Teacher’s Guide The Wall by William Sutcliffe

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SYNOPSIS IN BRIEF

An enthralling story drawn from a frightening political reality, The

Wall is about the devastating effect of occupation and
segregation on ordinary lives.

SYNOPSIS IN DETAIL

Joshua is thirteen. He lives with his mother and step-father in

Amarias, an isolated town on top of a hill, where all the houses
are brand new. At the edge of Amarias is a high wall, guarded by
soldiers, which can only be crossed through a heavily fortified
checkpoint. Joshua has been taught that beyond the concrete is a
brutal and unforgiving enemy, and that The Wall is the only thing
keeping him and his people safe.

One day, looking for a lost football, Joshua stumbles across a tunnel which leads towards this
forbidden territory. He knows he won't get another opportunity to see what is beyond The Wall
until he's old enough for military service, and the chance to crawl through and solve the
mystery is too tempting to resist. He's heard plenty of stories about the other side, but nothing
has prepared him for what he finds . . .

The Wall is a novel about a boy who undertakes a short journey to another world, to a place
where everything he knows about loyalty, identity and justice is turned upside down. It is also a
political fable that powerfully evokes the realities of life on the West Bank, telling the story of a
Settler child who finds there are two sides to every story.

Praise for The Wall

‘This book will always be in my head and heart. Maybe one day I will be able to use the
inspiration it offers and go on my own journey to see the lemon trees grow in a world without
walls. Until then, I just hope The Wall is read by all those who value freedom, respect, hope and
the chance for everyone to fly to the stars’ Georgia Kyte, aged 13

‘It is a work with a lot of backbone, story writing skill, verve and integrity, a novel that is about
justice and peace, and against colonialism and war’ Raja Shehadeh (Palestinian lawyer and
writer)

‘Subtly but powerfully, The Wall melds the private pain of grief and adolescence with a wider,
tragic conflict. A bold and important novel’ A.D. Miller (author of Snowdrops)

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 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

William Sutcliffe was born in London in 1971. He is the author

of five previous novels – the international bestseller Are You
Experienced?, The Love Hexagon, New Boy, Bad Influence and,
most recently, Whatever Makes You Happy. His work has been
translated into more than twenty languages.

Fifteen per cent of his royalties from the English language

edition of this book will be donated to Playgrounds for
Palestine (www.playgroundsforpalestine.org), a charity which
constructs playgrounds for children in Palestinian towns and
refugee camps.
www.bloomsbury.com/author/williamsutcliffe

AUTHOR’S NOTE

‘The town of Amarias is fictional. Although it draws on many elements of Israeli settlements in
the West Bank, it should not be taken as an accurate representation of any specific place. The
checkpoint outside Amarias is based on Qalandia checkpoint.

Readers seeking a non-fiction portrait of the West Bank, and of how the occupation and
‘security wall’ have changed the lives of the people who live there, should read Palestinian
Walks by Raja Shehadeh and Against the Wall, a collection of essays edited by Michael Sorkin, in
particular ‘Hollow Land: The Barrier Archipelago and the Impossible Politics of Separation’ by
Eyal Weizman.

A fascinating insight into life inside the settlements can be found in Forty Years in the
Wilderness: Inside Israel’s West Bank Settlements by Josh Freedman Berthoud and Seth
Freedman. When the Birds Stopped Singing by Raja Shehadeh and Sharon and My Mother-in-
Law by Suad Amiry provide vivid and contrasting accounts of life in Ramallah under curfew.

I would like to thank all the above authors, whose work was extremely useful in researching this
book’ William Sutcliffe

DISCUSSION

1. Is this a coming-of-age novel? In what ways does Joshua change in the course of the
narrative? What are the key events in the story that alter him?

2. How important is the death of Joshua’s father to this story? What role do the other
‘father figures’, Liev and Leila’s father, play?

3. What does the olive grove mean to the characters in this book, and to the reader? Is it
just an olive grove, or a symbol of something more significant?

4. What role does Joshua’s mother play in the novel? Is she a good mother? Does she have
her own narrative, which is only half-noticed by her son?

