Cinder

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 below bulleted outlines. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Write about the symbolic significance of Cinder’s mechanical foot.

• What idea does Cinder’s mechanical foot represent? (topic sentence)
• Explain how the characteristics of the mechanical foot, its involvement in the plot, and Cinder’s thoughts and feelings about the mechanical foot work together to convey a larger idea.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, connect this symbolism to one or more of the novel’s themes.

2. Explain how and why Kai struggles with his royal identity throughout the book.

• What aspects of his royal identity does Kai have a hard time accepting? (topic sentence)
• Explain at least 3 different places in the story where Kai seems to struggle to accept the responsibilities, privileges, and isolation created by his royal status.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, connect Kai’s struggles with one or more of the novel’s themes.

3. In Chapter 1, Cinder ironically says “It’s not like wires are contagious” when Chang Sacha pulls her son away from Cinder in the market.

• Why is it ironic that Cinder would mention contagion at this moment? (topic sentence)
• Explain what Cinder means by this quote; then show how later developments in the story make her statement ironic in 3 different ways.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, connect this use of irony with one or more of the novel’s themes.

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. How does a society’s use of the Cinderella story communicate key values the society holds? Read the NPR article “A Girl, A Shoe, A Prince: The Endlessly Evolving Cinderella.” Think about how the Cinderella story changes from culture to culture and throughout time. Then, think about what Meyer’s use of the Cinderella story communicates about the culture and time period in which it was written. Write a structured essay that defends a position about the way in which Meyer’s ironic use of the Cinderella story comments on the hopes, fears, and beliefs of her time and place. Support your assertions with evidence drawn from throughout the book. If you include outside sources in your essay, be sure to cite these in MLA format.

2. What is the purpose of making Cinder a cyborg? Certainly, her status as cyborg plays a role in the book’s plot—but what else does making her a cyborg accomplish? How would the meaning of the story be impacted if Meyer had chosen to make her an android or a human without any mechanical enhancements? How does Cinder’s being a cyborg contribute to the book’s purpose as dystopian science fiction? Consider what this book is trying to say about technology, identity, and social class and what present conditions might lead to in our future world. In a structured essay, show how Cinder’s status as a cyborg contributes to the reader’s understanding of these ideas. Support your assertions with evidence drawn from the book.

3. The cyborg draft is an element of the novel that supports several thematic ideas. In your view, what are the three most important thematic ideas that the existence of this program supports? Consider why the draft was created and how it impacts all cyborgs in general and Cinder in particular. Think about how human characters in the story react to it and what this says about their society. In a structured essay, defend a position on the way in which the existence of the cyborg draft supports three thematic ideas. Support your assertions with evidence drawn from the text.