The Dry

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. Describe how Falk is shaped by his childhood experiences and how it impacts his objectivity as a special agent.

• How is Falk’s judgment hindered by his childhood experiences? (topic sentence)
• Describe three times in which Falk made decisions based on biases from his childhood.
• In your concluding sentences, explain how these choices were motived by Secrets, Lies, and Mistrust in an Intimate Community.

2. Explain how the bush, the rock tree, and the Kiewarra River connect Falk to his childhood and present self.

• How do the bush, the rock tree, and the Kiewarra River personally affect Falk and connect him to his present and past selves? (topic sentence)
• Provide specific details about the bush, the rock tree, and the Kiewarra River that show how each connects to significant events in Falk’s childhood. What does each place symbolize for Falk?
• In your concluding sentences, explain how the events that took place in these three locations connect to the events taking place in Falk’s present.

3. Explain why flashbacks are important in The Dry.

• How does Jane Harper’s use of flashbacks affect the reliability of events and characters? (topic sentence)
• Give three examples of how flashbacks in the novel clarify for the reader what really happened as opposed to what the characters say happened.
• In your concluding sentences, explain how the flashbacks are connected to the theme of Secrets, Lies, and Mistrust in an Intimate Community.

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. Several characters keep many important secrets, and in some cases, keep them until their deaths. This has significant consequences in people’s relationships, their understanding of the past, and the Hadler investigation. In Kiewarra’s tight-knit community, what motivates people to keep their secrets, and what makes them worth telling? How is the community impacted by the lies that have been told? How have lies and secrets created an atmosphere of mistrust in Kiewarra?

2. Falsely accused of murdering Ellie, the Falks are run out of town, and the accusations have a lasting effect on their relationship. Meanwhile, Deacon and Grant get to proceed with their lives, seemingly without repercussions. Why is justice so difficult to obtain in Kiewarra? What is ironic about Deacon and Grant’s desire to seek justice for the Hadlers when they attack Jamie, and for Ellie when they attack Falk? What are some possible motivating factors for Deacon’s harassment of Falk in particular? How is Falk redeemed by the community?

3. In a story in which nearly everyone is complicit in lying or hiding something, are there any archetypal heroes or villains in The Dry? How did Falk lie, and is he considered a hero in the novel? How does Falk try to make up for his lie? Is Luke a hero or a villain? Do Deacon and Grant have any redeeming qualities?