Sir Gawaine and the Riddle: book club questions by chapter

🦉 Sir Gawaine and the Riddle · meeting 1 of 2

Read: Part One, “The Game at the Castle”; Part Two, “The Hut in the Forest” (pages 1–7, about 7 minutes aloud).
Stop at the end of page 7, and don't read on: the next part is for next time.

1. What riddle did the knight in black ask King Arthur?
   The story's answer: What does a woman want most in the world?
2. Why did Arthur promise that one of his knights would marry the old woman?
   The story's answer: He believed it was the only way to save his own life, for his people's sake
3. Who have we met so far, and what does each of them want?
   Listen for: Make a list together on the board; keep it for next time and add to it.
4. The part we just read is called "The Hut in the Forest". Why do you think it has that name?
   Listen for: Any answer that points to a moment in the part is a good one; ask for the page.
5. Stop here. What do you think will happen next? Write or draw one guess to check next time.
   Listen for: Keep the guesses in an envelope. Don't say whether a guess is right: the next part will.

🦉 Sir Gawaine and the Riddle · meeting 2 of 2

Read: Part Three, “The Wedding Night” (pages 8–11, about 4 minutes aloud).
Stop at the end of page 11, the end of the story.

1. What was the old woman's answer to the riddle?
   The story's answer: To choose for herself
2. What does Gawaine's answer to his wife's question show?
   The story's answer: He believed she should make decisions about her own life
3. How did Arthur defeat the knight in black?
   The story's answer: He broke the glass ball in the locket
4. Look back at last time's guesses. Which came true, and what surprised you?
   Listen for: Read the guesses out. Nobody was wrong: a guess that missed often shows what the author wanted us to expect.
5. The part we just read is called "The Wedding Night". Why do you think it has that name?
   Listen for: Any answer that points to a moment in the part is a good one; ask for the page.
6. Now that you know the ending, was it the ending you expected?
   Listen for: Ask what in the earlier parts pointed to it, or pointed the other way.

About the whole story

1. What makes the main character a hero? Would you want them as a friend?
   Listen for: Heroes of legends are brave but not always kind; ask for both sides.
2. Which part of this could have really happened, and which part grew in the telling?
   Listen for: Legends often start from a real person or place.
3. How would the story change if someone else told it?
   Listen for: Try the villain's side.
4. Who would you give this story to, and why them?
   Listen for: A reader who can name the right person has understood what the story is like.
5. If you could ask the person who first told this story one question, what would it be?
   Listen for: Collect the questions; some have answers on the story's page in the library.