logo

76 pages 2 hours read

Mary Downing Hahn

All The Lovely Bad Ones

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2008

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Essay Topics

1.

Consider the title of the novel and its diction. Why might have Hahn chosen this phrase from the poem “Little Orphant Annie” by James Whitcomb Riley? What might it mean?

2.

Compare and contrast the characters of Miss Ada and Grandmother. In what ways are they foils of one another? How are they similar and different?

3.

How does the theme of appearance versus reality manifest throughout the novel? Consider the novel’s setting, tone, and characters.

4.

The novel has a first-person point of view and sticks closely to Travis’s perspective for the entire length of the text. How might his subjective point of view change our understanding of the other characters and events in the novel.

5.

Chart the character arcs of both Travis and Corey. In what ways have they grown throughout the course of the novel? What are the main catalysts for their growth?

6.

Consider the different women in the novel. In what ways do they represent stereotypical portrayals of femininity? How to they stray from those stereotypes? Provide specific examples from the text to support your answers.

7.

How might the haunted inn be read as a symbol? Take the ghosts, for example, what might they come to symbolize for the current owners of the inn?

8.

Consider the novel’s genre and audience. Why might Hahn have chosen the horror genre to convey different messages about injustice and punishment?

9.

Analyze Miss Ada’s final scene in the novel and make a chart of the different reactions to her death from Ira, Seth, and Caleb. Why might have Hahn chosen to represent such different perspectives to Miss Ada’s end?

10.

Analyze Travis’s claim: “There was no denying it. We were bad ones, always in trouble—but not wicked. Like to like, the lovely bad ones—Corey and me and Seth, Caleb, and Ira” (156). What might he mean by this? Do you agree with his assessment? If so, why? Provide specific examples from the text to defend your argument.

blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text