Petals of Blood Lesson Plan

What is the effect of the novel telling the reader right away that the four main characters are wanted in connection to a murder? Would the novel have been more exciting if it built as a mystery? How or how not?

This question will help students think about form and structure. Petals of Blood does things that other novels do not, and by paying attention to the structure, students will be better able to engage with its themes. Try to guide students toward considering other stories that begin in media res with a death or crime as a point of comparison with the novel, and invite them to consider how the framing of Petals of Blood not as a mystery disentangles this storytelling...