Alias Grace

by Margaret Atwood

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Alias Grace Questions and Answers

In Alias Grace, what are some of the metaphors that Atwood uses?      

Was the ending of "Alias Grace" satisfying or believable? What was the meaning of the novel? Did the end fit what it was trying to accomplish?

In Alias Grace, what did Grace mean when she said she'd rather be a murderess than a murderer, if those were the only two choices?

In Alias Grace, what do the images of jellyfish and birdcages used to describe the ladies imply?

Which main literary elements in Alias Grace help illustrate the unfair treatment of women?

What is the importance of dreams in this novel?

What are some quotes in Margaret Atwood's Alias Grace that show Grace writes her own story through her quilting?

What were some bad decisions Grace made that led to her ending up in prison in Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood?

The extent to which gender defines us is an important topic in Margaret Atwood's novel, Alias Grace. What comment does the novel make on this subject, and which two or three literary elements or devices are used to best serve that comment?

Atwood employs two main points of view and voices in Alias Grace. Do you trust one more than the other?

How does the book Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood tell or showcase the purpose or role of law?

In Chapters 27-41 of Alias Grace, how does Margaret Atwood use language and other features to set mood?

What does the novel Alias Grace reveal about early Canadian society?

Is the treatment of women as expressed in Alias Grace accurate based on the context of the novel?

Is Alias Grace based off of a real story?  

How much of a role do you think Grace's social standing as an Irish Immigrant played into her involvement in the murder and ultimately the fairness of her trial in Alias Grace?

How effective is "Alias Grace" as a literary re-writing of history?

Alias Grace reveals as much, if not more, about the social history of early Canada than it does about the murders. Discuss.

How does the treatment of the Irish in the 1800s impact the reader's sense of Grace's guilt in Alias Grace?

I've read that Margaret Atwood's novel Alias Grace is going to be made into a film by Sarah Polley. How effectively do you think this film project can be executed without losing anything? To me a book like this would be very difficult to adapt to film without losing important elements of the novel itself.

How and why does Atwood conceal Grace's innocence or guilt throughout the novel? At what points does one become clearer than the other and at what points does it become unclear? Is she guilty? Why? Why not?