The Wall Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

Print PDF

For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, Climate Change and Migration in the U.S. and our BookBrowse Review of The Wall.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. What methods does Joseph Kavanagh come up with to deal with the monotony of life on the Wall?
2. What does it mean to be a Defender? How does Kavanagh's perspective of his mandatory service as a Defender change over the course of Part 1? What do you think they are actually defending?
3. How would you characterize the society before and after "the Change"?

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of W.W. Norton & Company. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.