Neverwhere

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Richard’s Next Adventure”

In this activity, students will borrow elements of style, theme, and characterization from the novel to create an original story that explores the next phase of Richard’s character arc as he adjusts to his new life in London Below.

Though Richard has figured out what he wants in life, the story of who he becomes in London Below is left untold. What new obstacles must Richard face and who will he become in his new life? For this activity, borrow elements of Gaiman’s style, setting, themes, and characterization to create an original narrative that explores the next phase in Richard’s character development.

• Brainstorm: Identify both the internal and external conflicts Richard might experience as he transitions from his life of comfort and safety to life in London Below. Next, identify areas of Richard’s identity that remain unclear or unexplored, such as his title of Warrior or role as the Master of the Key to All Reality, to determine where you might want to send him. Then, decide what message or lesson you want to communicate about a theme through your story. Finally, identify and list key stylistic techniques Gaiman has used for characterization and world building so that you can incorporate them in your own writing.
• Plan or Outline: Plan or quick-draft your narrative. Be mindful of the scope of your narrative and time constraints. This might be a smaller adventure that sets up but does not resolve a larger story. Get feedback from peers and/or a teacher on your plan or draft to ensure that your story meets the criteria for the assignment.
• Final Draft: Make any changes based on feedback and create your final draft.
• Showcase: Share your story with your classmates by publishing it online or reading aloud.

Teaching Suggestion: The goal is to creatively explore and apply the elements of a narrative by continuing an open-ended story; consequently, discussing and listing some of the missing, unsatisfying, or unresolved questions about Richard’s new life may help to make the first step more approachable for students. Alternatively, students may benefit from teacher-led or group work during the brainstorm phase. Some students may find it easier to naturally continue Richard’s story arc before identifying and incorporating specific literary elements such as theme, conflict, and characterization. All students will benefit from peer and/or teacher feedback between planning and the final draft.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners and students with processing and organizational differences, question sets or graphic organizers provided at the brainstorming, planning, and drafting phases may aid students in organizing ideas and implementing them into a coherent story. To incorporate multiple learning styles, consider allowing alternative options to draw, storyboard, or perform stories instead of writing them, or allow students to collaborate in pairs or small groups. Advanced learners who have demonstrated mastery of theme and structure, Gaiman’s use of style, and elements of characterization may benefit from a more open-ended approach allowing them to invent their own character for the setting or to write an original hero’s arc using one of the secondary characters such as Hunter, Old Bailey, or de Carabas.

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 bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. From the prologue, Richard is characterized as a person with “a good heart,” though the old fortuneteller claims compassion is usually not enough to be successful.

• What else does Richard learn that helps to see him through his journey, if his compassion is not enough? (topic sentence)
• Explain the ways in which specific acts of compassion help or harm Richard and what other values and methods he learns to use alongside his compassion to complete his journey.  
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain the message conveyed by the novel about compassion as a hero’s guiding value.

2. Gaiman includes vivid imagery and figurative language to create engaging characters and settings. Choose only one character or place for the focus of this essay.

• What stylistic devices does Gaiman use to successfully bring this character or place to life? (topic sentence)
• Explain the use of these various stylistic choices Gaiman has made to develop the character or setting and how these choices impact the reader’s perceptions of the character or setting.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain why you think Gaiman’s stylistic choices work to engage the reader.

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. Trace the development of one of the novel’s themes over the course of the story. How do the plot, characters, setting, and conflicts reveal both truths and untruths about this theme? Overall, what message related to the theme might the story support?

2. Neverwhere was written in companion to a BBC television show that Gaiman wrote in collaboration with British screenwriter and actor Lenny Harry. In what ways does the novel feel cinematic? What influences in style, character, setting, narrative structure, or plot feel particularly suited to a televised medium and audience? Does the influence of another medium and intended audience add to or detract from the novel as a whole?

