Son

BOOK 1: “BEFORE,” CHAPTERS 1-16

Reading Check

1. Birthmother (Other acceptable answers: Vessel) (Book 1, Chapter 1)

2. Product (Other acceptable answers: Newchild) (Book 1, Chapter 1)

3. The Fish Hatchery (Book 1, Chapter 3)

4. A scar (from her C-section) (Book 1, Chapter 2)

5. Abe (Book 1, Chapter 7)

Short Answer

1. Claire is most disturbed by the secrecy her dream implies; in the community, secrets are forbidden, and, in fact, members are usually expected to be transparent with one another. Keeping her baby in a drawer implies a secrecy that disturbs Claire, as it so sharply contrasts the compulsory candor to which she is accustomed. (Book 1, Chapter 6)

2. Unlike her coworkers and the other members of her community, Claire experiences deep yearning for and attachment to her child. She also feels lonely, which is unheard of in her community. (Book 1, Chapter 6) Because she does not take the emotion-inhibiting pills that everyone else takes, Claire has retained the capacity to feel deep emotions, and as a result feels a deep sense of love and loss for her son who was taken from her. This drives her strong desire to be near him. It is highly unusual for a member of the community to be strongly emotionally attached to another; the other members of her community do not share Claire’s feelings, nor do they even have the capacity to conceptualize the depth of them. (Book 1, Chapter 15)

3. To Claire, the boat and its workers represent an entirely unfamiliar and different way of life. From their strange accents and clothing (Book 1, Chapter 8) to their diverse body types (Book 1, Chapter 13), the boat workers represent an individuality that is entirely foreign to Claire’s uniform community. In addition, the boat represents access to Elsewhere, the mysterious communities and wider world that lie beyond Claire’s limited existence. (Book 1, Chapters 11 and 13)

4. 36 is failing to thrive (Book 1, Chapter 5), but in an unprecedent exception, the community leaders have allowed him to remain at the Nurturing Center for another year for additional care before being assigned a family. (Book 1, Chapter 7) Once that year elapses, however, 36 has still not met the desired milestones—he does not sleep through the night, which is a deviation from the expected behavior for his age and thus he cannot be assigned a family. (Book 1, Chapter 14) Because the community does not condone non-conformity, 36 is slated for “release” (the community’s euphemism for euthanasia, unbeknownst to Claire). (Book 1, Chapter 16)

5. Claire boards the workers’ boat after learning the shocking news that Jonas has taken her son and eloped from the community. Maria, the ship’s cook, comforts her and promises to take her to Elsewhere, so that Claire can search for her son. (Book 1, Chapter 16)

BOOK 2: “BETWEEN,” CHAPTERS 1-16

Reading Check

1. Water Claire (Book 2, Chapter 2)

2. A finch (Book 2, Chapter 4)

3. Claire recalls all her memories of her son and the trauma of her childbirth while assisting with Bryn’s birth. (Book 2, Chapters 7 and 8)

4. Claire plans to climb the monstrous cliff that borders the seaside village to search for her son beyond. (Book 2, Chapter 9)

5. Her youth (Book 2, Chapter 16)

6. Gabe (Book 2, Chapter 16)

Short Answer

1. A significant difference between Claire’s original community and the seaside village is the presence of emotions: Parents are attached to their child and feel love for one another. Adults fall in love and can choose their own spouses, instead of being assigned one. (Book 2, Chapter 5) Additionally, there is a greater diversity of wildlife; Claire sees many animals she’s never encountered before, like cows and birds. (Book 2, Chapter 4) She also begins experiencing colors for the first time, representing the greater depth of experiences now available to her. (Book 2, Chapter 6) Claire is surprised, however, that the children in the village do not receive a formal education as she did in her own community. (Book 2, Chapter 4) There is no technology in the seaside village; for example, Alys is shocked to hear Claire describe the surgical process she underwent during her C-section, because such a process would have killed a woman there. (Book 2, Chapter 8) Most importantly, the people of the seaside village live individual lives without a totalitarian government enforcing conformity; they are all free to make their own choices.

