel convey regarding The Ephemerality Of Life? (topic sentence)
• What additional plot and character examples build this theme in the novel? Analyze and discuss 3 examples apart from the 9/11 attacks that develop the message or lesson expressed in your topic sentence.
• In your concluding sentences, evaluate the effectiveness of this novel’s events as a vehicle for this message or lesson. Generally, is it clearly expressed? To what extent will it connect with those who did not experience 9/11 as directly as people like Kyle?

2. One of the main points of concern for Kyle throughout the novel is Hannah’s loss of memory.

• What character trait is demonstrated most clearly by Hannah in spite of her lost memories and identity? (topic sentence)
• Analyze and discuss at least 3 events or circumstances in the novel that reveal how this trait is demonstrated before and after Hannah regains her memory and identity.
• In your concluding sentences, comment on the effectiveness of Hannah’s character’s arc in building the theme of The Function and Complexity of Memory.

Full Essay Assignments

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

1. Kyle does not know much factual information about the terrorists or their political rationales on 9/11 or in the ensuing days. For Kyle, who or what is the strongest antagonistic force in the novel? How does this opposing force affect Kyle’s role as the novel’s protagonist? In a 3- or 5-paragraph essay, analyze and discuss the antagonistic force in this novel; support the ideas you explore with events, character actions, and details regarding mood and tone.

2. While it is understandably difficult to adequately convey the emotions and trauma of 9/11, the novel explores how the tragedy may have impacted those in close proximity. In a 3- or 5-paragraph essay, analyze the ways in which the novel’s structure and style befit the confusion, anxiety, and concern in the days following the attacks. For example, how does the writer use a variety of stylistic techniques to convey character conflict, both internal and external? How are description and imagery used in a similar fashion?

Multiple Choice and Long Answer Questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, exams, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. In the minutes directly after the attacks, Kyle observes people moving from Manhattan: “We travel swiftly but don’t run, panicked but steady, a molten lava flow of bodies across the bridge.” (Part 1, Chapter 1) Which of the following literary devices is evident in this observation?

A) Allusion

B) Metaphor

C) Personification

D) Simile

2. What distraction does Kyle use as a way to process the atrocities around him?

A) Music

B) Movies

C) Dance

D) Writing

3. Which emotion best describes the tone of Part 1?

A) Delighted

B) Anxious

C) Intriguing

D) Apathetic

4. What literary devices does Kyle think about from his English class in relation to the terrorist attacks?

A) Idioms

B) Adages

C) Koans

D) Palindromes

5. Trying to find programming that is not related to the terrorist attacks, Kyle finds one channel that is not news: “Thankfully, the image changes back to the logo for Cartoon Network and titles start up for Cow and Chicken. Cow and Chicken! Manna from heaven. I could seriously kiss the screen.” (Part 2, Chapter 10) Which literary device is used in this quote?

A) Allegory

B) Alliteration

C) Anaphora

D) Allusion

6. Which word best describes the relationship between Kyle and his father prior to the terrorist attacks?

A) Strained

B) Affectionate

C) Respectful

D) Angry

7. What is Kyle continually worried about regarding the girl in the novel?

A) That his father will disapprove of Kyle’s decision to bring her to their house

B) That the girl may become angry and violent

C) That his mother will think he is using the girl as a distraction

D) That the girl is lying to him about her amnesia

8. Upon which famous author does Kyle reflect throughout the novel?

A) Fyodor Dostoevsky

B) J. D. Salinger

C) John Steinbeck

D) William Shakespeare

9. Which adjective best describes the way that the girl acts with Uncle Matt?

A) Nervous

B) Patronizing

C) Cruel

D) Compassionate

10. What is the significance of mentioning Bangor’s uncle and Jenny Lynch’s father in the novel?

A) They are examples of the heroic first responders.

B) They make the attacks more personal for Kyle.

C) They symbolize the need for patience and calmness.

D) They represent passengers who were on the planes.

11. Which adjective best describes the mood between Kyle and his father after his father arrives home from the Ground Zero site?

A) Tense

B) Tumultuous

C) Tender

D) Terse

12. What sentiment do the lighters and candles represent for Kyle?

A) Unity

B) Fear

C) Disgust

D) Shame

13. Which incident coincides with Hannah remembering pertinent information about her parents?

A) Kyle and Hannah visit Long Island.

B) Kyle speaks with Marcus over the phone.

C) Kyle watches the interview with Mr. Marconi.

D) Kyle gives Hannah the snow globe.

14. Based on context clues, what information can be inferred about Hannah’s mother?

A) She was a visual artist.

B) She was French.

C) She was a lawyer.

D) She was a doctor.

15. Which motif connects Hannah to a background in dance?

A) Wings

B) Short hair

C) Snow globe

D) Cell phone

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating textual details to support your response.

1. What is the structure of the novel, and how are the novel’s structure and style connected? How does the narrative style differ between Kyle and Hannah?

2. Over what duration of time does the novel take place? What is the likely purpose intended by the author in choosing to structure the novel over this duration of time?