Castle in the Air

The novel often plays with ideas of agency and fate, with characters forced to navigate between what is or is not externally determined in their lives. How do various characters conceive of fate and agency? How are they different or similar in their approaches to this issue?

Castle in the Air plays with many of the tropes of fairytales and folk tales, including One Thousand and One Nights (See: Background). To what extent is Castle in the Air a fairytale? In what ways, if any, does it break with fairytale traditions?

How does Castle in the Air present love and gender dynamics? How does Abdullah’s understanding of love change throughout his character arc?

How does the book incorporate darker ideas while remaining appropriate for young readers? What are these ideas, and how does Diana Wynne Jones explore them?

How does Castle in the Air explore societal constructs, like cultural differences, gender, and/or beauty? How do the characters’ experiences interrogate some of these constructs?

Various characters in the novel are not as they first appear to be, and some use manipulation to achieve their own ends. How does Castle in the Air explore the nature of deception? How does the novel examine the advantages and limitations of deceit?

How does Wynne Jones use structure and form in Castle in the Air? What narrative techniques does she use to build suspense and/or deepen characterization?

How does the book explore morality? Is anybody in the book evil? Is anybody totally good?