Home Fire

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. Isma sees two parachutists in her skylight window.

• How do these parachutists represent her and Aneeka? (topic sentence)
• How does this symbol play out throughout the novel? Use examples from the text that detail Isma’s relationship with Aneeka.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, connect your argument back to the theme of Loyalty to the Family Versus Loyalty to the State.

2. Isma and Aneeka have different attitudes toward their hijabs.

• How do Aneeka and Isma view their hijabs? (topic sentence)
• Using at least three examples from the text that show the similarities and differences between Aneeka and Isma when it comes to their religion as manifested by their hijab.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, connect your argument back to the larger role that religion plays in this novel.

3. Parvaiz in particular values sound.

• What role do sounds play in this novel? (topic sentence)
• Provide three examples of when sound (or the lack of it) was particularly important.
• Ultimately, in your concluding sentence or sentences, connect your argument back to the theme of Loyalty to the Family Versus Loyalty to the State or the Crisis of Masculinity and Its Consequences.

Full Essay Assignments

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

1. Consider the relationships between children and parents in this novel. We see Eamonn interact with his father while Parvaiz, Isma, and Aneeka are left to find their way in the world without their parents, even as their father seems to haunt their ability to move between the United Kingdom and other countries. Write an essay in which you analyze the relationship between parents and children, ultimately connecting it back to one of the novel’s three main themes: The Intersection of Birthplace and National Identity, Loyalty to the Family Versus Loyalty to the State, and the Crisis of Masculinity and Its Consequences.  

2. How is this novel a tragedy? What standards of the genre does it embody, and how does it use such conventions to connect with contemporary circumstances? In your essay, use at least three examples from the text to support your argument. In the end, connect it back to the theme of The Intersection of Birthplace and National Identity.

3. Trace Parvaiz’s character development throughout the novel. How does he grow and change throughout the story? Write an essay in which you consider his relationship with his family at the beginning, middle, and end of his story, utilizing examples from the text to support your argument. Ultimately, bring your argument back to the theme of the Crisis of Masculinity and Its Consequences.