96 pages • 3 hours read
Sherri L. SmithFlygirl
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2009A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Essay Topics
Ida’s favorite thing to do in the world is fly planes. How does Ida’s passion for flying affect her choices throughout the novel? What does flying mean or signify for Ida?
What challenges does Ida face because of her race throughout the novel? What does this demonstrate about the historical context of the novel?
Ida struggles with the question of whether it is okay to lie if it is for a good cause. When do Ida’s lies help her, and when do they get her in trouble? How does she justify when it is okay to lie?
Discuss the importance of family to Ida. In what ways does she help her family back home on the farm? Does she help her family at all by becoming a WASP?
What are some of the ways in which people contribute to the war efforts throughout the novel? Track the sacrifices various characters must make throughout the novel due to the war.
At the army base, Ida quickly befriends Patsy and Lily. Discuss the importance of teamwork and friendship in the novel. What is the significance of Ida’s friendship with Patsy and Lily, and how do the friends help and support each other?
What are some of the ways in which men and women are treated differently throughout the novel? How does this affect Ida’s experience in the army?
Ida often wonders whether her friends Patsy, Lily, and Walt would accept her if they knew she was black. What clues throughout the text indicate to you whether each character would or would not accept her? How does this question affect Ida’s friendship with each character?
When Ida wonders whether or not to report for duty as a WASP, her Grandy tells her: “You see, we all have our nature at the core of everything we do. There’s no challenging it, no matter how hard we try” (216). Is flying in Ida’s nature? When do other characters act in a way that is in their nature?
Ida grows up on a berry farm in Slidell, Louisiana, trains in Sweetwater, Texas, and travels all over the country as a WASP. What role does setting play in the novel?
