The Body in the Woods: A Point Last Seen Mystery

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.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

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

1. In her first encounter with Harriman, Ruby talks about Locard’s exchange principle.

• How does Locard’s exchange principle figuratively describe what happens between Alexis, Ruby, and Nick as they become friends? (topic sentence)
• Explain what Locard’s exchange principle means on a literal level.
• Give examples from the text that demonstrate how Alexis, Ruby, and Nick influence each other in a way that mimics Locard’s exchange principle.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, show how this exchange among the three friends helps convey the novel’s thematic message about Friendship.

2. In Chapters 39 and 40, Alexis’s mother returns, the teens believe they have captured the killer, and Ruby’s parents agree to let her return to the search and rescue.

• What is Henry’s purpose in placing these positive events together at this particular point in the novel? (topic sentence)
• Offer at least three examples that support your interpretation of Henry’s purpose.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, show how this structure helps fulfill the reader’s expectations of books in the mystery genre.

3. The action of the novel moves back and forth between two main settings: the town and the woods.

• What is the effect of juxtaposing these two settings? (topic sentence)
• Give at least three examples that support your analysis of this juxtaposition.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, show how this juxtaposition of the two settings helps convey the novel’s larger thematic concern with Survival.

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. Alexis has a mother who struggles with a mental illness, Nick faces discrimination and has attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and Ruby is neurodivergent. What is Henry’s reason for giving Alexis, Nick, and Ruby these characteristics? How do these characteristics impact the reader? How do these characteristics shape Alexis’s, Nick’s, and Ruby’s personalities and choices? How do they relate to larger themes in the novel—themes related to Identity and Belonging, Friendship, and Survival?

Write an essay where you analyze the impact of Henry’s choice to give each of the three main characters personal obstacles that contribute to their feelings of being outsiders. Support your assertions with evidence drawn from throughout the novel, making sure to cite any quoted material.

2. In certain chapters of the novel, the reader sees events unfolding from Caleb Becker’s perspective. What impact does this have on the reader’s experience? How do these chapters from Becker’s perspective increase the reader’s engagement with the puzzle of discovering his identity? How does understanding Becker’s thoughts, feelings, and plans increase suspense and tension? How does knowing what is happening in Becker’s mind help the reader understand the motif of collecting and its relationship to larger themes about Survival and Identity and Belonging?

Write an essay where you analyze the impact of the chapters told from Becker’s perspective. Support your assertions with evidence drawn from the novel, making sure to cite any quoted evidence.

3. Initially, Alexis refuses to disclose anything about her home situation because she is afraid of what might happen when she does. When she eventually shares her problems with Bran, what are the actual consequences? What message does this send about the importance of communication and the burden of silence? When you think about the ways that Ruby repeatedly tries to speak up—to Detective Harriman and to her parents—do you see the same message being conveyed? Ruby’s thoughts and feelings are often discounted by those she tries to share them with. How can you reconcile what seems on the surface to be two contradictory messages about Communication Versus Silence?

Write an essay where you analyze the significance of Alexis’s and Ruby’s attempts to either communicate or stay silent and demonstrate how these two different situations actually convey similar messages. Support your assertions with evidence drawn from throughout the novel, making sure to cite any quoted material.