How I Became a Ghost: A Choctaw Trail of Tears Story

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 throughout your response that serve as examples and support.

1. The characters are closely connected to community ties throughout the novel. At the beginning of the novel, Isaac introduces himself by describing his family members.

• How does Isaac’s description of his family portray how he views himself and his community? (topic sentence)
• Explain what Isaac’s introduction of his family in connection to his identity reveals about him as a person, how Isaac is connected to the Choctaw community, and how the members of Isaac’s family continue to grow throughout the novel.
• In your concluding sentences, explain why Tingle chose to portray the Choctaw people in relation to family and community.

2. Instead of saying goodbye, the Choctaws say, “Chi pisa lachike,” meaning “See you sometime in the future.”

• What does the saying reveal about the Choctaws’ relationship to death? (topic sentence)
• Explain what the saying reveals about the Choctaws’ relationship with death and ghosts and how the phrase relates to their commitment to the community.
• In your concluding sentences, explain how ghosts and community are connected in the novel.

3. Jumper is Isaac’s dog, who can speak with him and plays an important role in the narrative.

• How is Jumper important to the novel’s narrative? (topic sentence)
• Describe Jumper’s role in the novel, how he communicates Isaac’s feelings, and how Isaac’s connection to his dog portrays his innocence.
• Explain how Jumper’s character connects to the Choctaws’ link to the natural world in your concluding sentences.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. Isaac says that Treaty Talk is why he became a ghost. Write a persuasive essay that either defends that position or opposes it. Is Isaac’s death a direct result of Treaty Talk? Why or why not? Support your argument by analyzing three moments from the novel that support your position.

2. Examine the novel’s theme of The Aid of Supernatural Influences and Choctaw Spiritualism. Choose three moments from the text when characters experience supernatural influences and analyze how that supernatural aid helps the Choctaw people in their fight against white violence.

3. Consider how Tingle describes nature throughout the novel using personification and how it ties to the theme of Community and Connection to Nature as a Source of Strength. Choose three instances when Tingle personifies nature and write an essay that examines the message of each scene, how characters in that scene have a relationship with nature, and how nature is used as a source of strength, citing evidence from the text to support your argument.