When Adam Eddington, a gifted marine biology student, makes the acquaintance of blond and beautiful Kali Cutter at Kennedy International Airport on his way to Portugal to spend the summer working for the renowned scientist Dr. O’Keefe, he has no idea that this seemingly chance meeting will set into motion a chain of events he will be unable to stop. Caught between Kali’s seductive wiles and the trusting adoration of Dr. O’Keefe’s daughter, Poly, Adam finds himself enmeshed in a deadly power struggle between two groups of people, only one of which can have right on its side. As the danger escalates, Adam must make a decision that could affect the entire world—which side is he on?

Combining a tightly-plotted espionage and technology story with L’Engle’s recognizable emphasis on the spiritual and moral dimension of life, The Arm of the Starfish remains one of Madeleine L’Engle’s most popular tales.

First published in 1965, The Arm of the Starfish introduces several characters who recur in other books, as well as continues the story of Meg Murry and Calvin O’Keefe from A Wrinkle in Time.

Recommended for readers 10+, The Arm of the Starfish offers opportunities to think about: the role science and technology play in our lives and what responsibilities they have; how people make decisions; trust, loyalty, and love; This readers’ guide is designed to start conversations, whether in the classroom, around the dinner table, or in an individual’s mind. We invite you to discuss, debate, write, and do your own further research into Madeleine L’Engle’s The Arm of the Starfish.

• This novel anticipates some of the political, scientific, and technological changes of the past 50 years, yet it also reflects the time it was written in. What stands out to you?
• Adam compares many of the characters from Arm of the Starfish to animals. Why do you think this is? Which comparisons have the most value?
• Love as a theme: Each character in Arm of the Starfish has a moment or moments where Love is used as a vehicle in defining their values (or lack of).
• Discuss each character. Does the meaning love change for them? Where and when are they faced with it?
  The Fall of the Sparrow: What does the fall of the sparrow represent throughout the novel? What characters embrace this concept? What does it say about each of them?
• Time is a problem: too much and not enough, chronological inconsistencies and the ravages of. In what ways is time important to both character and theme?
• Discuss the ethics of Dr. O’Keefe’s medical research and experiments.
• Joshua and Adam have a conversation regarding Dr. Baal. Adam thought that he would be good because “he’s a churchman and stuff.” Joshua discusses the dangers in thinking that one bad person doesn’t mean all people are bad and vice versa. Do you think this is true? Have you come across this in your personal life? pg 91
• Adam finally figures out what everyone has been humming as a code. The Tallis Canon! Joshua responds, “That’s the way things come clear. All of a sudden. And then you realize how obvious they’ve been all along.” Do you find Joshua’s statement to be true? How so? Identify the moments of sudden clarity that arise throughout the book.
• Poly as a symbol of love. Discuss Poly’s growth as a character. How do her interactions with the other characters represent love? “What she is too young to have learned yet is that love is too mighty a gift for some people to accept.” pg 112
• Dr. O’Keefe’s discoveries are likened to what happened when the power of the atom was unleashed: “Here is power to give life to people, or to devour them.” When something is high risk/high reward, what responsibilities to individuals have? Are those different for scientists? The government? Consumers?
• Typhon Cutter uses being American as bait for Adam’s help. How does this patriotic love compare to the love Joshua references in Frost’s poem?
• Adam, the evening before he leaves for his risky mission, thinks about Macrina and animal behaviour. He wonders if animals show sorrow. What are your thoughts on this?
• If you’ve read A Wrinkle in Time, discuss the adults Meg and Calvin have become. Is this what you expected?

