Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. What is satire? How does it play a role in pop culture? Have you read other satirical pieces? What did you gain from reading them?

Teaching Suggestion: Some have described Egan’s novel as a work of satire, poking fun at the ways social media, technology, and fame have come to rule our lives. Discussing satire with students before they begin reading can help them think about this novel in its context as well as understand some of the clearer examples of satire (Jules’s magazine article, Dolly’s fall from grace, etc.).

• Oregon State University has put together a written resource and video introduction to satire.
• McSweeney’s and The Onion are both top satirical sites that can provide many examples of satire.

2. How would you define genre in your own words? Can you give examples? What predictions or presumptions might readers bring to the reading of a new text if they believe it falls into a certain genre?

Teaching Suggestion: It might be beneficial to brainstorm genres of fiction and nonfiction as a class before (or after) students respond.