3. Gaiman often borrows familiar archetypes and tropes from popular stories and then twists or subverts their roles to create tension and surprise. What images, tropes, stories, or characters from Neverwhere remind you of others you have encountered in popular culture, and how does Gaiman subvert the reader’s expectations related to these familiar elements to create something different or surprising? Evaluate whether this is a reliable technique or if you feel it leans too hard toward cliché; explain your rationale.

Multiple Choice and Long Answer questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, unit exam, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. By what are both Croup and Vandemar motivated as characters?

A) Money and their reputations

B) The desire to inflict pain and kill

C) Love of clever circumlocutions

D) A ruthless hatred for Door’s family

2. Who can still easily see Richard in London Above?

A) His boss

B) Jessica

C) The unhoused

D) The police

3. Which is the best example of Door’s character subverting expectations?

A) All her family members have names related to doors.

B) Most of the blood on her clothing is someone else’s.

C) She is a damsel who does not need anyone’s help.

D) She is a noble in rags who can talk to rats and pigeons.

4. What theme does Anaesthesia’s disappearance on the dark bridge support?

A) Redemption because she overcame her fear

B) Sacrifice because taking her allowed Richard to escape the dark

C) Betrayal because she leaves Richard to face the darkness alone

D) Trust because Richard got her through safely

5. In what ways is the first visit to Floating Market confusing to Richard?

A) It is in the familiar Harrods department store, but people are selling junk.

B) No one is fighting because of the market truce.

C) Richard does not know how he arrived or how he will leave.

D) Richard can’t find Door even though she should be there.

6. Which creature does Gaiman use in extended comparison to characterize Croup, and why? 

A) A wolf because he is vicious

B) A fox because he is clever

C) A lynx because he is sneaky

D) A snake because he is a betrayer

7. Which character best serves the role as red herring for Croup and Vandemar’s employer?

A) Old Bailey

B) Islington

C) Hunter

D) De Carabas

8. Which example best shows Gaiman’s use of incongruity to subvert character roles and expectations?

A) Vandemar is fond of playing with dangerous creatures, like centipedes.

B) Islington is an angel associated with light, but his motivations are dark.

C) Hunter falls to the Beast of London.

D) Door’s compassion leads her to agree to help Islington open the door.

9. Which character arc best embodies the theme of Redemption?

A) Richard

B) Hunter

C) De Carabas

D) Door

10. Why did de Carabas allow Croup and Vandemar to kill him?

A) His life is a sacrifice for the information to help protect Door.

B) He knows he will come back to life and isn’t worried.

C) He believes that guilt and regret will weaken them.

D) His death was not foretold, so he believed he would escape.

11. Which of Door’s supposed weaknesses does Islington exploit to get her to open the door?

A) Her stubborn unwillingness to change her mind

B) Memories of her father’s torture and death

C) Her compassion for Richard

D) Her anger at his betrayal of her family and the fall of Atlantis

12. Which of the following details shows how Richard’s character has changed after his adventure in London Below?

A) He unpacks his troll dolls to display them in his new office.

B) He still avoids people at work parties.

C) He lets Jessica keep the ring and tells her to move on.

D) He talks to a rat like Door did when they first met.

13. What is Gary’s reaction to Richard’s story about London Below?

A) He calls emergency services because he thinks Richard is a danger to himself.

B) He offers an unjudgmental space for Richard to reflect on what it is he really wants.

C) He listens enthusiastically and asks Richard if he can go on an adventure with him.

D) He laughs like Richard told him a joke and when pressed, pretends he can’t hear.

14. What might Richard’s reluctance to unpack his boxes indicate?

A) That he is still disorganized and too easy-going

B) That he is too busy with his new promotion to worry about unpacking

C) That he is not so eager to have his old life back

D) That he feels guilty for getting a furnished apartment

15. Which inner conflict does Richard solve by the end of the novel?

A) Learning it is better to not get involved with strange women

B) Reconciling his love for both Jessica and Door

C) His hatred for work parties

D) Figuring out a path he truly wants in life

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. In what ways are Jessica and Door foils?

2. What qualities of a hero does Richard embody?