1. In most cultures and communities, who are the people who take up "the religious life" in one form or another? Is this avocation different for those who live in a cloister or from those who minister in the community?

2. What are the necessary elements for a quest story? What is sought during a quest? What does the protagonist find by the end of the quest? How is a quest resolved?

3. Outline parallels between Dance of the Snow Dragon and the Grail Quest of Percival. What elements make each story unique? What elements are common to both stories?

4. What does Joseph Campbell say about the nature of heroes and quests in his book Hero with a Thousand Faces? Take Sangay and his quest through the analysis that Campbell makes of myths. Is Sangay a hero by Campbell's definition?

5. When one son...