City of the Plague God Essay Prompts

These 12 prompts are designed for deep analytical essays on City of the Plague God. Each focuses on a specific aspect of the novel—character change, causality, relationships, contrasting scenes, themes, symbols, structure, foreshadowing, or the ending—and includes a defensible thesis direction and chapter/scene evidence leads drawn from the story. Use the internal links throughout for further exploration of characters, themes, and discussion.

Prompt 1: How Does Sikander’s Grief for Mo Drive His Initial Decisions?

Why It Matters: Sikander’s grief is the emotional engine of the first half of the novel. Analyzing how his mourning shapes his choices reveals the connection between personal loss and heroic motivation.

Sample Thesis Direction: Sikander’s unresolved grief for his brother Mo leads him to recklessly confront supernatural threats, but his grief also becomes the source of his perseverance when he redefines Mo’s legacy as a reason to fight.

Evidence Leads:

Chapter One: Sikander imagines conversations with Mo while working at the deli, using the routine to cope with loss.
Chapter Three: After the deli is attacked, Sikander’s fury at the destruction of Mo’s preserved flowers fuels his reckless attack on the demon boss.
Chapter Twenty-Six and Twenty-Seven: Sikander’s reunion with Mo in the underworld shows his grief transforming into acceptance and renewed purpose.
Author’s Note: Chadda explains that Sikander’s jihad is a personal struggle to protect family, linking grief to noble struggle.

Prompt 2: What Causal Role Does Ishtar’s Adoption of Belet Play in the Conflict’s Resolution?

Why It Matters: Belet’s identity as Ishtar’s adopted daughter creates both loyalty and conflict. Examining this causality shows how family bonds—chosen or biological—drive the plot.

Sample Thesis Direction: Ishtar’s decision to adopt Belet sets up Belet’s fierce protectiveness and her willingness to enter Kurnugi, but it also creates a rift between them that must be healed for Belet to become her own hero.

Evidence Leads:

Chapter Fifteen: Belet reveals her past as an Iraqi war orphan; Ishtar’s adoption gives her purpose but also a burden of expectation.
Chapter Twenty-Two: Belet insists on swapping places with Ishtar in the underworld, showing her devotion.
Chapter Forty-One: Belet decides to rescue Ishtar alone, asserting her agency independent of her mother’s plans.
Chapter Seven (Ishtar’s memory): Ishtar’s protective nature toward Florence in WWII prefigures her relationship with Belet.

Prompt 3: How Does the Relationship Between Sikander and Belet Evolve from Suspicion to Trust?

Why It Matters: The central mortal-demigod partnership relies on overcoming initial distrust. Tracing this change illuminates how cooperation is built across cultural and supernatural divides.

Sample Thesis Direction: Sikander and Belet move from mutual suspicion—rooted in Belet’s secretive nature and Sikander’s defensiveness about Mo—to a trust cemented by shared sacrifice and the acknowledgment of each other’s grief.

Evidence Leads:

Chapter Four: Sikander first suspects Belet after recognizing her fighting style; their early interactions are combative.
Chapter Fifteen: Belet shows Sikander her parents’ photo; he shares his grandfather’s story. The moment of vulnerability begins trust.
Chapter Twenty-Five: Their argument over Gilgamesh’s pacifism tests their bond, but they reconcile.
Chapter Forty: Belet helps Sikander after his fall; their silent understanding shows full trust.

Prompt 4: Contrast the God Surge Battle (Chapter Eighteen) with Nergal’s Defeat (Chapter Forty). What Does This Contrast Reveal About True Heroism?

Why It Matters: The two confrontations with Nergal bookend the novel’s action. Contrasting them shows the shift from divine brute force to human strategy and sacrifice.

Sample Thesis Direction: While Ishtar’s god-surge battle relies on raw power and ends in her death, Sikander’s defeat of Nergal uses cunning, self-sacrifice, and the cure’s dispersal—suggesting that true heroism does not depend on divine strength but on love and ingenuity.

