Materials for a group discussion on “The Shield and the Well” 

 

A tree many different birds perch on, a little glass tree, a present received by a little girl many seasons ago.  

 

I wish for my book to be like that, its branches a safe perch good for chattering on garnering food for thought. 

 

I thank all teachers and group leaders who enriched my life and that of my children, masters in an art difficult and frail yet beautiful and lasting, like glass. 

 

Here are a couple of lists of questions you can browse through if it may help in leading a group discussion.  

 

I would be thrilled if you took the time to mail me some new questions I could add to the list and some answers people came up with. 

 

Autism-related questions 

 

• Do you have any special interest in a subject complex like the history of Zakaru’s tribe or like all the properties of wild plants and herbs? 

  • Common special interests now could be all the names and deeds of the characters in a Fantasy series, all the cards in a deck and their properties, all the games scores and players in a sport …  

  • Are you able to share your passion with some of your friends? With all of them? 

  • How would it feel, if you had nobody to talk with about what you are passionate about? If, for example, everybody rolled their eyes and walked away when you mention Basketball or your favourite TV series? 

  • How would you go about finding some people who share your same interest? 

  • How would you have done it in Zakaru’s time, with no Internet connection, no school and a small circle of peers? 

  • If you find something wonderful or extremely interesting, are you surprised other people don’t feel the same way?  

  • Were you surprised and then gave up when you noticed everyone walks away if you talk too long about your special interest? 

  • Famous inventors, artist, scientists, how were they as kids, as schoolmates? 

 

 

• Is it hard for you to figure out what people are really thinking and what they really want when they don’t say it with words?  

  • What skills are you using when you are figuring it out? 

  • Do you read body language? Can you describe exactly what you observe or is it a general, intuitive impression?  

  • Can you de-code the tone of voice? 

  • If you don’t understand, do you talk directly to the person or do you try to know  about the person from others? 

  • Does body language vary internationally? 

 

• Is it hard for you to figure out people want when they are lying, when they use words different from what they really think and want? 

  • Is it hard to believe people would use their words to say something they know isn’t true? 

  • Do yo use the same skills you use to know what the person is thinking when that person won’t tell? 

  • Do you look for possible motives interests and agendas? 

  • Do you compare what a person says and what that person does, and notice if they don’t match? 

 

• Do you think everybody is just as skilled in understanding what other people think and feel? 

  • Did you know that some people with autism have a hard time reading body language and de-coding tone of voice? 

  • Is it a skill you learned naturally or did someone teach it to you? 

  • Do you think it is a skill that can be taught? And that everybody can learn? 

  • Does Zakaru have a hard time figuring out what people think, when it is not verbalised? And when the words are lies and cover-ups? 

  • Once he sees through lies, will he trust the person again? 

  • What about Ayna? Do you think she understands people’s intentions and emotions? 

  • Why do you think she communicates so well with animals? 

 

• Do you think one can be smart at some things and not at others? 

  • Have you observed this before in yourself or in people you know? 

  • Why do you think Zakaru had trouble remembering the Chief’s directions, though he evidently has an excellent memory? 

  • Why do you think he kept forgetting to tell Shaman and then the Chief what had happened? 

  • Do you imagine Ayna as thinking in words or in pictures? 

  • Try an experiment: have silence around you, close your eyes and relax: does your mind start “chattering” to you or do you see images, like in a dream? Or both? Or something else? 

 

• Have there always been people with autism? 

  • Why do you think the author chose to set the story in ancient Africa? 

  • Why is Africa called the cradle of mankind? 

  • Do you think the story may be talking about communities all over the world and in all times? 

  • Do you think it is more likely for inventions to be made by very social, outgoing and dynamic people or by rather single-minded people who may have some friends, but spend most of their time alone figuring out things? 

  • Do you think it is an advantage or a disadvantage, for a community, to include some people with autism?  

  • Do you think communities that include and respect people with autism have  better chances of survival? 

 

• Do you think people with autism are more likely to be bullied? 

  • Why do you think bullying happens? 

  • Do you think excluding from your circle of friends amounts to bullying? 

  • Did you ever witness scapegoating? 

  • Do you think people with autism should be granted a “special protection” like Zakaru? 

  • Do you think Ayna would have had a better life if her grandmother had been there to protect her? 

  • What changed for Ayna when she could “speak”?  

  • And when someone spoke up for her? 

 

Questions unrelated to autism 

 

• Has climate change happened in the past also? 

  • Was the Sahara desert ever green? 

  • Is there really any underground water in Africa? 

  • Can climate change oblige some communities to migrate? 

  • Do you know of migrations due to lack of water or other climate reasons in the past? And in the present? 

  • Is there water shortage now in Africa? 

 

• What do you know about witches and witch hunts? 

  • Could Ayna be called a “white witch”? 

  • Are there witches in Africa?  

  • Were there witch hunts? Do you know where in the world and when? 

  • Can there be anything similar now, in these times? 

  • Do we fear and persecute some kinds of people? 

 

 

• How do you think information was passed on from one generation to the next, when and where there is no writing? 

  • Did you know memory boards really exist in some parts of Africa and also similar memory aids in South America? 

  • Were epics first written or did people learn them by heart first and only later set them in writing? 

  • What ancient epics do you know? 

  • What about songs and rap? Are they easier to memorise than prose with no music and no rhythm? 

  • How long ago have people started to sing and chant? 

  • Did you know that when writing was invented, some people were afraid everyone would lose their memory? 

  • Do you still learn some things by heart? 

  • Is it easier for you to remember words or places or things you saw? Names or faces? 

  • Would you be able find your way, remembering a journey you had made long before? 

 

• What do you know about the animals mentioned in the story? 

  • In the fourth chapter we hear of an antelope caught by a pack of Hyenas, of termites feasted on by an aardvark and of bush-babies hurrying to hide in their dens before nightfall. Do you think there is a connection between thee animals and how Zakaru was feeling at that point in the story? 

  • How long ago did people begin farming animals like goats and sheep? 

  • Do some communities around the world still survive mainly thanks to the animals they farm? Could you name some? 

  • Why do you think Ayna believes snakes to be heartless?  

  • What feeling does it give you to look into snake’s eyes? Or a crocodile’s? What is the meaning of “reptile brain”? 

  • Is it true that monkeys mourn their dead? 

 

• What do you know about wild plants and herbs? 

  • Could you survive in the wild? 

  • Can people really eat caterpillars? All of them or are some poisonous? 

  • When you look at the countryside or the woods, do you recognize many different plants each with its different shape and properties, like Ayna, or do you just see landscape, like Zakaru? Or something in between, recognizing some of the plants? 

  • If you were sick, would you know what plants or herbs could help you feel better? 

  • Have some medicines that are made by pharmaceutical companies been found out by analyzing the chemical components in vegetable and animal ingredients used in traditional medicine? 

  • Can traditional medicine free you of all diseases? 

  • What would you do, if you got sick? Would you turn to modern medicine, traditional medicine or a mixture of both? 

  • Would you know how to light a fire, just with the aid of a piece of flint-rock? 

  • Could you recognize a flint-rock, an obsidian, a hard rock good for making a spear-head? 

 

• What do you know about initiation rites? 

  • Is it an ancient custom? 

  • What countries have or had initiation rites? 

  • Are there still communities that ask young people to go through some rite of passage, to be considered a grown-up member of the community? 

  • In your experience, do you think nowadays there may be customs equivalent of a rite of passage? 

 

• What do you know about prehistoric cave paintings? 

  • How old are the oldest cave paintings?  

  • Where were they discovered? 

  • Why do you think people decided to paint? 

  • What did they paint? 

  • What colours  did they use?