Columbine

**//Columbine//** Facilitator: Jeff Walrich Room Assignment: Student Enrollment:

__Themes from the Reading__
 * 1) What are the primary themes of this book?
 * 2) How was good vs. evil portrayed? Was the concept prominent in the thinking of Eric? Dylan? The victims and survivors?
 * 3) How did religion impact the story?
 * 4) How inevitable was the attack? Should anyone have stopped it? Who?
 * 5) Were the survivors powerless? Which ones took control of their own destinies? What made the difference between them and those who remained victims?
 * 6) Who chose to “forgive?” How did it work out for them? Why do some survivors embrace that word and others reject it?

__Possible Discussion Questions__


 * 1) What do you make of the relationship between Eric and Dylan? Did this relationship remain consistent throughout the book? If there were shifts in their roles, can you pinpoint when and why this happened?
 * 2) Why is it important that books like Columbine be written and read? Who should read this book?
 * 3) Do you think this book glorifies Eric and Dylan and perpetuates the legend that they wanted to leave behind?
 * 4) What if you were able to meet the killers' parents. What would you want them to know? What if you could meet another character in the book. Who would you want to meet and what would you say to them?
 * 5) Which, if any, of the book's characters do you consider to be heroes? Which were scapegoats? Were there more than two people responsible for the killings?
 * 6) Which characters had reason to feel guilty? Who do you think still feels guilty now?
 * 7) Do any of the characters change or evolve through the course of the story? Do they change their view of the world and their relationship to it? If so, what events trigger such changes?
 * 8) Was there anything unique about the setting of the book? Did it enhance the story? How does the Columbine community compare to yours? How likely is it that a similar event could happen where you are?
 * 9) Which passages were most difficult for you to read? Which scenes are most memorable for you?
 * 10) At what point in the book did you decide if you liked it or not? What helped you make this decision? What kind of impact did this book have on you?
 * 11) Were you surprised by any of the revelations about the attack? Which ones? Were you surprised by the community reaction in the aftermath? How do you think your community would react after such an event?
 * 12) With school shootings being featured regularly and predominately in the media for over a decade, does the public react differently to them now? Do students react differently? School personnel? Law enforcement? The press?
 * 13) Has this book changed how you would relate to your peers?
 * 1) Has this book changed how you would relate to your peers?

__Guided Reading Questions / Questions for Understanding__


 * Understanding the Killers**
 * 1) Who changed more in the last two years: Eric, or Dylan? Summarize how each of them changed, if at all.
 * 2) Did you ever feel sympathetic toward one or both of the killers? If so, where did this begin? How did you feel about having that response?
 * 3) What do you make of the relationship between Eric and Dylan? Did it remain consistent throughout the book? If there were shifts in their roles, can you pinpoint when and why this happened?
 * 4) Was the concept of psychopathy useful in understanding why Eric did it? What are the limitations of psychopathy in explaining it?
 * 5) Was the concept of depression useful in understanding why Dylan did it? What are the limitations of depression in explaining it?
 * 6) A year before the murders, Dylan told Brooks Brown about Eric’s website. Brooks found death threats there and told his mother. Why do you think Dylan did this? Was this a cry for help? Was he trying to derail the plan? If so, why did he never do anything else?
 * Responsibility**
 * 1) Who is responsible for what happened: just the killers, or others, too? Which characters had reason to feel guilty? Who do you think still feels guilty now?
 * 2) Were Eric and Dylan equal partners in planning and instigating the attack, or was one more dominant? If so, how did one coax or manipulate the other?
 * 3) Do the psychological designations of psychopathy or depression make either killer more or less culpable?
 * 4) The Browns reported Eric’s website to the sheriff’s department. Why do you think it was not taken seriously?
 * 5) Discuss the differing parenting styles of Wayne & Kathy Harris, and Tom & Sue Klebold. Would you describe each as strict or lax?
 * 6) When Wayne Harris discovered Eric had made a pipe bomb, how did he react? What would you have done? What would you have done after Eric or Dylan was arrested?
 * 7) Do you think Eric would have attacked Columbine if he never had met Dylan? How about Dylan, if he never had met Eric?