Challenger Deep

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. 

Scaffolded/Short-Answer Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the below bulleted outlines. Cite details from the novel over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. In Challenger Deep, the author occasionally switches from first-person point of view to second.

• How do these points of view give us a unique understanding of Caden’s experience? (topic sentence)
• Contrast the impact that the 2 points of view have on the reader. Note any trends specific to each viewpoint and the impact of those trends on the narrative. Draw from at least 2 different textual examples to support your claims.
• In your final few sentences, explain how analyzing these 2 points of view can help us better understand the novel.

2. Consider Caden’s comment in group therapy: “I don’t think God gave us this any more than he gives little kids cancer or makes poor people lottery winners […] If anything, he gives us courage to deal.” (Chapter 121)

• What is Caden saying about mental illness through this statement? (topic sentence)
• Identify 3 additional passages in the novel in which this interpretation is evident in Caden’s experience or in other characters’.
• Finally, in your conclusion, explain how the experiences of the character or characters inform us about victimhood and the role that responsibility plays in mental illness.

3. Callie and Calliope are both presented as figures of comfort for Caden. How do they provide solace to him, both in the hospital and on the ship?

• What is similar about how Callie and Calliope relate to Caden? (topic sentence)
• Choose 3 examples in which Callie/Calliope interacts with Caden in the story. How does she inspire him or comfort him? Use specific textual evidence from the text in your analysis.
• In a few concluding sentences, explain how Callie and Caden’s relationship tells us about the role that human connection and relationship plays in mental illness.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least 3 main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. Caden must face several adversaries throughout his journey on the ship. What do the Captain and the Abyssal Serpent represent? Is the Captain or the Abyssal Serpent his true adversary? Draw from examples throughout the text (not just the end). As you compose your essay, incorporate at least 3 direct quotations that support your answer. (Cite the chapter or page number of each quotation.)

2. Caden is not alone in his journey. Not only does he have the help of his parents, doctors, and counselors, but he is also surrounded by patients going through similar experiences. What is the novel saying about the role that others play in helping those with mental illness? Use at least 3 different characters to support your claim.

3. Consider the ending of the novel, when Caden realizes that the Captain is waiting for him: “He will always be waiting, I realize. He will never go away. And in time, I may find myself his first mate whether I want to or not, journeying to points exotic so that I might make another dive, and another, and another. And maybe one day I’ll dive so deep that the Abyssal Serpent will catch me, and I’ll never find my way back. No sense in denying that such things happen. But it’s not going to happen today—and there is a deep, abiding comfort in that. Deep enough to carry me through till tomorrow” (Chapter 161).

What is this quotation saying about the struggle with mental illness? Use at least 3 examples from the novel to support your answer.