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STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE

El Deafo

Cece Bell
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60 pages • 2 hours read

Cece Bell

El Deafo

Fiction | Graphic Novel/Book | Middle Grade | Published in 2014

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Summary

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Quiz

Essay Topics

1.

How does the graphic novel format of this story contribute to themes of silence, deafness, and confusion?

2.

How do Bell’s illustrations explore Cece’s dreams and internal experiences?

3.

How does Cece experience alienation and loneliness? How does it influence her sense of self?

4.

How does Cece grapple with her disability? What does she believe about her deafness, and how does it shift as the story progresses?

5.

How does Cece harness the power from the imagined El Deafo to empower herself in the real world?

6.

How does Cece experience love? What are her struggles? How does her story reflect a common experience of childhood love?

7.

What is the significance behind Bell’s choice to make her characters rabbits? 

8.

How does Cece seek to control her identity and her reputation? What tools does she use to influence how her peers see her?

9.

Why does Bell end the novel with a story about “warm fuzzies”? What is the symbolic meaning of this item and its connection to the story as a whole?

10.

How does Cece gain agency over the course of the book? How does the final panel reveal her maturity and growth?

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