The Last Cuentista

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. How much responsibility is appropriate for an adolescent? What are some examples in categories such as chores, errands, school-related tasks, activities/athletics-related tasks, and family responsibilities that represent the “upper limit” of what the typical 12- or 13-year-old person should be asked to accomplish?

Teaching Suggestion: Students might work in pairs or small groups to list examples in each category, then share or compile responses. It might be helpful to reveal after discussion the burden of responsibility felt by Petra, the protagonist, in her quest to keep her memories alive, give voice to generations’ worth of stories and folktales, and save her shipmates. As readers progress through the novel, it may be beneficial to return to their compiled lists and make comparisons between their responsibility “limits” and Petra’s duties before and after stasis.

• The Child Development Institute offers “The Ultimate List of Age-Appropriate Chores for Children and Teens.”
• This brief article from WebMD speculates about the appropriate number of hours of sports practice for adolescents.

Differentiation Suggestion: For an approach that involves narrative writing skills, students might respond to the prompt by composing a brief sketch, vignette, or “flash fiction” that depicts an adolescent’s “upper limit” responsibility or how a responsibility beyond their limits might go awry.

2. Dystopian literature, a subgenre of science fiction or speculative fiction, is often a social commentary on the ails of society. What are the common traits of dystopian literature? How do these characteristics relate to social problems? Why might dystopian literature be important to society?

Teaching Suggestion: This prompt provides a chance to introduce the theme of Past Versus Future. Students might work in pairs or small groups to brainstorm a list of common characteristics for dystopian works, then compile the lists on the board or in a shared file for reference during reading. Popular tropes in dystopian literature include power obsession, oppressive governments, educational bans, loss of individualism, scarce resources, and environmental disaster. Oftentimes, there is a clear line to be drawn between real-life problems and the tropes of dystopian fiction; dystopian literature is important to society because it is a safe, accepted space to offer up social critique, in an artistic and compelling way.

• This resource site offers definitions and examples for dystopian fiction.
• LitHub’s “Dystopia Is Realism: The Future Is Here if You Look Closely” explains how science fiction tends to “remix” the present. (Teacher-appropriate; not student-facing due to mature content)
• BookRiot’s “What Is the Appeal of Dystopian Fiction?” investigates the importance of dystopian literature to the culture at large. (Teacher-appropriate; not student-facing due to mature content)

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the text.

Imagine that scientists created a machine that could selectively delete painful, embarrassing, or otherwise negative memories from your past. If you had the chance, would you do it? Consider what the benefits of doing so would be, and what would be the drawbacks.

Teaching Suggestion: The prompt will get students thinking about their memories, which connects to The Last Cuentista’s overall theme of The Heart’s Memories—that is, the core moments that live inside us and make us who we are. With this prompt, students can weigh the pros and cons of selective memory deletion in a personal journal reflection or graphic organizer. It may be beneficial to remind students that there are no “right” answers with this thought-provoking question; however, they soon will witness the ways in which the Collective learns that  deleting painful memories is misguided.

• BrainStuff’s 4-minute video, “Is It Possible To Erase Your Memories?,” looks at the evolving science related to memory manipulation.