Essay prompts Any Way the Wind Blows Rainbow Rowell

12 Analytical Essay Prompts for Any Way the Wind Blows

Each prompt below is designed to help you write a focused, evidence-driven essay about Rainbow Rowell’s novel. They are not generic—every question grows directly from specific characters, scenes, and symbols in the book.

1. Simon Snow’s Many Identities: From Chosen One to Normal to Heir

Why this prompt matters
Simon’s identity shifts more than any other character’s. Tracking those shifts reveals how the novel questions destiny, self-worth, and the lies we inherit.

Sample thesis direction
Simon’s refusal of the Mage’s inheritance, his planned wing removal, and the eventual revelation of his Salisbury parentage show that he can only move forward after losing every false identity.

Evidence leads

Simon refuses the Mage’s estate, insisting he killed the Mage and was not manipulated (chapter 2)
Simon decides to accept the money to escape the World of Mages and schedules wing surgery (chapter 8)
Lady Ruth recognises Simon’s shoulders and eyes as Lucy’s and the Mage’s; Baz realises Simon was always the Mage’s son (chapters 84–86)
After the Salisbury reveal, Simon asks Baz if he was always a magician and breaks down when Baz confirms it (chapter 91)

2. Guilt, Forgiveness, and the Tape Recorder: Baz’s Moral Reckoning

Why this prompt matters
Baz’s guilt over stealing Philippa’s voice connects his childhood manipulation by Fiona to his adult responsibility. It forces him to separate himself from his family’s war mentality.

Sample thesis direction
Baz’s attempt to return Philippa’s stolen voice is the moment he breaks from his aunt’s legacy of war and chooses personal morality over family loyalty.

Evidence leads

Baz rails at Fiona for using him as a child spy; she insists “we were at war” (chapter 60)
Baz realises he only wanted Fiona’s approval, not to fight the Mage (chapter 60)
At the meeting, Baz is overwhelmed when he recognises Philippa as the girl whose voice he stole (chapter 56)
Baz confesses to Simon and the group; Simon forgives him and acknowledges pushing Simon down the stairs was an accident (chapter 64)
Baz uses the tape recorder to return Philippa’s voice in the basement; she physically swallows the magic (chapter 69)

3. Love versus Control in the Simon–Baz Relationship

Why this prompt matters
The central conflict in Simon and Baz’s relationship is not external but internal: whether loving someone means letting them make their own choices or stepping in to “save” them.

Sample thesis direction
Through Simon’s decision to leave and Baz’s insistence on finding him, the novel contrasts Penelope’s belief that love means setting someone free with Baz’s conviction that love means refusing to give up.

Evidence leads

Simon leaves a note saying only “I’m sorry”; Penelope tells Baz to let him go, but Baz insists “Perhaps he just needs me” (chapter 11)
Simon breaks up with Baz, saying he hates being with him; Baz says, “I never thought I would be the first thing you ever gave up on” (chapter 13)
Baz makes Simon promise to fight before giving up; they reconcile and commit to trying (chapter 16)
In the flat, Simon invites Baz to be angry; Baz pulls Simon’s hair in an ambiguous gesture blending frustration and closeness (chapter 83)

4. Penelope’s Flawed Methodology and the Cost of Certainty

Why this prompt matters
Penelope prides herself on logic and organisation, but the novel forces her to admit she has been wrong about almost everything—her relationship with Simon, the curse, and her own limits.

Sample thesis direction
Penelope’s blackboard of “What We Know” is a symbol of her need for control; her journey is learning to let go of that control without abandoning her friends.

Evidence leads

Penelope reflects that she was wrong about everything and turns a wall into a blackboard to re-sort facts (chapter 10)
She lists her failures to Shepard: causing dangerous situations, being dumped by Simon multiple times without noticing, killing vampires on camera, being captured repeatedly (chapter 21)
Shepard tells her she is a heroic witch; Penelope rejects the label (chapter 21)
Penelope eventually breaks the demon contract by using logic and legalism, not force (chapter 59)
At the end, Penelope hesitates when Shepard asks her to come to Omaha, but she chooses to stay open to possibility (chapter 90)

5. The Symbolism of Simon’s Wings: Transformation, Amputation, and Acceptance

Why this prompt matters
The wings are the most visible outward sign of Simon’s change. Their presence, attempted removal, and eventual acceptance track his emotional journey.

