1. Jason has ongoing internal dialogues with "Maggot" and
"Unborn Twin." What roles do Maggot and Unborn Twin play in Jason's
life? And what did Mitchell accomplish by employing this
device?
2. At the beginning of the novel, Jason fears that his stammer
defines him. Why do you think he calls it "Hangman"? How does he
learn to adapt to it? In what ways is the stammer a limitation and
in what ways an advantage? Imagine Jason without a stammer - how
would the novel be different?
3. Mitchell often ends a scene in the middle of the action - for
example, when Jason is locked in the House in the Woods, or when
the fire erupts in Town Hall - and leaves readers to surmise for
themselves what happened next. Why do you think he chose to do
this?
4. Throughout the novel, phrases and paragraphs are often
repeated, sometimes with variation and sometimes identically. How
does context alter the meaning of these repeated phrases? And what
did Mitchell accomplish by repeating paragraphs with slight
variations, as in the chapter "Solarium"?
5. Did you notice the frequent appearances of the "moon-gray
cat"? In what instances does the cat appear? Why did Mitchell
choose to link these instances using the moon-gray cat?
6. There is a rich tradition of English novels set in villages
like Black Swan Green. How did the town of Mitchell's imagination
compare with those of classic British novels? What characteristics,
both of the village and the villagers, did Mitchell employ to
recall this tradition, and how did he subvert it?
7. Jason is deeply concerned with the war. How does his budding
political consciousness evolve over the course of the novel? And
how did events in the world reflect the events happening within
Jason's home?
8. Jason successfully completes the test to be admitted into the
ultra-popular, ultra-secret society of the Spooks; but his friend
Dean Moran doesn't have such luck. Why did Jason go back to help
Dean? Was it the right choice?
9. Many of the male characters in the book have reprehensible
traits. Some, like Dean Moran's dad, are alcoholics; others, like
Jason's uncle Brian, are overtly racist and sexist. Jason idolizes
his cousin Hugo at first, but by the end of the novel thinks he's
"smarmy," and sometimes Jason's father appears heroic, but at other
times, callous and cowardly. Is Mitchell commenting on the pitfalls
of masculinity? Are the female characters portrayed with fewer
faults?
10. Violence is an ever-present threat in Jason's world, even
among adults, like the bus driver, Norman Bates, who carries a
Bowie knife, and Kit Harris, the Borstal teacher, who sicced his
Dobermans on Jason. What role does violence play in the story?
11. At the end, Jason says, "The world's a headmaster who works
on your faults." What did he mean? Do you agree?