Evidence Leads:

Chapter Eighteen: Ishtar and Nergal’s fight destroys buildings; Ishtar is impaled and disintegrates.
Chapter Thirty-Nine: Sikander opens the tub of Mo’s Promise inside the thunderhead, letting rain carry the cure.
Chapter Forty: Nergal weakens as immortality is “cured”; he decays without ever being struck.
Chapter Seven (flashback): Ishtar’s own belief in heroism (fighting bombers) contrasts with her reliance on power.

Prompt 5: Analyze the Symbolism of the Flower of Immortality and Its Transformations Throughout the Novel.

Why It Matters: The flower’s journey—from myth, to Mo’s garden, to perfume, to rain—mirrors the themes of mortality, love, and sacrifice.

Sample Thesis Direction: The flower of immortality symbolizes how the true “cure” for death is not endless life but the loving legacy one leaves behind, as Sikander and Daoud convert the flower from a personal talisman into a communal healing resource.

Evidence Leads:

Chapter Twenty-Three: Gilgamesh reveals Mo sent a cutting to Sikander; the flower originally came from the snake that stole it.
Chapter Thirty-Five: Daoud has preserved a pressed flower and made “Mo’s Promise” perfume.
Chapter Thirty-Nine: Sikander disperses the perfume as rain, healing the city.
Chapter Forty-One: The deli is renamed “Mo’s,” and the flower’s legacy lives in the community.

Prompt 6: Examine the Structural Function of the Author’s Note in Shaping the Reader’s Understanding of the Novel’s Themes.

Why It Matters: The author’s note directly addresses the word jihad and the novel’s pre-COVID context. Analyzing its placement and content reveals the author’s intent and the novel’s cultural statement.

Sample Thesis Direction: By placing the Author’s Note after the story’s resolution, Chadda reframes the entire novel as a personal jihad—a noble struggle—thus reclaiming the term from negative connotations and reinforcing Sikander’s character arc.

Evidence Leads:

Author’s Note: Chadda explains his twelve-year hesitation to write a Muslim hero and defines jihad as a noble struggle.
Chapter Nine: Sikander redefines his fight as a jihad to save his family, not a war.
Chapter One: Sikander’s imaginary conversations with Mo show his internal struggle.
Chapter Forty-Three: Cuneiform excerpt from the Epic of Gilgamesh ties the novel’s theme to ancient questions about mortality.

Prompt 7: How Does the Foreshadowing in the Epigraph (Prologue) and the Repeated Cuneiform “Gilgamesh Lied” Create Suspense and Thematic Depth?

Why It Matters: The novel uses ancient texts as both a structural frame and a source of mystery. Analyzing foreshadowing shows how the author builds tension and questions about heroism.

Sample Thesis Direction: The epigraph’s question about mortality and the recurring graffiti “Gilgamesh lied” work together to create a suspenseful mystery about what Gilgamesh concealed, ultimately revealing that the “lie” was that true heroism includes mortality and vulnerability.

Evidence Leads:

Prologue: Epigraph from The Epic of Gilgamesh asks “What remains of our deeds?”
Chapter Twelve: Wall of cuneiform repeating “Gilgamesh lied” in multiple languages; the rhyme by Sidana adds menace.
Chapter Thirteen: The sword Kasusu reveals Gilgamesh never lost a battle but could not save Enkidu.
Chapter Twenty-Three: Gilgamesh admits he faked his death and consumed the flower; he later becomes a pacifist gardener, contradicting the epic’s glory.

Prompt 8: Analyze the Symbol of the Deli (Mo’s Deli and Later Mo’s) as a Representation of Family, Heritage, and Resilience.

Why It Matters: The deli is a physical and emotional center. Its destruction and rebuilding mirror the family’s journey.

Sample Thesis Direction: The deli evolves from a place of memory and grief into a symbol of community resilience and cultural pride, as Sikander shifts from defending its physical structure to preserving its spirit through the flower and the renamed “Mo’s.”

Evidence Leads:

Chapter One: The deli is filled with photos and flowers reminding Sikander of Mo; it represents his heritage.
Chapter Three: The attack destroys the deli; Sikander fights to protect it.
Chapter Thirty-Five: Daoud preserves beauty in the deli despite the plague.
Chapter Forty-One: The deli is repainted and renamed “Mo’s”; it becomes a place of comfort and belonging.

