Daughter of the Deep

Riordan references the Indian Revolution of 1857 as an important part of Captain Nemo’s backstory. In what other ways does British colonialism feature in the novel, and how does Riordan comment on the imperialism of the late 19th century? Support your answer with 2-3 specific instances from the novel.

Many characters experience loss in Daughter of the Deep. Pick one character (other than Ana) and explain how they have experienced loss, as well as how they adapt to that change. Support your answer with 2-3 specific instances from the novel.

Dev is at odds with Ana for most of the novel. How would the story be different if it were told from Dev’s point of view? Does he have a legitimate claim to feel disenfranchised by HP Academy’s decisions? Use examples from the novel to make a case for Dev.

Daughter of the Deep owes a great literary debt to Jules Verne’s novels 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and The Mysterious Island. Pick 2-3 instances when Riordan alludes to or specifically mentions Verne’s novels and explain what impact Verne’s novels have on the plot.

Retrofuturism, or steampunk, is an important context to consider when reading Daughter of the Deep. Compare and contrast this novel to another novel in the same genre: Do the authors view technology in a similar way? What conflicts do the novels address? Are their overall viewpoints optimistic or pessimistic?

There are two important schools in Daughter of the Deep—The Land Institute and Harding-Pencroft Academy. With reference to the text, explain the background of each school and how they came to be enemies, as well as any pros or cons to each school’s philosophy of technology.

It would be easy to label Harding-Pencroft Academy as the good school and the Land Institute as the evil school, but the world of Daughter of the Deep is more complex than that. Even Dr. Hewett and Dev Dakkar, who at different points in the novel appear either good or bad, are not just one-sided. Pick one character (or school) and explore how they demonstrate both good and bad tendencies, focusing on 2-3 examples.

There are many examples of wondrous but potentially dangerous technology, or “alt-tech,” in Daughter of the Deep. Pick one type of technology presented in the novel and explain the pros and cons of keeping that technology secret (vs. sharing it with the world). Use evidence from the text to support your argument.