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Parsifal's Page by Gerald Morris

Summary

11 year old Piers (or Pierre, as he prefers to be called) longs to leave behind his father's dreary blacksmith shop and become part of the adventurous and magical world of knights. But when he becomes a knight's page, he finds the life very unlike the stories his mother told him. His first knight is a disappointment and a humiliation to Piers. His second knight, Parsifal, is both brave and good -hearted, but a peasant, who unlike Piers was not raised on stories of courtly behavior and deeds. Piers must constantly explain to him what is expected of a knight. Much to his surprise, however, as they journey along, Piers comes to realize that being a knight is not really about shining armor and winning jousts and that people are not always what they appear to be.

232 pages, 5th grade and up

Discussion questions

Spoiler alert! Some of the questions contain key elements of the plot. Do not read if you don't want to know what happens!

  1. The author mentions Piers' hat a number of times. Do you think the hat has any particular significance?
  2. When King Arthur said knighthood must be earned by performing great deeds, what kinds of deeds did he mean?
  3. What were some of the things about being a knight that Parsifal had to learn?
  4. The life of a knight was not what Piers thought it would be. How did it differ?
  5. Was the life of a knight as depicted in this book the way you thought it was? If not, how did it differ from your expectation?
  6. Were there some humorous sections?
  7. When Piers gets permission to ride with Sir Gawain why does he introduce himself as Piers instead of Pierre?
  8. One of the elements in stories of knights and chivalry has to do with courtly love. How does the author deal with love? (Think of the battle between Gawain and Malchance? Sir Kai and Lady Connoire?)
  9. What do you think about King Anfortas (the fisher king)?
  10. One of the lessons Piers learned was that people are not always what they appear to be. Did you guess any of the characters before their real identity was revealed?

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