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. Sandra has two “homes” in How Dare the Sun Rise—her childhood home in DRC, and then later her family’s home in Rochester.

• How does Sandra’s description of her childhood home in DRC contrast with her home in Rochester? (topic sentence)
• In what ways do these depictions of Sandra’s domestic life undermine common Western prejudices about life in sub-Saharan Africa?
• In your concluding sentences, explore how the Devaluation of Girls and Women is not merely a problem in DRC—it affects the Western world, as well.

2. Religiousness and faith in God appear in a number of characters in How Dare the Sun Rise, from the rebels who commit the massacre to Sandra and her parents.

• Particularly considering the rebels’ Christian beliefs, in what ways can faith be problematic? (topic sentence)
• In what ways is Sandra’s parents’ faith similar to the rebels? In what ways is it different?
• In your concluding sentences, explain how Sandra’s parents were sustained by hope and trust in God, and how War and Displacement has a multi-faceted connection to faith.