Tracker

Does the novel portray life and death as oppositional, or complementary? Consider how John’s grandfather’s terminal illness depicts the relationship of life and death similarly to and differently from John’s hunt for the deer.

Examine John’s progression through the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance? Are there other words you might use to describe John’s grieving process? What and why? How does the novel’s ending contribute to ideas about grief as a process?

How does Paulsen characterize the relationship between nature and humanity in Tracker? Does Paulsen’s depiction of wilderness reflect your own understanding? How so?