“The Birds” Small Group Discussion Questions
Each member of the group must contribute to each question. Also pick a person to record the responses on a sheet of notebook paper to hand in after the whole class discussion.
- What resolution to the conflict do you think might be suggested in the final scene by the silent radio and the burning cigarette package? Did you like the ending? Why or why not?
- Do you think the scene at the Triggs’ foreshadows what will happen to Nat and his family, or do you think they will survive? In other words, do you read this as a doomsday story (about the end of human life on earth) or as a story in which humans will triumph over nature? Cite details from the text to support your interpretation.
- Find at least five details that suggest that an evil force might be directing the birds to turn against people. What do you imagine this force could be?
- In this story duMaurier sometimes seems critical of people and the way they respond to disaster. Find at least three details that show characters behaving ignorantly or endangering themselves or others. Do you think this is how people really behave?
- Think about other threats posed by nature. Why do you think du Maurier chose birds to be the attackers in this story?
- On just a factual level, do you think nature could suddenly turn on us like this? Give the story a credibility rating on a scale of 1 (low) to 5 (high). Be ready to support your rating with details from the text and from your own experience.
- What are other stories or movies you have seen that play on this idea?
- Give example of military imagery used in the story. Why does she do this?
- Why does Nat’s wife have no name?
- Different species of birds do not flock together. Why does she have the birds do this and what “jobs” do the different species of birds have? What does this symbolize?
- Where is the climax of the story?
- How does this story relate to the food chain and what implications about the food chain does the story suggest?
Literary Elements in Story
Identify examples of the following literary elements from the text.
- Alliteration:
- Foreshadowing:
- Imagery:
- Irony:
- Metaphor:
- Personification:
- Simile:
- Symbolism: