42 pages • 1 hour read
Marguerite De AngeliThe Door in the Wall
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1949A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
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Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Character Analysis
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BetaEssay Topics
How does woodcarving help Robin recover mentally and physically from the effects of his illness? What does this work reveal about the monks’ role in the community?
Explain why Brother Luke wants Robin to learn how to swim and trace the role of swimming throughout the book.
Find evidence in the text to describe Geoffrey’s role in transforming Robin’s life.
As Robin, Brother Luke, and John-go-in-the-Wynd travel across England, they face several problems and setbacks. How does Robin respond to them, and what does each situation reveal about his growth as a person?
How does Robin respond to and manipulate other people’s perceptions about his disability?
Aside from woodcarving, Robin learns several new skills. Identify at least three of these and discuss their role in helping him become stronger and more confident.
Explain how Robin’s trek from Lindsay Castle to the house of John-go-in-the-Wynd displays the lessons he has learned since his tenth birthday.
Robin worries that he has lost his opportunity to become a knight, but his father’s letter encourages him to continue in his training. What do Robin’s parents’ responses to his disability and his future prospects as a knight reveal about the duties of this role?
The assembled people at Sir Peter’s castle acclaim the boy as “Sir Robin.” Why do they assert that the young boy already is a knight? Research the qualities associated with knighthood in medieval England, and use evidence from the novel to explain whether the townspeople are justified in addressing him as Sir.
