Notes From The Midnight Driver

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Notes from the Midnight Driver employs specific songs to convey meaning and reflect growth.

• What songs are used in the novel to convey meaning and show growth in the characters? (topic sentence)
• Describe the songs used in the novel and explain why each song is significant to the characters. Then, describe how each song reflects the personal growth of one or more characters.
• In your concluding sentences, explain why the author used music to connect the characters in the novel.

2. Alex refers to several mistakes he makes throughout text, starting with the drunk driving accident.

• What are Alex’s major mistakes, and why does he keep returning to them? (topic sentence)
• Describe at least three mistakes Alex mentions in the novel, why he made the mistakes, and how he grows as a result of each one.
• In your concluding sentences, explain why Alex is able to achieve so much emotional growth in the novel.

3. Throughout the novel, Alex corresponds with Judge Judy Trent on a variety of different topics via letters.

• What role do Alex’s letters play in the novel? (topic sentence)
• Explain how Alex’s letters affect the reader’s perspective, how they affect Judge Trent, and how they bring about the novel’s climax.
• In your concluding sentences, explain why you believe Sonnenblick chose to include the letters in his novel.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. Alex has difficulty connecting with Sol until he brings his guitar after practice one day. Explain the role of music in the novel for the characters and their relationships. Why are Alex and Sol able to connect through music but not through their conversations? Is the connection between Alex and Sol purely musical, or do they relate on an emotional level as well? How are Alex’s interactions with the Cha-KINGS changed through music? What other characters are indirectly impacted by music? How does Alex grow as a musician, and what impact does it have on his character?

2. Jordan Sonnenblick chose to craft a novel in which a teenager watches an elderly person struggle with emphysema. In what ways does Solomon Lewis’s health influence the plot of the novel? How does the struggle Alex witnesses in Sol change his interactions with his family members?

3. Alex struggles with his personal relationships throughout the text. Which of these relationships has the largest impact on his emotional maturity? Why do you think the character you chose was pivotal in Alex’s development? Do you think Alex would have developed in the way he did without conflicts in his personal relationships? Explain your thinking and support it with evidence from the text.