By:  Katherine Paterson

Discussion Guide by  Pat Bowes

Setting: Washington, D.C.,  1982, 1983
               Strathaven, Va.

Main Characters:
   : Parkington Waddell Broughton V, “Pork,”   Park -- 11-year old protagonist
   : Randy -- Park’s mother
   : Frank -- Park’s uncle
   : Thanh - Vietnamese girl - 11-years old
   : Colonel Broughton -- Park’s grandfather
   : Mrs. Davenport -- housekeeper, cook
   : Thanh’s mother
   : Jupe -- dog

Style:  Third Person

Topics:
   : The Vietnam War
   : The Wall
   : Wives of lost loved ones
   : Amerasians
   : Guilt / Blame/Reconciliation
   : Coming of age
   : Dehumanization
   : Hero’s Journey
   : Guns

1) Why does his mother call the main character "Pork"?   Does anyone, intending to
     be nice, call you names that you do not like?  How does this feel?

2) "With all his dreaming Park had never dared to dream much about his father.
    Perhaps he had been afraid to, but now he recognized the dull ache in his stomach
    as a longing.  He wanted more than anything at that moment to know the man
    whose name he carried."  Why didn't Park "dare" to dream of his father?  Why does
    he long to know his father now?

3) What do you think is the meaning of the following line from a poem Park read:
     “My life closed twice before its close.””

4) Why does Park begin to read the books in his father's bookcase?

5) In chapter 3 Park thinks, “They needed him .... They needed the life flowing from his
    memory ... Wasn’t sad better than no feeling at all.”   What does Park mean by this
    and do you agree with him?

6) Write three adjectives to describe Park and provide evidence to support your
    description.

1) Imagine you are Park.  Write three adjectives to describe Thanh as Park sees her.

2) Park’s mother says that she will explain things to Park when he is old enough.
    How old should Park be for his mother to tell him about his father?  At what age can
    children understand adult situations or relationships?

3) How did it make Park feel when he was learning to use a gun?  Do you think his
    uncle should have taught him?

4) What were your initial impressions of Thanh?

5) When Park looked at his grandpa for the first time, how did he feel?  How did you
     feel?  Have you ever seen someone in this condition?

6) “His grandfather had gone, leaving that thing in his place.  The geeks had killed his
     father, and something or someone even more terrible had destroyed his
     grandfather.”
    (a) What does Park mean by this thought?
    (b) Who does Park blame for all of this?  Why?

1) Explain how Park felt while he was sitting on the porch with his grandfather?
 
2) After Park accidentally shoots the crow the author writes: "What had he done?
    Killing was too easy.  It shouldn't be easy.  You did it without even meaning to, and
    there was no way to take it back."
    (a) Explain how Park felt at this moment.
    (b) What do you think the author meant by this passage?

3) Park has just discovered a secret that has been kept from him.  What is the secret?
     How does Park feel at this moment?

4) The author writes: "My life closed twice before its close."  To what is the author
     referring?  What does this passage mean?

5) How does Thanh feel after learning about the special relationship she shares with
     Park?

6) When Park and his grandfather were alone at the end, how does he understand
     what his grandfather was feeling and was trying to say?

7) On a scale of 1 - 20, with 20 being superior, rate this book. Provide support for your rating.

How did you come up with the idea for Park's Quest?

Park's Quest, like most novels, has several source ideas. (One idea is never enough for a whole book.) I'm not sure I even know them all, but I can quickly tell you some of them. First, I wanted for a long time to set a book on the farm in Virginia on which my father grew up. One time I was thinking about the old farmhouse, part of which dates back before the Revolutionary War, but all of which was built before 1900. Once I had a mind flash in which I saw a little Asian girl standing in the front hallway. Our older daughter is Chinese and has certainly stood in that very hall, but this child was not my daughter nor any child I'd ever seen there. I began to wonder who she might be. Another idea: the oldest son of friends of ours was a pilot who was killed in Vietnam. Their family was very active in helping bring about the Vietnam memorial. When they talked about it, I knew I had to see it, and once I had seen it, I knew I had to put it in a book. Finally, I read the German romantic poem written in the 13th century called "Parzival." There is a king in the story that has a wound that will not heal until the Grail Knight comes and asks him the question that will heal him. I came to realize that Vietnam was the wound of our country that was not healing — that we had to ask the question of Parzival before we could be healed. I rewrote the poem some time later and you can read it in "Parzival: The Quest of the Grail Knight." You might want to compare the original story with the novel I wrote using its idea.