The Jumbies

The Jumbies uses multiple narrative perspectives to tell its story. How would the reader’s experience of the story change if the story were only told from Corinne’s perspective?

• How do the passages told from other characters’ perspectives help advance the plot? Are there other ways to give the reader this same information?
• How do the passages told from other characters’ perspectives help the reader understand these characters and their motivations better? Why does this matter?
• How does offering the reader more than one perspective impact the reader’s understanding of the book’s messages about cooperation, balance, and complexity?

Teaching Suggestion: If your students are not yet familiar with the difference between narrative point of view and narrative perspective, you might want to pre-teach these terms before they attempt to respond to this prompt. The topic of the third bullet point is significantly more complex than the other two; you might omit this for younger or less capable students, or you might ask that students complete the first two bullet points individually or in small groups and then work on this final bullet point together through a whole-class discussion.

Differentiation Suggestion: Literal thinkers may have difficulty understanding how shifts in perspective impact how the reader experiences the unfolding of plot, character, and theme. If you suspect that some of your students may find this concept tricky, you might offer an example in each category and model for them how to reason through the relationship between perspective and reader experience. Students who struggle with attention, organization, or reading fluency may find it challenging to review the text and compile evidence that demonstrates how plot, characterization, and theme are impacted by narrative perspective. You might allow these students to work with a partner to gather their evidence. They may also benefit from completing a graphic organizer where they can list evidence in these different categories and then note what their evidence shows about how the reader’s experience is impacted in each case. If your class is responding to this prompt in writing, those who struggle with written expression might be allowed to turn in such an organizer in lieu of an essay-style response.