Thirteen discussion questions follow the text of Whirligig. Because that material is protected by copyright, I appreciate your understanding as I give you a paraphrasing of each question rather that the exact text. (That is, I'm using my own words instead of those found in the book, but the questions are the same.)
If you need the exact words of each question, try borrowing the book from a friend, or purchasing the ebook online.
And of course, please let us know if you need help answering any of these individual questions. The analysis of the story is and may help a lot with answering the questions.
Here we go:
1. Why does the party in Chapter 1 have a chess theme? When you answer, be sure to focus on the spot in the story right before the auto accident. Then look at page 115 when chess is mentioned again, and explain why it's different this time.
2. Explain why the main character agrees to make the whirligigs. Tell why he wants to escape. Be sure to say what he wants to escape from.
3. Find the section in the story where Brent reads a book about how to make whirligigs. Look at what he says about the guy who wrote notes down inside the book. ("Strange, he thought, that they would never recognize each other if they met.") Now explain how Brent's thinking helps show the story's theme. Also, explain who else in the story Brent could have been talking about when he expresses that idea.
4. Talk about why Brent's big trip throughout the story is different from the other trips he took before with his mom and dad.
5. Look on page 45, when the main character says that Seattle is like the afterlife. Explain what he means.
6. There are two times when the main character mentions Mount Olympus: on page 9 (at the party) and page 52 (in Seattle). Talk about how these two times are different, and be sure to explain how they show that he's becoming a different person.
7. Look at the scene in which the main character creates a whirligig for the first time. There, he's like "a biblical scholar, mumbling, rereading, receiving sudden insights." Explain how the work he's doing is sort of similar to studying a religious book.
8. The idea of "community" is on his mind as Brent is headed to San Diego. To him, the bus is an "anonymous community." And to him, all the people who are not on the bus are "nameless strangers." He thinks about how he knows Altair, Vega, and Deneb now. So, those thoughts are a little weird; they're not the usual way that we define a community. Explain your best guess regarding what the author is trying to do here with Brent's journey. Then, talk about how things are different as the story comes to a close.
9. Look on page 80 to see this quote: "A teacher lives forever through his students." Talk about how this idea connects to Brent and Lea. Then, talk about how it could relate to Anthony, "his" whirligig, and his violin.
10. Why is it important that Brent learns from a book about stars? And, why is it important that he also learns the names for shells and birds and that he learns to play harmonica?
11. Talk about how the final whirligig is different, compared to all the previous ones. Explain why Brent admits what really happened in the auto accident only after he was done with that last one.
12. Imagine you're going to create your own whirligig. Talk about your materials, the place you'd want it to stay, and how it might be important to you (what it might symbolize for you).
13. Think about the whirligig-building manual. What function does it serve? (Think about more functions than just the obvious one.) What would the whole journey have been like if Brent actually didn't lose that book?
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