Sample thesis direction
Simon’s initial decision to have his wings surgically removed represents his desire to erase his magical identity, but his later willingness to keep them—and even have clothing made to accommodate them—signals his acceptance of a new self.

Evidence leads

Mrs. Wellbelove is shocked by the wings; Simon agrees to surgery with Dr. Wellbelove because magic won’t touch them (chapters 2 and 8)
During the aborted surgery, Simon leaves because he needs to talk to Baz; he postpones the wing removal (chapter 17)
Baz kisses Simon’s folded, Betadine-stained wings (chapter 17)
Shepard suggests making shirts with wing openings; Simon and Baz discuss this as a practical accommodation (chapter 91)

6. Family Legacy: The Salisbury Revelation and the Weight of the Past

Why this prompt matters
The revelation that Simon is the son of the Mage and Lucy Salisbury redefines every relationship in the novel and calls into question the nature of fate, choice, and inheritance.

Sample thesis direction
The Salisbury revelation transforms Simon’s self‑image from orphan to heir, but the novel ultimately argues that a person can choose their own legacy regardless of blood.

Evidence leads

Lady Ruth keeps a candle for her daughter Lucy, who fled the Mage years ago; she hopes Lucy will come home (chapter 1)
Baz and Simon visit Lady Salisbury and learn her son Jamie is missing; the subplot connects to Daphne and Smith‑Richards (chapters 26–27)
Lady Ruth recognises Simon as Lucy’s child when he holds the Sword of Mages; Baz confirms Simon looks like the Mage (chapters 84–86)
Simon breaks down, realising the Mage lied from the start about everything, including Simon’s parentage (chapter 87–88)

7. Agatha and Niamh: A Contrasting Love Story

Why this prompt matters
Agatha’s arc from passive bystander to active caretaker parallels her slow connection with Niamh, offering a quieter, more grounded counterpoint to Simon and Baz’s intense romance.

Sample thesis direction
Agatha’s relationship with Niamh develops through shared responsibility for the Watford goats, showing that intimacy can grow from competence and mutual respect rather than shared trauma.

Evidence leads

Agatha helps deliver a stillborn goat kid; Niamh praises her calm under pressure (chapter 73)
Agatha successfully delivers a live kid; Niamh kisses her and says, “You saved Watford” (chapter 76)
Niamh and Agatha drive together to Watford; Agatha closes the gates behind them, symbolically re-engaging (chapter 65)
In the epilogue, Agatha has abandoned magic but chooses to stay with the goats, living a simple life—suggesting she has found peace outside the mage world (epilogue)

8. Smith Smith‑Richards as a False Prophet: Performance and Manipulation

Why this prompt matters
Smith’s chapters are written in a self-aggrandising internal monologue that reveals his messianic delusion. Analysing his rhetoric shows how the novel critiques charismatic leaders who exploit the vulnerable.

Sample thesis direction
Smith’s narrative voice, with its constant appeals to “destiny” and “my Simon Snow chapter,” exposes him as a manipulator who uses the language of prophecy to disguise his desire for power.

Evidence leads

Smith watches Simon arrive and thinks, “My Simon Snow chapter was over” after his humiliation (chapter 75)
Smith recalls his godfather telling him stories of a glorious magical world; he declares himself the true Chosen One (chapter 44)
Smith plans to heal Simon at the White Chapel and imagines Simon spreading his message (chapter 58)
Smith admits his spell draws up all of a person’s magic at once and then they run out—he never intended to warn recipients (chapter 75)

9. Causality and Blame: Did Simon Really Kill the Mage?

Why this prompt matters
The novel repeatedly returns to the question of whether Simon is responsible for the Mage’s death and whether that act was murder, self‑defence, or something else entirely.

