46 pages 1 hour read

Sarah Dessen

Dreamland

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2000

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Essay Topics

1.

While Caitlin narrates the entire novel, her innermost feelings are revealed through her dream journal. Analyze what is revealed through these narrations and what the journal contributes to the text as a whole. How would the novel be different without the journal and in what ways?

2.

What is Sarah Dessen illustrating through the dynamics of sibling and parent relationships? Expand your thinking beyond the O’Korens to the Biscoes, Rina’s relationship with her mother, and others. Use specific examples to support your thesis.

3.

What purpose do the dreams serve within Dreamland? How do they complicate or emphasize the overall conflicts portrayed in the novel?