Discussion Questions
Use our LitLovers Book Club Resources; they can help with discussions for any book:
• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)
Also, consider these LitLovers talking points to help start a discussion for The Power of One:
m. Talk about the the book's title. Author Bryce Courtenay once commented that...
[People] think it's all about the individual discovering a wonderful inner strength, the mantra of 'the power of one.' But the title comes from and is for the power of one teacher. It is about how one teacher can lift a child out of an impossible environment and allow him or her to have an education, to change their life.
But according to "reader theory," readers' interpretations are not necessarily incorrect; in fact, they are often entirely valid ways of seeing literature. It turns out that words mean different things to different people—even authors have no monopoly on how people read and interpret their writings. So...how do YOU interpret the book's title: what does "the power of meaning" signifiy to you?
m. In what way does Peekay's childhood shape the young man he becomes? How wold you desccribe him as a character? What do you admire about him?
m. The book pits poses two distinct visions of life—the mystical vs. logic and rational. What are the benefits of each way of seeing the world? How do the book's characters line up in representing this dichotomy. Does Peekay choose one approach over the other? How do you approach your own life?
m. Follow-u to Question 3: Talk about the ways in which Doc influences Peekay. At one point we are told that "Doc was calm and reason and order." Yet Doc tells Peekay that mystery should trump logic when truth is not at stake. What does he mean?
m.
(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off with attribution. Thanks.)