The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood

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. In writing The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, Pyle had to tread a fine line between depicting the outlaw’s life as fun and drawing valid moral lessons for young readers.

• How does Pyle combine moral principles with Robin’s fun-loving outlook on life? (topic sentence)
• Explain what moral principles Pyle encourages his readers to emulate in his novel. Then explain how Pyle makes use of Robin’s mischief to portray Robin Hood’s fun-loving personality. Finally, explain how Pyle manages to combine both Robin’s moral principles and his love of fun as a righteous outlaw for his readers.
• In your concluding sentences, explain why you think both characteristics of fun and high morals were important to Pyle’s intended message for his audience when writing Robin Hood.

2. To the authorities, Robin Hood is a criminal and a social menace, but to the common people, he is a hero and a force for good.

• Is Robin Hood a force for good or a menace to society? (topic sentence)
• Using examples from the text, explain whether you think Robin is a moral character, whether Robin should be brought to justice for his deeds, and how Robin Hood would be treated in society today.
• In your concluding sentences, explain whether you think it is appropriate to commit crimes for the common good of people.

3. In Pyle’s version of Robin Hood, Little John is Robin Hood’s right-hand man and considered to be one of his inner circle.

• What qualities does Little John have that make him suitable as Robin’s right-hand man? (topic sentence)
• Provide three examples of Little John’s interactions with Robin and how these show him to be a suitable choice for Robin’s right-hand man.
• In your concluding sentences explain whether the differences between Robin and Little John make them closer as friends or drive them apart.

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. Historians debate whether Robin Hood was a real person. Based on the historical context of the novel, explain whether you think Robin is believable as a real person or not. Then explain how someone like Robin Hood could become legendary and whether the details of the novel are mostly fabricated or true. Explain whether it makes a difference if Robin Hood’s story is true or not for those who read it.

2. In the novel, Robin Hood is portrayed as a character who abides by a moral code and is beloved by those around him because of the justice of his moral code. Using examples from the novel, explain whether you believe Robin Hood’s behavior to be wholly altruistic, or whether some of his motives are self-serving.

3. Robin Hood’s girlfriend Maid Marian appears prominently in many adaptations of Robin Hood but is only given a few cursory mentions in Pyle’s book. Why do you believe Pyle chose to present Maid Marian in this way? In your view, does the scarcity of female characters affect the way the book is received by the reader? Does the scarcity of female characters affect the book positively or negatively?