Walls

When Drew and his sisters are meeting their fellow Americans on base for the first time, they remind each other: “To take a wall, you have to march straight and fast to it. He who hesitates is lost.” Why would this be advice that their dad gives for such a situation? What does this statement mean to them? Is this good advice? Why or why not?

The novel presents the pressures on kids moving to a new school and town and having to insert themselves into already existing friend groups, teams, and clubs. Drew, Joyce, and Linda each react to this challenge in different ways. How so? How would you?

To manipulate people’s beliefs, attitudes, and actions, both the Soviet and U.S. governments made use of propaganda—selective facts, arguments, rumors, lies, and half-truths designed to influence people—during the Cold War. How does the era’s political climate affect Drew’s daily life? Where does he get information that shapes his ideas and opinions? How does he evaluate the information he gets? How is that similar to or different from the ways Matthias gets information? When Drew visits Potsdamer Platz, he sees information from the East and West collide. When faced with propaganda and counterpropaganda, how would you determine what to believe?

When Drew finds the pledge Matthias has signed giving his “wholehearted support to the struggle against imperialism and the politics of NATO,” he’s disturbed that his mother’s reaction is to continue to encourage him to befriend Matthias. She urges him to “look beyond a person’s rhetoric when it has clearly been stuffed into his head by his government.” She believes change is possible for those who’ve been inculcated, if they are provided with truth and facts. Will that be an effective way to help Matthias? Are facts and truth enough to make a difference? Why or why not?

Both official and unofficial censorship—the suppression or prohibition of works that are considered unacceptable—occurred throughout the history of the German Democratic Republic government. A variety of books and music selections were banned in East Berlin at the time of this story. Why do you think works like George Orwell’s Animal Farm or Elvis Presley’s records were not permitted? Why does Drew give these forbidden selections to Matthias for Christmas even though he knows it could get his cousin into real trouble with the Vopos?

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects the freedom of speech and expression against all levels of government censorship, allowing individuals in the United States to speak, publish, read, and view whatever they wish. But some institutions may remove or restrict access to certain works. What are some books or music that have been removed or restricted in U.S. locations? What else do you see being censored in Walls and in your own community? What is censorship really about?

Why do you think L. M. Elliott chose to create a character like Bob? Is he just a bully? What more is there to Bob’s character? How does Bob influence Drew’s thinking about Matthias? Why does Bob create a distraction on the train to help the defector?

Use Drew and Matthias to reflect on the relationship between the individual and society, and how that relationship is both influenced by and influences personal identity. Then consider and discuss how societal institutions—such as schools, governments, religions, or clubs, for example— your experiences within them, and other people’s perceptions of who you are directly impact your identity. How do your experiences and your identity affect your behavior and how you relate to those around you?

Drew’s mom tells him she thinks that Shirley “even changed you a little for the better.” What perspectives did Shirley bring to Drew? How do you think she influences his relationship with Matthias? With Bob? Who are the people in your life that get you to look closely at the world and think about what’s happening around you?

Matthias’s mother and grandmother made many sacrifices and suffered great losses during World War II. How do their suffering and losses affect their way of thinking and their decision making? How does knowing something about family history contribute to a person’s identity? How might knowing about the sacrifices his mother and grandmother made affect Matthias as he starts a new life in the West?

L. M. Elliott tells a heroic and tragic story against a vivid historical backdrop. How did you decide what is historically true and what is fiction—the author’s interpretation of historical events and facts and how those events would affect and influence her characters? What knowledge or discovery did you take away from this book that you might not have found by reading a history book? In what ways are the issues of the era, such as prejudice, racism, and disinformation campaigns, relevant to us today? How has this novel affected the way you think about freedom and human rights?