Fall on Your Knees: A Novel Papers & Assignment Topics

Essay Topics/Writing Assignments

These 20 essay questions can be used as essay questions on a test, or as stand-alone essay topics for a take-home or in-class writing assignment. Students should have a full understanding of the text in order to answer these questions. They ask for a thorough analysis of the text.

1. Discuss the piano introduced in the first few chapters of the novel. Why was this object so important to James, and what did it symbolize in his life? Describe how the piano came from ruins in James's childhood home to ruins in Materia's married home. What effect did the piano have on Materia as a character and on her marriage to James? Be sure to include examples from the text to strengthen your arguments.

2. Describe Materia's relationship with music as she grows up, particularly during the time of her marriage to James. What did music...
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