Olive Kitteridge

The author, Elizabeth Strout, often uses symbols to communicate her characters’ internal worlds and to foreshadow upcoming events. Choose one story and a single symbol within that story to analyze deeply. How do the characters’ interactions with this symbol change, and what does that suggest about the characters? Options might include Jane Houlton’s coat in “Winter Concert” or Olive’s stockings in “Security.”

Given that Crosby is beside the sea, water imagery is an important motif throughout the novel. Identify three instances of imagery related to the sea or to water more generally. What does this motif add to these scenes? How does it augment expression of the character’s internal worlds?

Affairs are common in Crosby. Identify as many of the affairs that take place in the novel as you can. What do these examples have to say about human connection? What is the author’s perspective on marriage as a mode of human connection?

Children are a concern for many of the characters. Which characters feel the greatest strain over their difficult relationships with their children, and how do their personalities prevent them from mending these issues?

Death affects almost every character. How do the more mundane aspects of loss (organizing funerals, paying bills, moving houses) manifest in the text, and how do different characters respond to these tasks? What do these aspects symbolically or metaphorically have to say about The Necessity of Human Connection?

Natural beauty surrounds Crosby. The weather is also often a key player in depicting characters’ emotions. How do these aspects help in exploring the theme of The Trials of Grief and Mental Illness?

Food, along with the concepts of hunger and starvation, is an important motif throughout the novel. What are the characters, generally speaking, hungry for in a metaphorical sense? What cravings drive their actions? Consider in your response how appearances of food in the novel support your answer.

Though Crosby is a small town, it witnesses its fair share of crime. How do the characters relate to crimes, criminals, and the justice system? Consider this question in the context of How Perspective Shapes Reality. What criminals are not perceived as criminals, and what does that perception tell us about the relevant characters?