Sample thesis direction
Through Dr. Wellbelove’s insistence on self‑defence, Simon’s own guilt, and Lady Salisbury’s gratitude, the novel complicates simple ideas of blame and suggests that the Mage’s manipulation made the confrontation inevitable.

Evidence leads

Simon insists he killed the Mage and refuses the inheritance; Dr. Wellbelove argues it was self-defence and that Simon was manipulated (chapter 2)
Lady Salisbury thanks Simon for killing the Mage, revealing her own grudge against him for what he did to Lucy (chapter 27)
Simon learns that the Mage found him in a care home and lied about everything; he realises he may be the son of the man he killed (chapter 87)
The Coven acquitted Simon, but he still carries guilt; his therapist’s advice about living in the present helps him cope (chapter 38)

10. The Ending: Agatha’s Choice to Leave Magic Behind

Why this prompt matters
While Simon ends the novel still connected to magic (he discovers he is a magician), Agatha deliberately abandons it. Her choice offers a different vision of what a happy ending can look like.

Sample thesis direction
Agatha’s decision to live as a goat herder at Watford, trading her wand for a walking stick, represents a conscious rejection of the magical world’s demands and an embrace of a quieter, more authentic life.

Evidence leads

Agatha isolates herself and practices destructive magic before her father forces her to work at his practice (chapter 14)
She tells Niamh that Simon is like a mad dog—she has learned to be a bystander (chapter 22)
Agatha delivers the second goat kid alive and kisses Niamh; she is described as saving Watford (chapter 76)
In the epilogue, Agatha leads the goats across the Great Lawn every evening and sleeps in the loft; she reflects that the goats could manage alone but she chooses to stay (epilogue)

11. Shepard’s Curse as a Metaphor for Commitment

Why this prompt matters
Shepard’s demonic engagement contract is played for humour, but it also raises serious questions about consent, debt, and what we owe the people we love.

Sample thesis direction
The demon marriage contract externalises Shepard’s fear of real intimacy—he entered into it voluntarily but lied to Penelope about its nature, suggesting that true commitment requires honesty, not just escape.

Evidence leads

Shepard reveals the ritual cost his thirdborn child; Penelope is horrified but amused (chapter 25)
Debbie translates the tattoos and reveals it is a marital prenuptial agreement written in legalese; Shepard withheld this from Penelope (chapter 36)
Penelope summons the demon and argues the contract invalid because Shepard used a false name and had undisclosed debts; the demon voids it (chapter 59)
After the curse is broken, Penelope and Shepard kiss; but later Shepard admits more magical debts (firstborn to imps, lost last name to a fairy, mermaid condition) and Penelope climbs off his lap (chapter 54)

12. Narrative Structure: How Multiple Points of View Shape Our Understanding

Why this prompt matters
The novel alternates between Simon, Baz, Penelope, Agatha, Smith, and even minor characters like Lady Ruth. Each POV offers a different lens on the same events, creating dramatic irony and depth.

Sample thesis direction
By giving Smith his own chapters, the novel allows readers to witness his delusion from the inside, making him a more complex antagonist than a pure villain and forcing us to examine how charisma works.

Evidence leads

Smith’s first POV chapter portrays him as jealous of Simon but genuinely believing himself the Chosen One (chapter 44)
Smith narrates his “Simon Snow chapter” and declares his plan will not fail (chapter 58)
After his exposure, Smith’s narration is defensive; he calls it a “debacle” and still insists on his destiny (chapter 75)
Baz’s chapters reveal his internal guilt and vulnerability, while Simon’s show his struggle with self-worth; the contrast deepens our understanding of their relationship (e.g., chapter 33 vs. chapter 56)

Choose Your Prompt and Begin

Each prompt above is grounded in the novel’s specific language, characters, and events. Use the character guides and theme analyses on this site for deeper context, and check the questions and answers page if you get stuck on a particular scene.

Good luck—and remember to support every claim with textual evidence.