City of the Beasts

While they are with the People of the Mist, both Alex and Nadia undertake quests that test their courage and require personal sacrifice. What do Alex and Nadia learn about sacrifice and courage from their quests? Consider these points as you formulate your response.

• Do Alex and Nadia start the novel with similar understandings of sacrifice and courage, or is there evidence that the two are at different places in their understanding?
• What motivates both young people to undertake their quests—what part of their motivation is personal and what part of their motivation is altruistic?
• Do both of their quests require the same kind of courage? The same kind of sacrifice?
• What messages about courage and sacrifice do their quests convey to the reader? Do their experiences convey the same messages to Alex and Nadia?

Teaching Suggestion: This question asks students to focus primarily on two sections of text: the early chapters and the chapters describing the quests. Since students are being asked to track changes in two separate characteristics for two characters, they may find it helpful to set up graphic organizers. Two four-quadrant organizers, one for sacrifice and one for courage, will allow students to compare and contrast the early evidence of Alex’s understanding with the early evidence of Nadia’s understanding and compare and contrast each character’s early and later understandings.