Dark Matter

In Chapter 8, Amanda tells Jason that Jason2 is a good man who did a terrible thing (180). Based on your reading, is Jason2 a good person who became corrupt in the process of building the box, or was he morally corrupt from the beginning? Support your response with evidence from the text.

Compare and contrast Jason and Jason2. How are they similar, and how are they different?

Consider Daniela and Amanda’s roles in the novel. Do you feel their characters had their own meaningful arcs, or did they exist primarily to further Jason’s story? Had Jason’s primary motivation (reuniting with his family) been different, how would that have affected Daniela and Amanda’s roles in the story?

How would the story differ if it were written from the perspective of Daniela, Charlie, Amanda, Leighton, or Jason2? Choose a character and write a version of the story from their perspective. In your version, does Jason emerge as a hero, villain, or a support character?

Dark Matter is a science fiction thriller. Discuss Crouch’s use of narrative pacing. In which sections does the action speed up or slow down? How does this affect the novel’s plot and character development?

The novel’s premise is based on quantum mechanics. If the scientific principles described in the novel are true, do you think that the box could someday exist in real life? Would an invention like the box be beneficial or detrimental to society? Explain your answers.

Jason’s moment of triumph hinges on being arrested by the Chicago police and his family coming to him in the “safe environment” (283) of a Chicago police station. What, if anything, does this say about Jason’s racial and socioeconomic background? What does the novel suggest is true about the relationship between individuals and systems?

In Chapter 13, Jason references the Prisoner’s Dilemma when he is trying to outwit the other Jasons. Describe the Prisoner’s Dilemma and discuss the importance of game theory in the novel.