The Mist

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the below bulleted outlines. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. The mist is an unknown, unexplained disaster that introduces alien dangers that none of the characters are prepared to deal with.

• How do the various characters cope with and adapt to the unknown? (topic sentence)
• Identify three passages in which different characters cope and adapt to the disaster and explain why these responses are successful or not.
• In your concluding sentences, explain which character’s strategy is most likely to result in survival and why.

2. In addition to being a horror story, The Mist is also science fiction. Science fiction often uses seemingly improbable events to explore ideas about the present-day world.

• How does the author use the specific example of the Arrowhead Project to make a statement about the danger of scientific ambition? (topic sentence)
• Explain the nature of the Arrowhead Project. What are the various characters’ explanations for the mist? What are 2-3 parallels between the Arrowhead Project and its results and contemporary man-made environmental disasters (e.g., nuclear meltdowns, oil spills, water pollution, etc.)?
• In your concluding sentences, briefly summarize the lessons the author is implying with the outcome of the Arrowhead Project and what it suggests about our technologies.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. The conflict in The Mist stems from a man-made environmental disaster. How does this story reflect popular fears of environmental disaster and collapse? What is the thematic impact of man-made disasters versus natural disasters (e.g., earthquakes, hurricanes, etc.)? How does the story’s conflict support the themes of The Loss of Humanity and The Fear of the Unknown?

2. The characters in the story illustrate different ways of forming groups and societies. Identify and describe at least two ways in which the characters form mini-societies and hold them together. What rules do different groups adopt? Some of the characters try to go out on their own. What are the forces or traits that motivate them to do so? Which society, group, or individuals have the best chance of survival?