Discussion Questions
1)
What is a Primer? Did you read any of the Primers or did you jump right into the
story? Why would the writer ask you to make a choice about which Primer to read?
2) Sometimes we become overly concerned with something that, in retrospect, is not
important. In Part I, what troubles Firebelly? Do his concerns change, why or why
not? What is the difference between how Caroline thinks about Firebelly's problem
and how her dad thinks about it? (Part I, Chapter 8)
3) The first time Firebelly shows his underside, he does not realize he has this
unique ability. (Part I, Chapter 12) What is different about the second time he
shows his belly? (Part III, Chapter 13)
4) What does the old frog say is the difference between wishing and hoping?
Do you agree? Why or why not? (Part I, Chapter 5)
5) Why is it so important for Caroline to name her new pet? (Part I, Chapter 9)
How is this connected to the old frog's discussion about the difference between
a frog and a toad? (Part I, Chapter 5)
6) The old frog talks about “a periodic search for a new home.” (Part 1, Chapter
6) What are the homes of Claire, Caroline, and Firebelly like? Are they searching
for new homes?
7) How are Claire and Caroline connected? What traits do they have in common?
1) Most languages have a verb form that expresses existence. In English, it is the
verb to be. Typically, this verb is connected
with an adjective as in “I am happy.” What is implied if no modifier is used as
in “I am”. How is this connected to life? (Part II, Chapter 1)
2) Being wild is a way of being outside the constraints of the culture in which
we grow up. Having a family and a home is part of being in a society. How does this
contrast between seeking wildness and seeking a home relate to Firebelly, Caroline’s
father, and the old frog? How do their experiences compare?
3) Most choices have little impact on our lives, e.g., paper or plastic, color or
black and white. Some choices have a significant impact on our futures. What choices
does Firebelly make that radically change his life and the lives of those around
him? (Part II, Chapter 7; Part III, Chapter 13)
4) What would a world be like in which everyone agreed? What about a world in which
there was no pain or sorrow? The parable about Mr. Snake suggests that difficulties
and suffering in the world are what make life engaging and interesting. What do
you think? (Part II, Chapter 8)
5) Sometimes we do not understand how something works until it is broken and we
have to put it back together. How is this idea connected to the statement: “The
sting of life is not without use. When I hurt, I must think.”? (Part I, Chapter
12)
1) When reading literature there is typically a strong emotional content, especially
when a reader begins to empathize with the character. When one reads a text in a
philosophical way, the text itself, rather than the emotions elicited by the text
are important. The opening of the book offers three primers, Children, Teenager,
Adult. How do the primers combine emotional content with analytic content?
2) The philosophical belief that one's essence preceded one’s existence began
with Aristotle. For example, we understand “dogness”and “frogness” without the need
to have experienced a particular animal. Philosophers, such as Sartre, turned the
world upside down by arguing that human existence precedes human essence because
we create the essence of ourselves through the choices we make. How does this relate
to the choices of Claire, and especially those of Firebelly? (Part III)
3) According to Sartre and Kierkegaard, when confronted with the vastness of complete
freedom, we are often overwhelmed with angst and anguish. How does Firebelly
experience this? (Part III, Chapter 10).
4) Dostoyevsky wrote Notes from Underground, in part, to show a person struggling
against the prevailing scientific beliefs in the 19th century. How is this connected
to Claire’s struggles between who she can be and who she must be. (Part III, Chapter
9)
5) Kierkegaard describes a “knight of faith” as a person who must completely give
himself over to an idea without regard for rational thought. For Kierkegaard, this
was the “leap of faith” that one must take in order to accept the idea of god. Is
this transformation in Firebelly foreshadowed? (Part II, Chapter 9). When Firebelly
finally jumps, toward what idea is he leaping? (Part III, Chapter 13)
6) In Being and Time Heidegger argues that we do not completely live authentic lives
until we realize the finality of life and become a “being-toward-death”, a person
who understands the brevity and finality of life while caring about the world. Martin
Buber suggests in I and Thou that this caring can occur between any person and any
object in the world. What do each of the characters in Firebelly care about? How
do their cares change?
