For Your Consideration September 26 - 30 Book V ~ The Flood 1. Do you see the title of this last book as more than the water that opened up the prison wall to allow Quentin's escape, but perhaps symbolic of his release from the confines of his own solitude? Has his solitude been the prison that has led to his obsession? Do you see other "floods" in these last chapters? 2. What are the heartbreaking discoveries that led Quentin to conclude that Poe invented C. Auguste Dupin and Duponte is nothing but a fraud? 3. "Only through observing that which is mistaken can we come to the truth." How does the realization of his personal misperceptions enable Quentin to take charge of his life and ultimately save himself? 4. What was the connection between Louis Napoleon's coup and Baron Dupin's murder? Did all those Bonapartes really live in Baltimore at one time? 5. Is it noteworthy that Edwin Hawkins is the one who comes to Quentin's aid whenever he is in an impossible situation? Why does Edwin Hawkins risk all for Quentin? Why doesn't Hope Slatter press charges and take him back into slavery when he has the chance? 6. What is the only way Quentin thinks he can prove he is not mentally incompetent to look after the Clark family fortune and prove himself worthy of Hattie? At what point does he realize the error in his thinking? 7. "To guess is one of the most elevated powers of the human mind and more interesting than reasoning because it comes from the imagination." But isn't this what the Baron had done with the information he had gathered? 8. Does Quentin conclude on his own that the Baron's version of the circumstances of Poe's death is believable but not true? Does Duponte ever admit that he is not Poe's Dupin? Do you believe that he is? 9. Do you believe that Duponte has responded to the mysteries surrounding Poe's death as he reveals the errors in the Baron's version one by one? Has he solved the mystery simply by proving there was nothing extraordinary or mysterious about Poe's last days? 10. Would you say the Substance or the Shadow prevailed as Quentin faced the choice between the Baron's version that seemed true and would be believed and Duponte's truthful explanation, which would put that man's future at risk? Does Quentin's decision not to reveal information on Poe's death indicate that his obsession with Poe has ended? What would you have done with the new information?