The Whipping Boy

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 below bulleted outlines. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. The Whipping Boy shows that even characters who have vastly different life experiences can become friends.

• How are Jemmy and Prince Horace initially shown to have different backgrounds and life experiences? (topic sentence)
• Identify three situations in which the prince reveals himself to be worthy of trust and respect, and changes Jemmy’s impression of him.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain what the boys’ gradual friendship might say about class and social differences; connect the theme of Friendship Overcoming Differences.

2.  Jemmy’s early experiences as the son of a rat-catcher prepare him to protect himself and the prince during their adventures.

• What qualities does Jemmy develop early in life, living on the streets as the son of a rat-catcher? (topic sentence)
• Identify three incidents in which Jemmy displays a positive trait (such as courage or quick-thinking), and provide evidence as to how this trait helps him and the prince.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain why Jemmy’s unconventional upbringing proves more useful than the prince’s pampered life in the castle.

3. In Chapter 18, Jemmy wonders “was it clothes that made a prince […] just as rags made a street boy?” (Chapter 18). Sid Fleischmann explores this idea throughout the novel.

• What is the main idea conveyed in Jemmy’s question? (topic sentence)
• Identify three examples in which one or more characters make an assumption about someone or something based on their appearance or a first impression.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain how Fleischmann challenges the idea that appearance says everything about an individual.

Full Essay Assignments

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

1. Analyze The Whipping Boy as a novel about fairness and equality. Find and discuss at least three examples of characters being treated unfairly. Discuss what factors tend to increase or decrease the chances of a character being treated unfairly. Are any of the characters able to earn fair treatment? Does the society in which the novel is set seem more fair or less fair than the modern world?

2. Analyze the role that confusion plays in the story. Identify three examples in which a character is confused by, or misunderstands, another character. What factors tend to make misunderstandings more likely? When a misunderstanding is revealed, do characters tend to change their perspective, or display stubbornness? Do any of the characters become better at communicating their feelings?