77 pages 2 hours read

Kwame Alexander

The Door of No Return

Fiction | Novel/Book in Verse | Middle Grade | Published in 2022

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Essay Topics

1.

How do Kofi and other characters demonstrate the novel’s themes of Cultural Identity and Colonialism and Resilience and Survival? How does the book display their culture, family, and willpower? Examine why these themes are important by citing specific examples.

2.

Choose one poem to analyze line by line that you believe summarizes The Door of No Return. Explain your choice through your analysis, connecting your choice through at least two of the novel’s themes and two of the novel’s symbols. Provide specific reasons supported by textual evidence.

3.

How does Kofi’s connection to water assist him in the novel? Compare how his connection to water is used as a plot device in the first half of the novel to the second. How do Kofi’s goals regarding swimming change? Why does this change occur? Cite textual evidence to support your answer.