The trilogy ends on the eve of the Great Depression. Find a person who lived through the Great Depression and ask what life was like during that time. Ask about food, jobs, shelter, the general mood of the population, and how people coped with the poverty of that time. Write a short description of the person you interviewed and describe his or her life during the Great Depression.

The power of advertising is a recurrent theme in the trilogy, and this industry has only grown since the time of the book's publication. Count the number of advertisements you see or hear in one day. Don't forget to include billboards, posters on trucks and in shop windows, television and radio advertisements, newspaper and magazine advertisements, and ads on the Internet. Look for ads in sneaky places, such as company logos on T-shirts and...