Beautiful Creatures Discussion Questions

A quote from Martin Luther King Jr. appears on the page preceding the first chapter. How do you see his statement connecting to this story?
Why did Ethan want to leave Gatlin? Can you relate to his feelings?
Why was Ethan so hesitant about whether Lena was his girlfriend or not? When do they begin being boyfriend and girlfriend? How is their relationship typical and atypical? What qualities make someone a good girlfriend or boyfriend?
Was Lena’s disciplinary meeting fair? Explain. Why did the meeting happen?
After the disciplinary meeting, Lena broke up with Ethan, telling him that they were different and from different worlds (p. 412). Do you agree with that reasoning? Can people from “different worlds” be together? Why or why not?
What did you think about the Jackson High Guardian Angels?
What do you think happened to Ethan’s mother? What makes you think this?
Ethan’s mom told him that “the right thing and the easy thing are never the same” (p.330). Have you ever experienced this? Do you think this idea is true? Explain.
What is going on with Ethan’s dad? Do you think anything can help him?
Lena read from The Book of Moons that “withoute darknesse there can be no light” (p.409). What does this mean? Can you imagine all good, all the time? What would that be like?
Is Macon good or evil? Ethan says that Macon Ravenwood doesn’t do anything to help Lena (p. 446). Do you agree? Is Ridley good or evil? What makes someone evil?
Beautiful Creatures incorporates the Civil War into a present day story set in a small Southern town. What does this novel say about history? Is history always accurate? Explain.

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Sydney Duchannes on October 21, 2011 at 4:32pm

2. Ethan never liked the way things were around Gatlin. I hate my town because everyone's the same. Like in Gatlin.

3. He didn't want to jump to conclusions. It begins at the harvest days diner of whatever it was. They take so many Precautions. How Patient and Caring they are.

4.No, not at all. She didn't even get a chance to object to all of the lies.

5. Two Compleatly different people can always be together, but its hard.

6. It was stupid.

7. Her murder was intentional.

8. Its easy to go along with the crowed but that doesn't make it right.

9. The Rehab place helped him.

10. Theres a down side to every up side.

11. He is evil by nature but tries so hard to be the good guy.

12. No history is not as accurate as it could be.

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Permalink Reply by Hannah Kline on November 22, 2012 at 11:44pm

I'm just going to answer number two at the moment.
I live in a small town in North Carolina and I really get why Ethan didn't want to stay in Gatlin, he has lived there his whole life and not much happens that doesn't happen every year. He wants to go and experience more than what Gatlin has to offer. I live in North Carolina and a lot of the people my age who live here don't take much seriously. To them it's all a game and they think they don't have to put in much effort. To Ethan he doesn't want to be stuck hanging around with the same people his whole life, he doesn't want to stay in the house his family has lived in for generations, he want to experience excitement, something new, something that people in cities get to expirience and the only way he can is when he reads. He reads about all these fnatastic places that he doesn't know if he will ever be able to see. Ethan gets that he may be stuck in Gatlin for the rest of his life, but he doesn't want that, he wants to be his own person and get out of the town where everyone thinks the same way. Where I live nothing real exciting happens, no one famous came from here, there's not much to see except farm land and old Tabacoo barns. All I know is that as soon as I can I'm leaving North Carolina and going to a city somewhere completely different. It's hard to describe why I want to leave my hometown, but I know I can't stay here.