1. Summarize the various criticisms that the Fefethil make of humanity.

Discuss the extent to which those criticisms are legitimate or illegitimate. To what extent does Ralph convince the Fefethil that human beings are better than they had previously thought?

2. Find another science fiction novel in which people are abducted by aliens and compare it to Urn Burial. What similarities do you see in the books' themes? What differences? Judith Moffett's The Ragged World (1991) would be a good choice. Frank Asch's Journey to Terezor (1989) is another possibility.

3. In Chapter 17 of Urn Burial Ralph discovers an intact war fleet which gives him the power, if he chooses to exercise it, to destroy the Wawaka, the Fefethil, and anyone else who endangers humanity. He chooses not to exercise that power. Examine the scene and discuss the various reasons why Ralph should or should...