40 pages • 1 hour read
Margaret AtwoodA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
1. According to the poem, what is the main reason that people do not take action to fight climate change? Identify details in the text that support your answer. Do you agree with Atwood’s assessment? Why? What other factors might influence people to reject the need to act on this issue?
2. Atwood argues that religious belief started as a way for humans to connect to nature, but now people worship money instead. How can humans in the 20th century return to that original connection with nature when our modern lifestyle requires us to inflict harm on the natural world?
3. Near the end of the text, Atwood writes, “Some of our wise men turned to the contemplation of deserts. A stone in the sand in the setting sun could be very beautiful, they said. Deserts were tidy, because there were no weeds in them, nothing that crawled. Stay in the desert long enough, and you could apprehend the absolute. The number zero was holy.” How do you interpret this passage? Does the wise men’s worship of nothingness represent an important new insight, or is it merely a rationalization? Support your interpretation with evidence from the text. If you believe the desert worship is a rationalization, where else in the world do you see a similar approach? Why do humans so often rationalize problems instead of fixing them?
By Margaret Atwood
Alias Grace
Alias Grace
Margaret Atwood
Backdrop Addresses Cowboy
Backdrop Addresses Cowboy
Margaret Atwood
Cat's Eye
Cat's Eye
Margaret Atwood
Death By Landscape
Death By Landscape
Margaret Atwood
Hag-Seed
Hag-Seed: William Shakespeare's The Tempest Retold
Margaret Atwood
Happy Endings
Happy Endings
Margaret Atwood
Helen of Troy Does Countertop Dancing
Helen of Troy Does Countertop Dancing
Margaret Atwood
Lady Oracle
Lady Oracle
Margaret Atwood
Life Before Man
Life Before Man
Margaret Atwood
MaddAddam
MaddAddam
Margaret Atwood
Oryx and Crake
Oryx and Crake
Margaret Atwood
Rape Fantasies
Rape Fantasies
Margaret Atwood
Siren Song
Siren Song
Margaret Atwood
Stone Mattress
Stone Mattress
Margaret Atwood
Surfacing
Surfacing
Margaret Atwood
The Blind Assassin
The Blind Assassin
Margaret Atwood
The Circle Game
The Circle Game
Margaret Atwood
The Edible Woman
The Edible Woman
Margaret Atwood
The Handmaid's Tale
The Handmaid's Tale
Margaret Atwood
The Heart Goes Last
The Heart Goes Last
Margaret Atwood
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection