At Jackie's February 2014

Wool -discussion questions

Wool Questions

1.Wool follows several characters over the course of its five sections, with Sheriff Holston, Mayor Jahns, and Juliette playing the largest roles. Who did you sympathize with the most? Who do you feel you resemble most?

 2.Although Sheriff Holston is one of the most important characters in the book in terms of story, we don’t spend nearly as much time with him as we do the others. Were there other characters you wished you could have gotten to know better? Why?

 3.One of the most exciting things about reading Wool is coming to understand exactly how the Silo operates. Was there a moment when the logic of the Silo’s society clicked for you? What was it? Looking back, were there hints that you missed?

 4.Even though the Silo is the only environment the characters have ever known, some of the values of our world seem to linger in the world of Wool, as characters derive status from their proximity to the top of the Silo, complain of the claustrophobic environment, and go to great lengths for a view of the outdoors. Do you think these are reflections of innate human values? Or do you think eventually humans could fully adapt to such an environment?

 5.When Jahns is convincing Jules to take up the Sheriff’s badge, Jules claims, “I don’t think you get what a mess we’d be in without these machines.” To which Jahns replies “And I don’t think you get how pointless these machines are going to become without all these people.” (p. 103) How does this conversation reflect the larger problems of the Silo? Are the costs necessary to keep the Silo going worth their impact on the quality of life? How much sacrifice is too much?

6.Why do you think the rules of the Silo are designed the way they are? What are they designed to help, and what are they designed to hinder? What do the rules tell you about the ultimate goal of the Silo?

7.Both Peter Billings and Lukas Kyle struggle with their roles in the Silo, as the story progresses. Although they initially do their best to maintain the status quo, they eventually work against the roles they’ve been chosen for. What do you make of these transitions? What do you think led them to rebel against the system instead of going along with it? Why do you think they went along with it in the first place? Was it merely fear, or something more?

8.Peter realizes that he has a choice between doing what is expected of him and doing what is right. Can you relate this decision to any other situation in the book?

9.Section four of the book “The Unraveling” is full of references to, and epigrams from, Romeo and Juliet (referred to here as The Tragic Historye of Romeus and Juliette). What comparison can you make between the two stories? Why do you think the author chose this story in particular? With so few products of culture permissible in the Silo, why do you think Romeo and Juliet has been allowed to survive?

10.Why do you think the information in the Legacy has to be hidden? Would you hide it, or share it?

11.Because the Legacy is hidden, the residents do not have access to their own history, beyond the myths they are told. The frequent erasures of knowledge banks (as after an uprising) compound this problem. How does this effect the lives of the residents of the Silo? How might an even slightly larger historical understanding change their decisions?

 12.Why do you think IT has the power, access, and knowledge that they do? Why not some other department? Why not the Mayor?

13.One of the strengths of Wool is that beyond imagining a new world, it allows us to see our own with new eyes. Do you think Wool has symbolic lessons for our contemporary lives? What aspects of modern society might you perceive differently after reading Wool l?

 14.Compare the conversations that Juliette has with Lukas and Peter on pages 531-532 with the conversations that Bernard and Lukas have about the Legacy and the Order. Do you think Juliette’s proposal would work? Or do you think that the darker view of humanity that Bernard represents is more sustainable?

 15.Juliette is viewed as a symbol of the uprising. Do you think an uprising would have occurred without her? Who else could have been a figurehead for it?

 16.Juliette is an inspirational female character in the novel. What other strong women appear in the story and how do they gain or use their power?

 17.Although Wool does answer many of the questions raised in the first few sections, there are many that remain a mystery—what lingering questions do you still have about the world of Wool? What are your speculations about the origins and destiny of the community of the Silo?

18.One of the questions that is never fully answered in the book is the central question of the Silo: Why do those condemned to the outside always (or very-nearly-almost-always) clean the sensors on the cameras?