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Flight of the RavenFlight
of the Raven by Stephanie S. Tolan SUMMARY Flight of the Raven, the second volume
of a trilogy that began with Welcome to the Ark (1996), is the story of
Elijah Raymond, one of four remarkably gifted children gathered together in an
experimental group home they have dubbed "the Ark." Sheltered there
from a world of ever-growing violence, the children discovered that they were
sharing dreams, not only with each other, but with equally unusual children
around the world, all of whom believed they had a mission. In the dreams Elijah
was always a Raven, connected to, but able to fly far above the others. When the
Ark program was discontinued, the mission seemed lost and Elijah ran away. In this book Elijah is found by a band of environmental terrorists and taken to their mountain hideout, where an actual raven appears and stays always nearby. Living also in the terrorist's compound are Amber and Kenny, the leader's children, who believe, as their father has taught them, that the need for radical change justifies the deaths of innocent people -- deaths they call "necessary losses." Against his will, Elijah finds himself
mentally connected to Amber, and realizes that she, too, is one of what he calls
the "Ark kids." Unable to get away from his captors, Elijah discovers
that he can shift into "dreamtime," joining his consciousness with
that of creatures who must survive in an unforgiving natural world. Gradually,
Elijah learns to survive himself and begins to understand that his mission has
not been lost. To follow it, he must find a way to take a stand against the
ultimate threat posed by the terrorists and help to rescue Amber not only from
her father, but from herself. DISCUSSION
TOPICS These
topics are designed not for standard literary analysis, but to encourage
thinking and the sharing of ideas, feelings and beliefs that may be stirred by
reading the book. There are no "right" answers to the questions posed. TERRORISM
HUMAN
CONNECTION Elijah
comes to feel a strong connection to Amber and Cassie and some members of the
Free Mountain Militia. Do you think it's necessary for people to feel themselves
a part of a family or group or community? A
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR Flight
of the Raven, like Welcome to the
Ark, is a work of fiction. All of the characters are invented. However, they
are based on real people, and many of the unusual things they can do with their
minds are things that real people report being able to do. After Welcome to the Ark was published, I heard from a
group of young people who said they had been dreaming the same dreams as Elijah,
Miranda, Doug, Taryn and the other children they connected with around the
globe. Elijah's "Dreamtime" is based
on reports many people have made on their experiences of sharing consciousness
with animals and on the shapeshifting methods of indigenous people and those in
our culture who study their abilities and philosophies. In fiction we are not
limited to what has been scientifically verified. Imagination can take us into
realms well beyond science. It's important to remember that we have yet to
understand imagination itself. Copyright
2001, Stephanie S. Tolan This
guide may be copied for educational purposes only. |
Mail to
author@stephanietolan.com with questions or comments for the author.
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