carlos ruiz zafón - Hachette Book Group

educator’s guide
The Prince
of Mist
curriculum
connections
D Literature
D Philosophy
D History
Thematic
connections
D Suspense
D Families
D Death
Ages: 12 & up
by Carlos
Ruiz Zafón
The Prince of Mist
Discussion
1. What sort of man is Max’s father? Why does he uproot
his family from their comfortable apartment in the city
and take them to an unfamiliar seaside village?
2. W
hat are Max’s first impressions of his new town?
What does he think of his new house? What do his
sisters and mother think of it? Why does his father
see it differently?
3. How does Max first encounter the garden of statues?
What are in the figures in it? What frightens Max about
them? At the end of novel, what does Max understand
about these figures?
4. M
ax’s little sister Irina befriends a stray cat and takes
it home with her. What is unusual about the creature?
What role does it play throughout the novel?
What force do you think it represents?
What is the cat’s ultimate fate?
9.W
hat was Victor’s relationship with Richard
Fleischmann and his future wife, Eva Gray?
What does Dr. Fleischman want from Cain?
What price does he agree to pay?
10. W
ho was on the Orpheus the night it sank? How does
Victor survive? Why does Dr. Fleischman believe that
he has been freed of his obligation to Cain? What are
the consequences of his error?
11. A
fter his first meeting with Victor, Max is convinced
that the old man hasn’t yet told him the whole story.
Why does Max still have doubts? Where does Max go
next for more information?
12. M
ax drops his watch while investigating
Jacob Fleischmann’s tomb. Where does he see
the watch again? How is that possible?
5. H
ow does Max meet Roland? What interests do they
share? Why does Roland live with his adoptive
grandfather, Victor Kray? Why does Roland spend so
much time on the beach?
13. “ Maybe I shouldn’t have told you anything,” Victor
says to Max (page 134). “Forget Jacob Fleischmann and
burn those films immediately. Today. That’s the best
advice I can give you.” Why does Victor say this?
Was it good advice? Why can’t Max follow it?
6. R
oland’s attraction to Max’s older sister, Alicia,
is immediate. How does Max react? What is the strange
dream shared by Max, Roland, and Alicia? What is the
significance of the clown who appears in it?
14. W
hat name does Roland give to his rowboat? Do you
think he was tempting fate? Why is he eager to take
Alicia and Max out on the boat? When does he realize
the danger they are in?
7. W
hat befalls Max’s younger sister, Irina?
Why doesn’t Max believe it was an accident? How does
the incident spur Max to delve deeper in the story of
Jacob Fleischmann? What does he initially discover?
15. W
hen Roland is trapped inside the Orpheus, why does
Max believe “that a rescue attempt was absurd”?
(page 149) Why does he go ahead with it anyway?
How does Max succeed?
8. W
hen pressed for details about his past, Victor Kray
talks about his first encounter with Cain, “one of the
greatest cheaters that has ever set foot on this earth”
(page 96). Victor refuses to make a deal with Cain,
but his friend Angus does. What happens to Angus?
16. W
hat does Max discover about Jacob Fleischman when
he returns to his old films? Why has Victor been lying
about Jacob for so long? Was Victor foolish to believe
he could outwit Cain?
The Prince of Mist
Discussion (continued)
Activities
17. F ace-to-face with Cain on the deck of the Orpheus,
Max asks about his own fate. “What would you do
with yourself,” says Cain (page 181), “if you were in
my place?” What do you think Max would do?
Could he ever be in Cain’s place?
1. M
any promises are made in The Prince of Mist, but not all
of them are kept. As a whole class project, keep a chart
of all the promises. What happens to the characters who
fail to keep them? Ask your students if they would ever
make a bargain with someone like Cain. Do they think he
can be outsmarted?
18. W
hat deal does Roland make with Cain? Why?
What does it cost him?
19. W
hat does Victor give to Max just before he leaves the
village? What is its significance? What responsibility
now belongs to Max? How does Max receive it?
20. “ Max would never forget,” the novel begins,
“that faraway summer when, almost by chance,
he discovered magic.” What is the magic that Max
discovers? At the end of the novel, is he grateful for it?
Would you be?
2. W
hat makes Cain so chilling? “Do you know how many
years I’ve been roaming around the world, Max?” he says
(page 181). “Do you know how many names I’ve had?”
Ask your students to write a brief biographical sketch of
Cain. Where do they imagine he came from? Where do
they think he might be going?
3. “ Time, dear Max, doesn’t exist,” says Cain (page 180),
“it’s an illusion.” While that’s an argument for philosophers to ponder, it’s certainly true that it’s hard to keep
track of time in this novel. Construct a timeline of this
novel with your students. Try to place all the major
incidents and characters in chronological order.
Is it possible to find a spot for Cain?
4. C
hallenge your students to identify and explain the
literary and cultural references in the novel. Who was
the original Cain? Why is Orpheus a fitting name for the
doomed ship? What is the significance of Cain’s
symbol—a six-pointed star encased in a star?
The Prince of Mist
About the book
about the author
It’s wartime, and Max Carver’s father has
moved the family out of the capital and
into a small coastal village. But as soon as
they cross the threshold of their new home,
strange things begin to happen. The spirit
of Jacob, the drowned son of the previous
owner, seems to be lurking everywhere.
Max searches for answers along with his
older sister and their new friend Roland,
and they soon find themselves caught up in
an adventure with a sunken ship, an eerie
garden, and a diabolical foe—an adventure
that will change everyone’s life forever.
Master storyteller Carlos Ruiz
Zafón has written six novels,
including the international
phenomenon The Shadow of
the Wind. His work has been
published in more than 40
countries, translated into 30
languages, and won numerous
award, including the Edebe
Award, Spain’s most prestigious
prize for young adult fiction.
The Prince of Mist
By Carlos Ruiz Zafón
He lives in Barcelona and
Los Angeles.
978-0-316-04477-6
about
the translator
praise for The Prince of Mist
Lucia Graves is an author and
a translator of many works,
“Zafón is a master storyteller.” —VOYA
including The Shadow of the Wind.
“In gorgeously translated prose, Ruiz Zafón
maintains a sweet, believable relationship
among the characters when dealing with
mundane concerns but still conveys a
sense of adventure and danger.” —PW
www.princeofmist.com
www.lbschoolandlibrary.com
Educator’s Guide prepared by JoAnn Jonas.