Messenger

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Relics of Transformation”

In this activity, students will select a character from the text and, based on text details, create a “museum exhibit” that depicts the character’s growth, demonstrating an understanding of characters, symbols, motifs, and themes.  

In the novel, Village’s Museum displays its members’ “relics of arrival,” objects that signify the story of each person’s journey to Village and memorialize each individual’s history. In this activity, you will be creating a museum exhibit for a character in the novel that demonstrates their growth and journey in the story based on text details.

• Select a character from the novel that is well-developed enough to allow for robust literary analysis and exhibit creation. Options include but are not limited to Matty, Seer, Kira, Leader, Jean, Mentor, or Forest. 
• Collect text evidence to support the creation of your exhibit. You must find:

o Minimum of 3 quotes that provide information on your character’s personality qualities or physical appearance

o Minimum of 3 quotes or moments in the novel that are significant for your character’s growth

o In addition, you should identify any major conflicts, motifs, and symbols associated with your character.

• Analyze your character’s characterization and development in the novel and plan your exhibit. What objects might represent each stage of their journey?  
• You should include at least 3 objects in your exhibit (although you may include more than 3). The objects in your exhibit must display 3 major stages of growth:

o Origin: Include an object that symbolizes your character’s background and where they came from. This object should reflect your character’s initial characterization at the beginning of the story. If no details are given surrounding your character’s origin story, you may imagine one of your own based on and supported by text details.

o Present: Include an object that symbolizes the major conflict the character faces throughout the novel on their journey to growth.

o Transformation: Include an object that symbolizes the “transformation” the character undergoes in the text (how they respond to and grow from the conflict) and imagines what lies ahead for the character based on text details.

• You may create your exhibit in a variety of ways; for example, you may set it up as a “shoebox model” or create a poster board or other visual depiction. Creatively arrange your objects to facilitate understanding of your character’s journey. 
• Write a placard to go along with your exhibit. Your placard should be at least 1 paragraph of at least 7 sentences, and should describe your character, name at least 3 of their important traits, and summarize their journey throughout the text.

o The placard should also explain how viewers are meant to interpret your exhibit: How do the objects or images you’ve collected demonstrate your character’s growth and role in the text?

o Be sure to incorporate at least 3 pieces of textual evidence into your placard.

Display your exhibit in your classroom’s museum and attend a classroom walk-through.

Teaching Suggestion: Because the cast of characters in the novel is limited, it will likely be impossible to avoid repeat characters in the class museum. To mitigate this, you might either assign students to work in partners or groups or set limits on how many exhibits are allowed for each character. Alternatively, students may draw character names from a hat for assignment.

To reinforce engagement with the text’s themes, the classroom museum may be organized by major themes of the book, and students may place their exhibit with the theme that best corresponds with their character. As a closure activity, students may write a brief reflection analyzing how the author uses characters to develop one or more of the themes in the novel, using their classmates’ and their own character exhibits and analyses as inspiration.

It may be helpful to review examples of museum exhibits together to give students ideas for how their exhibits might look. The online exhibitions page on the Smithsonian Institute’s website offers useful images of real museum exhibits from which to draw inspiration.

Differentiation Suggestion: Students with visual impairments may have difficulty completing this project as written. They may be given an alternate assignment to contribute to a museum exhibit in another way—for example, they may create a “guided tour” that verbally facilitates a walk-through of an exhibit and explains the exhibit’s purpose and story.

For students with organizational learning differences, worksheets with different columns for collecting quotes that demonstrate character qualities and personality traits, physical characteristics, and important moments in the novel may be helpful to gather their thoughts and prepare them to implement them successfully in their project.

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. Although it began many years ago as an ordinary market, Trade Mart becomes a source of conflict for some who live in Village.

• What is the overall purpose of Trade Mart in the text? (topic sentence)
• How does Trade Mart impact life in Village? Why do people keep their trades a secret? In your discussion supporting Trade Mart’s purpose, include an analysis of Trade Mart’s impact on at least one character.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, connect the role of Trade Mart to one or more of the novel’s themes.

2. While Village begins the novel as an ideal society, it undergoes changes throughout the story that cause it to lose some of the core values upon which it was founded.

• How does Village change throughout the novel? (topic sentence)
• What values was Village founded upon? How does the petition to close Village to outsiders challenge those values? In your discussion and analysis of Village’s changes, refer to the terms utopia and dystopia.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain your reasoning for why Village should be considered either a utopia or a dystopia.

3. In the novel, “true names” reflect a person’s true identity.

• How does Matty’s true name reflect his true identity? (topic sentence)
• What qualities are associated with Matty in the novel? What characterization methods does Lowry use to craft Matty’s character? How does Matty perceive himself? What does the desire to be called “Messenger” indicate about the things Matty values in himself? Analyze and discuss these topics in support of your topic sentence.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, argue and present reasoning for whether Healer or Messenger better fits Matty’s true self.

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. At the beginning of the book, Seer tells Matty “It’s all an illusion” (Chapter 1). Is Seer referring to Forest, fear, or both? Why does Forest become more dangerous and attack Matty? How does Village become more hostile and less accepting? In a 3- or 5-paragraph essay, explain the changes that both Forest and Village undergo throughout the novel. What does Matty ultimately conclude that Seer meant by his words in Chapter 1, and how does this spur on Matty’s actions at the climax?