Prompt 9: How Does the Novel Use the Contrast Between Ishtar’s and Nergal’s Attitudes Toward Mortality to Develop Its Theme of Sacrifice?

Why It Matters: Ishtar and Nergal represent opposing views on immortality and death. Their conflict forces Sikander to define his own stance.

Sample Thesis Direction: Ishtar views immortality as a burden and love as infinite, while Nergal hoards life through destruction; Sikander’s sacrifice of the flower aligns him with Ishtar’s belief that meaningful sacrifice outweighs endless survival.

Evidence Leads:

Chapter Sixteen: Ishtar calls immortality a sickness and says love is one of two infinities.
Chapter Seven (WWII flashback): Nergal feeds on hatred; Ishtar fights to protect the innocent.
Chapter Twenty: Nergal devours a demon and displays plague dogs; he sees beauty in decay.
Chapter Forty: Nergal’s fear of death reveals his true weakness; Sikander’s willingness to fall after dispersing the cure shows his acceptance of mortality.

Prompt 10: What Changes in Sikander’s Definition of Heroism from the Beginning to the End of the Novel?

Why It Matters: Sikander starts as a grieving boy avoiding confrontation and ends as someone who sacrifices himself for others. Tracing this change is central to the novel’s arc.

Sample Thesis Direction: Sikander initially associates heroism with Gilgamesh’s legendary feats and his brother Mo’s adventurous persona, but by the end he defines heroism as the quiet, selfless act of protecting loved ones—even at the cost of his own life.

Evidence Leads:

Chapter One: Sikander imagines himself as Enkidu to Mo’s Gilgamesh; he feels secondary.
Chapter Eleven: Sikander uses street wisdom and Saddam Hussein’s hiding patterns to plan hunting Nergal—practical, not epic.
Chapter Thirty-Nine: Sikander jumps into the thunderhead, opening the tub; he falls without knowing if he’ll survive.
Chapter Forty-One: Sikander’s family and community see him as a hero, but he dismisses the label; the deli’s renaming honors Mo, not himself.

Prompt 11: How Does the Ending (Chapters Forty and Forty-One) Resolve the Novel’s Central Conflict of Plague and Loss in a Way That Reinforces the Theme of Community Over Individual Glory?

Why It Matters: The ending does not involve a final battle but a communal healing. Analyzing the resolution shows the novel’s message about collective action.

Sample Thesis Direction: Instead of a single victorious hero, the ending disperses the cure through rain and relies on family and friends (Daoud, Belet, the community) to rebuild, affirming that survival and healing require cooperation, not individual glory.

Evidence Leads:

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Sikander disperses the cure into the rain; he does not defeat Nergal alone.
Chapter Forty: The poxies revert to human form together as the rain falls.
Chapter Forty-One: The deli is reopened with help from family; Belet leaves for her own quest.
Chapter Thirty-Five: Daoud’s choice to dilute the perfume risks failure but stretches help to more people.

Prompt 12: Analyze the Relationship Between the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Novel’s Plot: How Does Chadda Rewrite the Ancient Story for a Modern Audience?

Why It Matters: The novel is explicitly in dialogue with the ancient epic. Examining the intertextuality reveals how Chadda updates themes of friendship, mortality, and heroism.

Sample Thesis Direction: Chadda transforms Gilgamesh from a demigod warrior into a pacifist gardener and makes Enkidu’s role split between Mo (the lost brother) and Belet (the ally), rewriting the epic to emphasize that true immortality lies in love and memory, not in heroic deeds.

Evidence Leads:

Prologue: Epigraph directly quotes the epic.
Chapter Thirteen: Kasusu says the stories underplayed Gilgamesh’s successes but could not save Enkidu.
Chapter Twenty-Three: Gilgamesh reveals he faked his death and now tends plants; he refuses to fight.
Chapter Twenty-Six: Sikander’s reunion with Mo in the underworld parallels Enkidu’s death and Gilgamesh’s quest for immortality.
Author’s Note: Cuneiform lines describe the snake taking the plant, tying the novel’s flower to the original myth.

For further discussion of these essay topics, see the general questions and answers page, or explore our deep dives into characters and themes.