Questions
Questions
These are questions a teacher would most likely give you on a test
In the “NOW” timeline, she is known as Hannah Doe, a girl brought to Belman Psychiatric Hospital. She is accused of hallucinations and delusions, and struggles to convince others that her visions of a castle and her other “world” are real.
Hannah Dory is a peasant girl in 1347 whose village is starving in a brutal winter. She attempts to steal from with the baron’s castle to get food, and faces the danger of punishment or even death if caught. Her life is one of survival and risk.
The connection is largely through Hannah’s identity and perception: “NOW” Hannah believes she is Hannah Dory or has memories of that life. The “castle” visions or hallucinations in the psychiatric hospital storyline are tied to the past. Jordan investigates whether her experiences are real or delusion, and Hannah must “return to the past” to save her sister.
She wants to save her sister (in the past timeline) and perhaps resolve the confusion in her identity. She believes that something she does in 1347 will have consequences that free her in her “NOW” life
Jordan is an Abnormal Psychology student who becomes an intern at Belman Psychiatric Hospital. He shows interest in Hannah, tries to dig into her backstory, and becomes someone Hannah hopes will believe her and help her navigate the boundary between her two lives.
NOW timeline: Internal conflict with her own mind (are her visions real or delusions?), and external conflict with psychiatric staff, diagnosis, disbelief, and constraints of the hospital. 1347 timeline: External conflict with scarcity, authority (the baron and his guards), and danger of theft or punishment. Also internal conflict in deciding what risks to take.
By using short chapters, cliffhangers, alternating between timelines so one leaves the reader hanging just as you switch, and by gradually revealing hints about which timeline is “real” (if either).
Her decision to push toward memory recovery or to fight against the hospital structure. In 1347, decisions about stealing from the castle or engaging with powerful figures.Her choice to trust Jordan or reveal information to him.Any moment she tries to “return” to the past or fully commit to one timeline over another.
Memory is central—Hannah’s memories from 1347 (or what she believes are memories) define her identity, and her struggle is distinguishing truth from delusion. The concept of truth is ambiguous: what is “real,” and who decides it? Identity is fractured between Hannah Doe and Hannah Dory
The ending resolves (or attempts to resolve) Hannah’s dual identity and the fate of her sister, and shows whether Hannah can “escape” the psychiatric constraints by resolving her past. Some readers find the ending somewhat rushed or ambiguous—certain questions about what is real or hallucination might remain partially open.
It suggests that identity can be layered or conflicted; that memory and experience shape who we are; and that one self may be suppressed or hidden beneath another. The dual identity raises questions of which self is “real,” and how trauma or belief can split identity.
They’re central to the “NOW” timeline. Hannah is diagnosed (or presumed) to suffer from hallucinations and delusions when she insists on the castle visions. The novel explores how mental illness is treated, how patients are believed (or disbelieved), and the thin line between madness and truth.
Hannah sacrifices safety, certainty, mental stability in her quest to resolve things. In 1347, villagers sacrifice food or risk punishment. Jordan may sacrifice his reputation or emotional safety by siding with Hannah. The theme of giving up something valuable to help someone else (especially her sister) recurs.
Key characters who doubt her include hospital staff, doctors, others who see her as mentally ill. Jordan is more inclined to believe (or at least investigate). The villagers and people in 1347 have their own beliefs about authority. The theme examines how belief is influenced by evidence, bias, and trust.
In 1347, the baron wields power; villagers are controlled, punished, forced to obey. In the “NOW” timeline, the psychiatric system exerts control over Hannah (medication, confinement).
The novel suggests authority can oppress, doubt, silence, or control truth.
Her sister is a major motivating force across time. Her relationship with Jordan provides a possible ally. Relationships with hospital roommates, caretakers, or in the 1347 village influence her choices. Trust or betrayal by others push her decisions.
The dual timeline structure questions whether Hannah is destined to relive or fix the past, or whether she can choose her path. Some events seem fated, but Hannah’s actions suggest free will and agency still matter.
Yes, oppression by authority (baron / psychiatric system), doubt cast on Hannah’s voice, the idea of being trapped (in a castle / in the mind), sacrifice, suffering from scarcity (food / emotional nourishment), and allies appearing in both timelines. These parallels highlight recurring human struggles across times.
The castle is mysterious, dangerous, symbolic of power and secrecy. The psychiatric hospital is sterile, restrictive, threatening to sense. Settings amplify themes of confinement, risk, and dual reality.
Hannah sometimes needs rescue (from psychiatric constraints, from danger). She also strives to rescue her sister and the villagers. Jordan may try to rescue Hannah epistemologically. In some cases, rescue is mutual—help, trust, and collaboration that help characters “save” one another.
The theme in "The girl in the Castle" By James Patterson is Letting go. The text says “But being mentally ill wasn’t like drowning, even if it sometimes felt like it. Because the thing about drowning is that someone else can save you, whether you want them to or not. And the thing about struggling with mental illness is that you have to be part of saving yourself.” This is strong evidence for letting go, letting go of the idea that someone else, outside you must do the saving. Hannah must let go of expecting rescue and take on her own healing, which is hard but necessary.