• When we go somewhere new, an immediate sense of adventure can arise. Visit a tourist destination in your town as a new comer. What do you notice? Who is around you? What colors are around you? What sounds?
• Adam compares Poly to the American Hamburger and a Milkshake in Spain- nothing like you expect it to be. Have you ever tried something with a familiar name and the results surprised you?
• What animal would you compare yourself to? What animal do you think other people would compare you to?
• When Poly runs to Archangelo for help, Adam tries weakly to deter and gives in. He acknowledges the predicament he is in. Have you ever been in a situation where understanding what is right and what is wrong is difficult?
• Adam admires Joshua’s room. He notices the smells, the colors, and the contents of the small space. Go to a space that you feel connected to and write a list of the details that stand out in the room. pg 79- 80
• On clarity: “That’s the way things come clear. All of a sudden. And then you realize how obvious they’ve been all along.” Think about life’s moments of clarity- figuring out an equation, realizing a relationship wasn’t what is seemed at first, learning a new instrument, etc., and write about that revelation
• Adam feels at ease in the lab. He brings back the images of ruthless spiders and teddy bears as metaphors for confusion. The lab takes him away from this and rests his mind in what Adam can understand.Write about a place or activity that gives you this sense of security.
• Adam feels a sense of relief when he tells Joshua and Dr. O’Keefe the truth about Lisbon.Write about a time when you experienced a similar kind of relief.
• Adam’s instincts tell him not to reveal the truth about the shark incident to Kali. He is beginning to trust his instincts and have a firm grasp on who he is. Do you follow your instincts? When have they led you in the right (or wrong) direction? pg, 166
• Did you expect the novel to end this way? Do you feel the ending does the moral dilemmas presented in the book and Adam’s journey justice? Make up an alternate ending in order to analyze L’Engle’s intentions for the ending.

• Compare and contrast Cutter and O’Keefe’s interpretation of regeneration.
• Compare and contrast Kali’s perspective on sentimentality to Joshua’s.
• The Kiss! Kali kisses Adam and he feels as though the moment makes him a man. Do you see this as an initiation into adulthood? How does romance play a role in growth?
• Adam remembers a Math teacher explaining that even something like Mathematics – which is intended to have formulas and clear answers- is not as straightforward as it seems. “Right and wrong, good and evil, aren’t always clear and simple for us; we have to interpret and decide; we have to commit ourselves, just as we do with this equation.” Do you agree? What happens if we have to make a decision with limited information?
• Dr. O’Keefe, Joshua, and Cutter all tell Adam that he has to make up his own mind. Is this the difference between childhood and adulthood?
• Dr. O’Keefe reveals the starfish and lizards with mutations to Adam. What moral issues are brought up during this conversation?
• What are your thoughts on the living conditions of the villagers? Are Dr. O’Keefe’s experiments on Temis ethical? Is he doing the villagers a service? What contradictions does this bring up for the character?
• The metaphor of the fall of the sparrow has its origins in the Christian Gospel (Matthew 10:29), and has been referenced by many writers, including Shakespeare in Hamlet. Are the religious and spiritual themes and characters central to the story, or a distraction?

• Read Robert Frost’s poem, Two Tramps in Mud Time. Think about the speaker of the poem and of Joshua. How do they compare or differ?
• Adam finds a vast difference in the street view of Madrid from the beautiful aerial landscape from the plane. Look up your town or a place you recently visited as an aerial view.
• Listen to the Tallis Canon
• Look up El Greco’s St. Andrew and St. Francis painting. Do these two important biblical figures have any symbolic relation to Arm of the Starfish characters?
• Look up Picasso’s Harlequins. Take a look at the various paintings and pick a few that remind you of Joshua. What do you think the Harlequin represents? How does it relate or symbolize Joshua?
• Listen to Respighi’s “The Birds”
• Watch The Third Man
• Listen to “Arkansas Traveller” and “Come unto these Yellow Sands.”
• Fireflies: Look up the science behind the firefly’s light. Why do you think L’Engle uses this specific detail in the novel? Is it important that Poly is the one to share this with Adam? pg, 173- 174, pg 241
• Look up Jeronimos Monastery. Discuss the images and findings.
• When Macrina comforts Poly, Poly sayd that Canon Tallis describes the dolphin not as Anthropomorphic but Anagogical. Research allegory in the Middle Ages.
• Medical and scientific research can pose a host of moral and ethical dilemmas. Research some famous cases, like Tuskegee Syphilis Study or B. F. Skinner’s box, and issues like placebo-based trials, euthenasia, and confirmation bias.