The Turning

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. 

Scaffolded/Short-Answer Essay Questions

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

1. In the middle of the collection, there’s a three-story arc about Frank and Max’s relationship as brothers.

• How do these stories work as a foil to the relationship between Bob and Vic Lang? (topic sentence)
• Compare and contrast the two families and the effects that familial relationships have within them, using examples from the text.
• What are these stories trying to say about family trauma?

2. The bonfire party that Boner McPharlin throws is central to several stories in the book.

• What does this bonfire party symbolize? (topic sentence)
• How does it serve as a fulcrum point for different characters in the book?
• Why is it such an important moment in the characters’ lives?

3. The events of Vic Lang’s childhood are presented from both his and his father’s perspective in “Long, Clear View” and “Fog.”

• How do these stories inform each other’s themes? (topic sentence)
• Using evidence from the stories, detail how the two characters are incapable of empathizing with each other in the moment.
• How does their relationship resolve in the story “Commission”?

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. In the background of these stories, the town of Angelus slides into crisis as the drug trade intensifies and the police force’s corruption and violence erodes the public trust, leading to Bob Lang’s downfall as a young officer. Using evidence from the stories, make an argument for the collection’s perspective on the role society and public institutions play on the life of the individual.

2. In several stories, young teenage men obsess over women who are portrayed as tragic figures. What is this collection trying to say about the link between desire and trauma, especially for young people?

3. The broad arc of The Turning centers on Vic Lang’s abandonment and how that has affected him as an adult. How does this collection portray the father-son relationship of Vic and Bob Lang, and how does that relate to the overall theme of generational trauma that spans these stories?