2. The older women in the village empathize with Claire, knowing the pain of child loss all too well. On the other hand, many of the younger people, like Tall Andras and his fiancée, are scandalized by the fact that Claire had a child without having a husband and perceive her to be “stained.” (Book 2, Chapter 8)

3. To prepare Claire to successfully mount the cliff, Einar implements a strength training regimen. Claire performs sit-ups and push-ups daily; she also increases her stamina and strength by running up and down a mountain and her agility by practicing gripping a rope with her feet. Once she has mastered these tasks, Einar adds a backpack weighted with rocks to the exercises to strengthen Claire’s back in preparation for climbing while wearing a pack. Claire also practices climbing in darkness, in anticipation of the necessity of performing parts of the climb in the darkness before dawn. (Book 2, Chapters 10 and 11)

4. After scaling the top of the cliff, Einar met Trademaster, who offered to lead him to safety in exchange for something. Einar refused the trade; as punishment, Trademaster mauled his feet with a hatchet. (Book 2, Chapter 16)

5. Trademaster is cunning and deceptive; he is dressed in fine clothes, in a suit and gloves, but his refined appearance belies the internal corruption. This is glimpsed in the rancid stink of his breath, and the delight he takes in doling out suffering, as he did to Einar when he mauled his feet and as he does to Claire when he takes her youth. His physicality is different than what Claire expected; knowing Einar’s story, she expected Trademaster to be more intimidating, but he looks “ordinary” to her. Claire quickly comes to realize, however, that he is “sinister.” Altogether, Trademaster is manipulative and devious, the personification of evil. (Book 2, Chapter 16)

6. Having traded away her youth, Claire loses her vitality, strength, agility, and beauty. Her hair becomes gray and stringy; she has difficulty standing and manipulating her body, despite the fact that only hours ago she scaled a cliff with ease. She moves slowly and struggles to catch her breath. (Book 2, Chapter 16)

BOOK 3: “BEYOND,” CHAPTERS 1-13

Reading Check

1. Veering (Book 3, Chapter 1)

2. Gabe is building a boat so that he can sail down the river in search of his birth mother. (Book 3, Chapter 1)

3. Evil itself (Book 3, Chapter 6)

4. Seeing beyond (Book 3, Chapter 8)

5. Claire’s (Book 3, Chapter 12)

Short Answer

1. Gabe is driven to leave the village by his desire to know his own history. He wants to know the history behind his birth and the identity of his birth mother. Gabe longs for a family like his friend Nathaniel’s, and he intends to go back to the community that he and Jonas left to search for answers. (Book 1, Chapter 1)

2. When Gabe uses his gift, he experiences a sensation like all the sound being sucked out of the room. His consciousness drifts into another’s mind and he sees and experiences things through their eyes, feeling their feelings, thinking their thoughts, as though he were them. (Book 3, Chapter 4)

3. Gabe calms the river by repeating aloud that he cannot kill Trademaster. This represents Gabe’s good nature; by committing to not taking the life of another, Gabe demonstrates himself to be entirely opposed to Trademaster, who feeds on suffering. By verbally affirming his commitment to promoting peace and reaching for strength by connecting to the love he has for others, Gabe reaches the other side of the river ready to confront evil once and for all. (Book 3, Chapter 11)

4. When he looks into Trademaster’s mind, Gabe learns that he is an evil being who feeds on hate and is driven by a deep, insatiable desire to cause suffering. Trademaster is not even human; he is simply a force of malevolence. Trademaster harbors a deep loneliness and anguish that he has sharpened into hatred, cruelty, and an insatiable hunger for harming others. Gabe realizes that Trademaster is “nourished” by the tragedy and suffering he causes. (Book 3, Chapter 13)

5. Knowing that Trademaster is fed by suffering, Gabe recounts how Trademaster’s former victims, like Mentor, have healed from the damage that Trademaster caused them and reclaimed their true selves. Hearing this, Trademaster “starves” in the absence of suffering and withers away into a pool of rot on the ground. This allows Claire’s youth to rejuvenate. (Book 3, Chapter 13)