Lieutenant (Grenville)

Discussion Questions
Use our LitLovers Book Club Resources; they can help with discussions for any book:

• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)

Also consider these LitLovers talking points to help get a discussion started for The Lieutenant:

1. Start by reading Kate Grenville's discussion of her research into the historical figure of Richard Dawes, on whom her character Daniel is based. You might then consider how her novel adheres to...or departs from the historical record.

2. Talk about the type of conditions faced by prisoners and military alike in 18th century Australia.

3. What personal traits might have made Daniel sensitive to and appreciative of a people and culture so vastly different from his own? In other words, why would a young man intent on the science of astronomy be drawn to the Aborigines and desirous of learning their language?

4. Describe Tagaran and her relationship with Daniel. What draws the two of them into their friendship...and how does it alter Daniel's life? What insights or revelations are gained by Daniel? Consider the power of friendship and its ability to overcome barriers of language and culture. How does that happen?

5. Discuss the tensions — and their cause — that arise between the Aborigines and the English. Was a clash inevitable?

6. Why does Daniel risk insubordination and punishment when he refuses to follow orders?

(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution.)

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