No Witchcraft for Sale

Analyze the relationship between Gideon and Teddy. Use examples from the text to explain how it changes over time and how it fits into the story’s broader social context.

What role does religion play in this story? Use examples from the text to support your ideas.

Why does Gideon refuse to share his knowledge of herbal medicine with the scientist? What is the overall attitude of the story about his decision? Do you agree with his decision? Explain why or why not and use details from the text to support your answer.

Who are the story’s protagonists and antagonists? Is there more than one of each? How do their interactions create conflict? Use examples from the text to support your answer.

How does Lessing use dramatic and/or verbal irony in this story? How does the irony affect the reader’s experience of the story? Use examples from the text to support your answer.

The narrator explains that after the episode where Teddy scares Gideon’s young son, his relationship with Gideon changes. Explain the change in their dynamic and how this moment caused Teddy to grow up. What does growing up mean for Teddy in apartheid South Africa?

Explain Gideon’s nickname for Teddy. Why is it significant? How does the use of this nickname help us understand the characters throughout the story?

How does Lessing’s use of Afrikaans vocabulary contribute to her development of setting, themes, and characters?