Katherine Howe's Blog - Posts Tagged "classics"
THE APPEARANCE OF ANNIE VAN SINDEREN discussion questions
This just in - fun book club or classroom discussion questions for THE APPEARANCE OF ANNIE VAN SINDEREN.
The Appearance of Annie van Sinderen
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories
1. A lot of American ghost stories are set in and around the Hudson River Valley, a region that has been marked by waves of immigration and change from its earliest days of settlement. Do you think ghost stories are more about sameness, or about change? Why or why not?
2. Summer school in New York is the first time Wes has felt like he’s being taken on his own terms. Have you ever had an experience in which being a stranger made you uniquely open to learning something new about yourself?
3. Annie’s part of the story is set in the same time period – 1825 – that saw the publication of Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” one of the most enduring ghost stories of all time. Annie even references Irving when she describes herself as a “Rip van Winkle.” Does Wes remind you of Ichabod Crane? How is he similar? How is he different?
4. Most ghost stories involve a stranger (like Wes) encountering a land or place for which s/he doesn’t know all the back story (like New York City). In a way, the more we know about a given place’s history, the less liable we are to be haunted by it. How do you feel when you don’t have all the information about a place?
5. One of the main themes in THE APPEARANCE OF ANNIE VAN SINDEREN has to do with vision, images, and the relationship between film and memory. Annie herself is only visible at first if the other characters don’t look at her directly, but through a film lens (with one important exception). Which is more trustworthy – a memory or a representation? Which is more true? Why?
6. Annie reflects on all the different ways that the characters use the word “okay,” which wasn’t a word yet in 1825. What’s another word that we use all the time today that hasn’t always had its current meaning, or maybe didn’t exist a few years ago?
7. New York City is itself a character in the novel. How does this version of New York differ from representations you’ve seen in other areas of popular culture? Do you think it’s possible for a book (or a film) to ever really capture the essence of a given place?
8. How many film references appear in THE APPEARANCE OF ANNIE VAN SINDEREN?
9. Have you ever seen a ghost?
10. Would you want to?
The Appearance of Annie van Sinderen
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories
1. A lot of American ghost stories are set in and around the Hudson River Valley, a region that has been marked by waves of immigration and change from its earliest days of settlement. Do you think ghost stories are more about sameness, or about change? Why or why not?
2. Summer school in New York is the first time Wes has felt like he’s being taken on his own terms. Have you ever had an experience in which being a stranger made you uniquely open to learning something new about yourself?
3. Annie’s part of the story is set in the same time period – 1825 – that saw the publication of Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” one of the most enduring ghost stories of all time. Annie even references Irving when she describes herself as a “Rip van Winkle.” Does Wes remind you of Ichabod Crane? How is he similar? How is he different?
4. Most ghost stories involve a stranger (like Wes) encountering a land or place for which s/he doesn’t know all the back story (like New York City). In a way, the more we know about a given place’s history, the less liable we are to be haunted by it. How do you feel when you don’t have all the information about a place?
5. One of the main themes in THE APPEARANCE OF ANNIE VAN SINDEREN has to do with vision, images, and the relationship between film and memory. Annie herself is only visible at first if the other characters don’t look at her directly, but through a film lens (with one important exception). Which is more trustworthy – a memory or a representation? Which is more true? Why?
6. Annie reflects on all the different ways that the characters use the word “okay,” which wasn’t a word yet in 1825. What’s another word that we use all the time today that hasn’t always had its current meaning, or maybe didn’t exist a few years ago?
7. New York City is itself a character in the novel. How does this version of New York differ from representations you’ve seen in other areas of popular culture? Do you think it’s possible for a book (or a film) to ever really capture the essence of a given place?
8. How many film references appear in THE APPEARANCE OF ANNIE VAN SINDEREN?
9. Have you ever seen a ghost?
10. Would you want to?
