Not a Happy Family: 12 Analytical Essay Prompts

These twelve prompts are designed to move beyond summary and into sustained argument about Shari Lapena's Not a Happy Family. Each prompt targets a specific craft element—character change, causality, relationships, contrasting scenes, themes, symbols, structure, foreshadowing, or the ending—and grounds its claims in the novel's plot and evidence. Use the sample thesis directions as starting points, not conclusions, and support every claim with specific scenes and details from the text. The evidence leads point to key chapters and moments you can analyze in depth. Choose prompts that genuinely interest you, and let the novel's own complexities guide your argument. For additional context, you may want to review the themes, characters, or questions and answers pages before drafting.