56 pages • 1 hour read
Gordon KormanWhatshisface
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2018A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Essay Topics
Marchese argues that William Shakespeare “was actually the world’s first hip-hop mogul” (22). Using this line as a starting point, explore Shakespeare’s relationship to rap and hip-hop culture. How do the lines from Romeo and Juliet parallel the rhythm of rap and hip-hop? What about the use of artistic dissing?
Cooper tells Roddy, “In 2018, People consider Shakespeare the greatest writer of all time” (66). How does Korman subvert Shakespeare’s reputation as the greatest artist of his age? How does this book depict Shakespeare to symbolize idolatry? Can an artist be great if some of their art is plagiarized?
The year before Cooper and his class performed Romeo and Juliet, the seventh grade staged Macbeth. Before that, the seventh grade put on A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Read one of these other plays and connect it to Whatshisface. How is Roddy like Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream? How is Cooper (or Roddy) similar to the eponymous Macbeth?
How can Whatshisface read as a commentary on contemporary technology? How does Roddy’s perspective subvert and reinforce narratives about its impact? Can TVs and phones serve as “magical windows large and small” (65)? Is Wikipedia a ‘Wicked Pedia’ (66)?
Explore this story’s commentary on the theme of Linking the Past and Present. How does Cooper’s past follow him into the present? How does Roddy represent the impact of the past on the present? What does Cooper’s conduct say about the power of people in the present to address some of the wrongs of the past?
Unpack the Search for Belonging theme. How does it link to the title? How does this theme change throughout the story? When does Cooper care about belonging to Stratford and when does he care more about belonging with Roddy? Does this evolution represent internal maturation and character growth on Cooper’s part?
Evaluate how this story uses the GX-4000 to symbolize connection. Popular culture often blames smartphones for disconnecting people, especially young people, from “real” relationships. How does Whatshisface challenge that viewpoint? Could Cooper grow and mature in the ways he does here without his phone?
Research the literary techniques that Shakespeare used in his comedies and evaluate them in light of what makes Whatshisface funny to you. Identify humorous moments in this story and then pinpoint the literary devices that, ideally, produce laughs. Are they similar to what Shakespeare did? Why or why not?
Discuss the motif of right and wrong. Why does Roddy not think it’s wrong to assault Brock? Why does Cooper not think it’s wrong to steal the Barnabas and Ursula manuscript from Wolfson? How does right and wrong depend on context and even the person? If you were Cooper, how would you react to? Would you lock him in the screen like Cooper did? Would you take the part of Romeo?
In 1998, Gary Blackwood published a novel for young readers, The Shakespeare Stealer (1998), where a boy around Cooper’s age finds himself involved in a scheme to steal one of Shakespeare’s plays. Compare and contrast this book with Whatshisface. How do these stories address belonging and secret keeping? How do they link the past and the present?
Related Titles
By Gordon Korman