2. Consider the motif of trade. What does it mean to trade something in the novel? How does the author craft tension surrounding Trade Mart? What consequences do the people of Village face for making trades at Trade Mart? In a 3- or 5-paragraph essay, analyze and discuss the concept of trading in the novel. How is the concept of trade subverted by Matty’s sacrifice, wherein he “trades himself away for all he love[s] and value[s]” (Chapter 21)?

3. Analyze the major settings of Village and Forest in the novel. What literary devices or techniques does Lowry use to create the atmosphere and characterizations of Village and Forest? How does Forest act as a microcosm of Village? In a 3- or 5-paragraph essay, explore the ways in which each setting serves as a character in the novel. How does each setting reflect the other’s transformation?

Multiple Choice and Long Answer Questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, exams, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. Who is the protagonist of the novel?

A) Kira

B) Matty

C) Leader

D) Seer

2. Which of the following best identifies a significant setting in the novel that also becomes a character of its own?

A) Matty and Seer’s homeplace

B) Kira’s village

C) Trade Mart

D) Forest

3. Which of the following is NOT a prominent literary device used in the text?

A) Foreshadowing

B) Personification

C) Simile

D) Imagery

4. What can be inferred about why Leader gives Matty the true name “Healer”?

A) Leader believes that “Healer” better represents Matty’s true nature.

B) Leader hopes that Matty will fulfill that role in Village.

C) Leader recognizes Matty’s desire to resolve society’s ills.

D) Leader doubts Matty’s skill as a messenger.

5. Which of the following is NOT a central conflict in the novel?

A) Forest is thickening and becoming more hostile.

B) Village wants to close its borders to outsiders.

C) Matty must convince Kira to return to Village.

D) Mentor’s true self must be restored.

6. Identify the climax of the novel.

A) Matty discovers his special gift.

B) Forest attacks Matty and Kira.

C) Matty heals Forest and Village.

D) Leader gives Matty his true name.

7. Which of the following is the strongest example of Identity, Diversity, and Difference?

A) Matty hopes that his true name will be Messenger.

B) Mentor trades away his true self for the affection of Stocktender’s widow.

C) The people of Village vote to close their community to outsiders.

D) Kira declines Matty’s offer to heal her leg because she feels whole just as she is.

8. Which characteristics of a utopia apply to Village?

A) Individuality is encouraged and celebrated.

B) The natural world is revered.

C) Technology enhances citizens’ day-to-day lives.

D) The citizens all share a common religion.

9. How does Village become like a dystopia?

A) The people of Village revere Leader as a figurehead.

B) Information is closely controlled by Village’s government.

C) The people of Village fear or mistrust the outside world.

D) Village’s government constantly surveils the people.

10. Which of the following most strongly symbolizes the changes that are taking place in Village?

A) Leader’s house

B) Forest

C) The Gaming Machine

D) Kira’s tapestry

11. Which word grouping best describes Matty?

A) Selfless, brave, loyal

B) Uncouth, rough, troublesome

C) Resourceful, cunning, unyielding  

D) Ignorant, impulsive, uncompromising

12. Why is it ironic that the people of Village want to close their borders to outsiders?

A) Because it is only thanks to outsiders that Village is rescued in the end

B) Because everyone in Village was once an outsider too

C) Because deep down everyone in Village yearns for connection instead of isolation

D) Because the surrounding communities also want to ban Village’s people  

13. Which quote best foreshadows the novel’s conclusion?

A) “Matty frowned. He didn’t know what the blind man meant. Was [Seer] saying that fear was an illusion? Or that Forest was?” (Chapter 1)

B) “It was blurred, but there was something in Forest that disturbed Leader’s consciousness and made him uneasy. He could not tell whether it was good or bad. Not yet.” (Chapter 2)

C) “There had been a petition—signed by a substantial number of people—to close Village to outsiders. There would have to be a debate, and a vote.” (Chapter 4)

D) “[Matty] knelt to dig out a spot with his hands in the mossy earth. But when he tried to set the [frog] down, he found that he was connected to it in a way that made no sense. A painful kind of power surged from his hand, flowing into the frog, and held them bound together.” (Chapter 5)

14. Which theme does the concept of special gifts most support?

A) Even the most ideal places are vulnerable to selfishness and greed.

B) Fear and secrecy create conditions that lead to corruption.

C) Differences are sources of strength and individuality to be celebrated.

D) The collective good of others must be placed before the desires of individuals.

15. Which statement best articulates the significance of the novel’s conclusion?

A) Healing is necessary to restore openness and honesty after a dark time.

B) Personal loss is inevitable in the quest to create a better world.

C) Sometimes our true selves are different than what we imagine them to be.

D) A single act of selfless sacrifice unleashes powerful change.

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. How does Village change over the course of the novel?

2. How does Trade Mart symbolize the price of selfishness?

3. How do Matty’s actions at the climax of the novel exemplify one of the novel’s core themes?