Leviathan

Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

CHAPTERS 1-8

Reading Check

1. What is the name of the machine that Alek pilots during his escape?

2. What fake name does Deryn assume to gain entry to the Air Service?

3. What group of people are opposed to the Darwinist beasts?

4. Which famous airbeast does Deryn find herself rescued by?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does Count Volger treat Alek with disrespect?

2. What shocking information does Volger reveal as Alek loses consciousness after being drugged?

3. What are the Darwinist “beasties” (the fabricated beasts)?

4. What finally leads Alek to accept that his parents are truly dead?

Paired Resource

“June 28th, 1914”

• This educational resource from the National WWI Museum explores the events of Archduke Ferdinand’s assassination. It contains a press article from the day of the assassination, the Archduke and Princess Sophie’s schedule that day, a map showing the movements of the Archduke relative to the conspirators, and information on the Black Hand, the conspiracy group responsible for the assassination.
• The information in this resource connects to the text’s theme The Consequences of Subterfuge.
• How do the murders of the Archduke Ferdinand and Princess Sophie incite the action in the novel? What are the consequences of this factious act—both for the country and for Alek? How does the loss of his parents change Alek’s understanding of his identity?

“Austria-Hungary”

• This webpage from the International Encyclopedia of the First World War gives an overview of all relevant aspects of Austria-Hungary’s involvement in WWI, including the Archduke’s assassination and subsequent military engagements.
• The information in this resource connects to the theme Doing the Right Thing and Perception of What Is Right.
• How does Westerfeld reimagine real historical events and conflicts? How are the events explored from different characters’ perspectives? How does he use these conflicts to provide personal motivations for individual characters’ actions in the novel? Why do you think he chose to do so?

CHAPTERS 9-16

Reading Check

1. Which two opposing ideologies are at the root of the present conflict?

2. What is the “extra cargo” that the Stormwalker is hauling?

3. What weapon is hidden inside the fruit that Deryn and Newkirk feed to the bats?

4. For what destination does Deryn learn that the Leviathan is bound after they pick up Dr. Barlow?

5. What kind of creature is Tazza?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What lesson does Alek learn from his first attempt to make the walker run?

2. How does Deryn feel after witnessing the flechette strike on the Germans?

3. What startling realization does Alek have after his experience of trying to buy a newspaper in Lienz?

4. What surprising connection does Dr. Barlow reveal she has to the Leviathan?

5. What challenge does Deryn face by having Dr. Barlow aboard the Leviathan?

Paired Resource

“The Twisting Tale of DNA”

• In this 4.5-minute video, scientist and educator Judith Hauck explains the structure of DNA and its role in determining form and function for living things.
• Students can connect this knowledge with previous content they may have covered from science courses, then connect to discussions in the text about DNA strand manipulation.
• This information may prompt discussion of the theme Resolving Differences Between Competing Groups.
• How do Darwinism, the fabricated beasts, and DNA function as motifs that define the Darwinists and their ideologies? How are they different from ‘Clankers’ like the Austrians, who use machines? How do you predict these two opposing forces will clash later in the novel?

“Gender Roles in the Nineteenth Century”

• This article by Kathryn Hughes from the British Library analyzes the role and societal expectations of women in relation to men during the Victorian era. It explores various aspects of a woman’s life, including social, education, and marriage spheres. (Teacher-appropriate; not student-facing without teacher excerpting or guidance due to occasional mature content)
• This resource can be connected to the theme Doing the Right Thing and the Perception of What Is Right.
• How do the gender expectations for women during this age restrict Deryn’s ability to be her true self in the novel? How does Deryn perceive the ‘rightness’ of her decision to circumvent societal expectations by lying about her identity to join the Air Service? How does her need to maintain her secret and keep her spot aboard the Leviathan drive her actions in the novel?

CHAPTERS 17-28

Reading Check

1. What kind of marriage did Alek’s parents (Archduke Ferdinand and Princess Chotek) have?

2. Where do Alek and his crew go after escaping Austria-Hungary?

3. What is the name of the airman that Alek revives at the Leviathan’s crash site?

4. What is Dr. Barlow’s “mystery cargo”?

5. Which Latin phrase does Dr. Barlow say to Alek, his knowledge of which inadvertently reveals his true identity?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How does Alek rescue the Stormwalker and its crew from the battle with the German frigate near the border of Austria-Hungary and Switzerland?

2. What conclusion does Dr. Barlow draw when she notices that Deryn’s cheeks are equally smooth, despite ostensibly having been interrupted mid-shave?

3. What is the true reason that the Germans have been hunting Alek so relentlessly?

4. How does Alek react to his first glimpse of a Darwinist creation?

5. What actions does Deryn take to ensure that the Stormwalker will not fire upon the Leviathan during the attempt to rescue Alek?

Paired Resource

“Who Was Charles Darwin?”

• This 6.5-minute video by PBS explains the significance of Darwin’s discoveries and explores the reactions he received to his theories. 
• The information in this video can be connected to the theme Resolving Differences Between Competing Groups.
• Consider what you learned in the video regarding naturalists’ reactions to Darwin’s theories. How are the attitudes Alek has been taught about Darwinist beasts being “soulless” and “demon-inhabited” similar to the views expressed historically? How does Westerfeld use this connection to further suggest the ideological divisions between Clankers and Darwinists? How does Alek’s reaction to his first sight of the Leviathan suggest or foreshadow resolution or new understandings to the two groups’ conflict?

CHAPTERS 29-41

Reading Check

1. Which member of the Leviathan’s party agrees to return to the Stormwalker as a hostage?

2. What does Volger hide in his room that causes the Leviathan to gain extra weight?

3. Who is Dr. Barlow’s grandfather?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What solution does Alek propose to repair the Leviathan?

2. How does Deryn summarize the Leviathan changes after the modifications, and what does she mean by this?

3. How does Deryn respond when asked to reveal information about the Austrians?

4. Why does Deryn tell Alek about the request the Captain made of her?

5. What is the Leviathan’s true mission?

Recommended Next Reads 

Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld

• Alek’s and Deryn’s stories continue in the sequel to Leviathan. Now in the Ottoman Empire, both teenagers find themselves confronting the cost of keeping secrets as the conflict between the warring European countries escalates. 
• Shared themes include Consequences of Subterfuge and Resolving Differences Between Competing Groups.   
• Shared topics include alternative World War I history.        

Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve

• In a post-apocalyptic Europe ravaged by war, London has become a “Traction City”; with wheels and engines appended to its structure, it moves freely and deconstructs other Traction Cities for resources. Fifteen-year-old Tom Natsworthy navigates a world of political conflict from rival guilds within London and uncovers a plot to decimate other cities.  
• Shared themes include Doing the Right Thing and the Perception of What Is Right and Resolving Differences Between Competing Groups.
• Shared topics include Darwinism, power, Victorian-inspired London setting, dystopian/alternative Europe.
• Mortal Engines on SuperSummary