Mystery Collection Discussion Questions

Select a story to view the corresponding discussion questions

By the Waters of Paradise

The Fowl in the Pot

The Invisible Man

The Minister's Black Veil

The Oval Portrait

The Shadows on the Wall

The Thing in the Upper Room

The Thinking Machine

The Trial for Murder

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By the Waters of Paradise

1. This story begins as an eerie story of death and ghosts. Did you expect the ending?
2. When the main character finally meets Margaret at the party, she correctly appraises his melancholy spirit, and offers advice to him. What advice does she offer?
3. This story makes the point that curing sadness or melancholy is done by caring by people or things beyond yourself. What do you care about? What gives you purpose?

The Fowl in the Pot

1. Discuss how irony features prominently in this story.
2. Why does Sully initially arrest the brothers to punish them? Do you think his method of public punishment is appropriate?
3. The King seems eager to leave the castle. Do you think he was motivated by boredom or by genuine concern for his life? Living in the White House has been compared to 4 years of prison, much like a king being kept in a castle. Would you want that type of life, full of material wealth but no freedom to move about?

The Invisible Man

1. Father Brown solves the mystery by noting that "a mentally invisible man," a postman, carried out the crime. What makes a postman invisible, and can you think of other mentally invisible people with whom we interact regularly?
2. What do you imagine Father Brown and the murderer talked about as they walked together?
3. Does Laura share any of the blame for the murder?

The Minister's Black Veil

1. Hawthorne calls this story a parable, because he intends it to teach a moral lesson. What do you think that lesson is?
2. Reverend Hooper refuses to tell Elizabeth why he wears the veil and he refuses to take it off, eventually driving her away from him. Does this symbolize how secrets and secret sin can come between people?
3. What do you think Reverend Hooper's secret sin is? Or do you think he wore the veil to bring awareness to all people's secret sins? What sins are so bad they should remain secret?

The Oval Portrait

1. How is the ending of the story ironic?
2. This story seems to tell of the dangers of personal obsession. Have you ever been obsessed with something to the detriment of others around you?
3. Do you appreciate realistic, representative art, or do you enjoy abstract art more? Is there a painting, painter, or a period in art history, like the Impressionist period, for example, that you especially enjoy?

The Shadows on the Wall

1. Do you believe that Edward died of gastric distress as Henry asserted, or did he die from some other more diabolical means?
2. Do you think people would be nicer to each other if we knew that we would be haunted by those we treated badly?
3. How do you think Henry died?

The Thing in the Upper Room

1. Would you rent a room that was said to be haunted?
2. The last line of the story features Attwater looking in the mirror and seeing the face of the Thing in the Room. What does this mean?
3. Would the room have the same power if a new tenant moved in but didn't own a weapon?

The Thinking Machine

1. Professor Van Dusen claims that logic will solve any problem. Is he correct? Can you think of a problem logic can't solve?
2. Describe the character of Professor Van Dusen. Would you like to have him as a friend or pass time with him?
3. We call the ability to sense something "women’s intuition." Do you believe in this sense? Is there a place for intuition in our lives?

The Trial for Murder

1. Is Dickens trying to scare us with a tale of the supernatural or make a statement about the deficits of the criminal justice system?
2. At the end of the story, the convicted murderer says he knew he was going to be convicted because the jury foreman some how got into his bedside at night and put a rope around his neck. Can you explain this statement?
3. Have you ever served on a jury? What was the experience like? Did it reassure you that our criminal justice system serves up justice fairly and without corruption?