45 pages • 1 hour read
Paolo BacigalupiThe Water Knife
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2015A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Essay Topics
Angel is an archetypal anti-hero. How do Angel’s actions play into the role of anti-hero? How do Angel’s actions play against this role?
How does Bacigalupi integrate real-world research into the novel?
Compare and contrast Lucy and Maria as characters.
Some have classified the novel into a genre called climate-fiction. Do you believe the primary role of fiction should be to inform or to entertain the reader?
What are examples of Bacigalupi combining the genres of climate-fiction, thriller, and noir in the novel?
Describe Lucy’s motivations for not leaving Phoenix, even though she is in danger by staying there.
Does Toomie’s character represent a stereotype? Why or why not?
At the end of the novel, do you think Angel is going to be able to deliver on what he’s promised to Maria, Toomie, and Lucy? Why or why not?
Do you think a future like the one Bacigalupi imagines in The Water Knife is possible for us, given the current state of climate change? Why or why not?
Angel has a worldview that anticipates evil out of everyone. He assumes that people are generally evil at their core because people always prove him right. Do you agree with this worldview? Why or why not?
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By Paolo Bacigalupi
