93 pages • 3 hours read
Joyce Carol OatesBig Mouth & Ugly Girl
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2002A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Essay Topics
Pick either Matt or Ursula. What are their major mistakes in the book, and how do they learn from these errors? What are their most redeeming qualities, and how do those traits develop over time? Explain with references from the text.
Imagine you were Ursula’s parents. Do you think you would approve of her relationship with Matt, given the information available to them? Why or why not?
Is there a moral to Big Mouth & Ugly Girl? If so, what do you think it is?
How are Matt and Ursula different? How are they the same?
Ursula states that “life consists of facts, and facts are of two kinds: Boring, and Crucial” (18). What are Boring and Crucial facts, and how are they significant to Ursula?
What is the significance of the Rocky River Nature Preserve in Big Mouth & Ugly Girl?
Why did Joyce Carol Oates make the accusation Matt is arrested for a bomb threat? Why did Oates choose this sort of crime and not another kind (such as vandalism or theft)?
Throughout the novel Ursula never stops calling herself Ugly Girl. Why do you think this is? Would you expect her to stop using this name once Matt calls her beautiful? Why or why not?
What is the significance of plays and performances (like Matt’s play or the dance event Ursula attends with her mother and Lisa) to the story?
Think like a detective: Did Trevor Cassity send the threatening letters to the Donaghy household, or was it someone else? What evidence informed your opinion?
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By Joyce Carol Oates
