Project Hail Mary

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. Project Hail Mary explores advanced scientific concepts and technologies.

• What is a fundamental way in which the author explores The Role of Speculation in Discovery and the Danger of Assumptions in the novel? (topic sentence)
• Discuss 3 passages in support of your topic sentence in which Grace and other characters encounter both the necessity of speculation and the dangers of assumptions in scientific progress.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, summarize the importance of the relationship between speculation and assumptions and scientific progress.

2. Collaboration and cooperation play a key role in the fate of both Earth and Erid.

• To what extent do collaboration and cooperation contribute to the salvation of humans and Eridians? (topic sentence)
• Identify 3 passages that support your topic sentence in which collaboration occurs across cultural divides. How is the importance of collaboration demonstrated in each passage?
• Conclude your essay by summarizing the role of cultural understanding and respect in cooperation and collaboration.

3. Ryland Grace experiences isolation in another solar system, but he was alone even before the Astrophage problem.

• Who or what is the greatest influence on Grace’s evolution as a character? (topic sentence)
• How is this impetus for change demonstrated in the novel? Identify and discuss 3 examples that support your topic sentence.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, summarize the impact of Grace’s evolution as a character on the end of the novel.

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. Memory plays a crucial role in shaping Ryland Grace’s identity and decisions. In a well-organized essay with concrete evidence from the text, explore how memory shapes his understanding of himself and his relationships with others, how this influences his choices and actions throughout the story, and how memory impacts Grace’s personal struggle with Survival, Sacrifice, and the Utilitarian Good.

2. Faced with the catastrophic repercussions of Astrophage, characters in Project Hail Mary must make difficult decisions in the name of Survival, Sacrifice, and the Utilitarian Good. In a well-developed essay with evidence from the text, analyze the moral and ethical dilemmas faced by the characters. How must they collaborate and cooperate to achieve the survival of humanity, and what potential personal and global consequences do they face?