68 pages 2 hours read

Robert Cormier

After The First Death

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 1979

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Essay Topics

1.

Do you agree with Miro’s assessment of the war? Do you think everyone who doesn’t actively help the wronged is responsible for their situation? Do you believe everyone should be held responsible for wrongs done in the past, even those who were not alive at the time? If yes, what do you think holding these people responsible does for the wronged? If no, what might be a better way to promote awareness of wrongs and how to right them?

2.

Based on the characters’ actions throughout After the First Death, which do you believe is stronger: the desire to live or the need to protect? Why? Support your answer with evidence from the text.

3.

In Part 1, Ben feels the newspaper article describing the bus incident was nothing like the actual event, specifically misrepresenting Ben as a hero. How might the article have changed events to make Ben out as a hero? What other details from After the First Death may have been altered in this news article? Why might news outlets modify stories in these ways, and what is the effect on consumers?

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