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 5. Is The Wall more than just a physical wall? If so, how?

6. Does Joshua come to any real understanding of Leila and her family? If not, why not?
Are these relationships plausible?

7. The Wall has been described as ‘a modern fable’? In what way is it a fable? Does it have
a moral?

8. This novel is being published in two editions: one for adults, one for young adults. Are
the two audiences likely to find different things in the book, and if so, what?

9. The author’s note states that Amarias is a fictional place, but that it ‘draws on many
elements of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.’ Why do you think the author has used
this semi-real setting? Can you think of other novels that refer to real places and events
but use a fictional location (Catch-22, for example)? What effect does this have on the
way a novel is read?

10. Is this novel presenting a political argument? If so, what is it, and is the author fair to all
parties involved?

11. If this book has moved you to reconsider the justice or injustice of the occupation of the
West Bank, what are you going to do about it? Should fiction be a spur to action, or just
reflection?

12. The Wall is in part an adventure story. How does the author build tension? Look at the
start and end of a few chapters for examples. Also look for moments where time speeds
up or slows down.

BEYOND THE BOOK

Creative Writing Ideas

Settings and Themes

William Sutcliffe sets his book against a dramatic backdrop, which allows him to explore themes
of conflict and trust, displacement and personal freedom. If he wanted to look at different
themes, he might have chosen a different background. Settings are vital, because they inform
your story.

 Do you have a particular setting you are keen on? If so, does it suggest certain themes?
If you want to set a story during the reign of Henry VIII, you are likely to write about
marriage, corruption and religion. Or, do you have a theme you want to address? If you
want to write about the effect of climate change, for example, what would be a
dramatic setting? An arctic wasteland? Or a protest march?

 How much do you need to do to make your story realistic? Is it easier to write about
something you know already? If you are setting a story in the past, what are the things
you need to know? What did people eat and wear? Are you writing about the poor or
the wealthy? What did people want out of their lives and what dreams were realistic?

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Plotting

 What gets things going? The start of your story is important. Something needs to trigger
he action. Someone needs to move, or a new character needs to arrive into an
established setting, or someone has to learn a new fact or discover a secret, or the
world has to change – war or plague or revolution, for example. Something has to
happen.

 Dialogue is very important. It tells us what characters are like. If you are setting your
story somewhere they don’t speak English, what are you going to do? Would you use a
few words to remind people of the setting? Or are you going to have them speak the
way you do?

 Who is your protagonist? It is a very good rule of thumb that every character in a story
is the protagonist as far as they are concerned, but that cannot be the case with your
story overall, or it will have no focus. What is the thing you want the reader to care
about? What does your protagonist want? Does he or she make mistakes that cause
problems? Who else gets in their way? It cannot be all easy or the story will lack
interest.

 How long is your story? This makes a big difference on how complicated you can make
the themes. If you are writing a short story, you probably need to focus on a single
event which had a clear impact on your characters. If you are writing something longer,
you can have more characters and more twists and turns. You must plan what you are
going to write, and how much plot you will include, with a certain length in mind.

 What is the ending? The end of your story rewards people for reading it. You must
know what the resolution is. Your characters need to have changed and learned things,
and you need to make this clear to your readers.

Learn More

The following online resources are a good place to find out more about the Palestinian and
Israeli conflict.

 Background information: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14628835

 Video: http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/the-arab-israeli-war-impact-on-
palestinian-and-israeli-children/3224.html

 Online debate: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/studentlife/debate/2008/52_israeli-

palestinian_conflict.shtml

 Human rights: http://www.amnesty.org.uk/content.asp?CategoryID=973

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SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY

Non-Fiction

Palestinian Walks by Raja Shehadeh

Against the Wall by Michael Sorkin
Forty Years in the Wilderness: Inside Israel’s West Bank Settlements by Josh Freedman Berthoud
and Seth Freedman
When the Birds Stopped Singing by Raja Shehadeh
Sharon and My Mother-in-Law by Suad Amiry

Fiction

Message in a Bottle by Valeria Zenatti

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne
How We Live Now by Meg Rosoff
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
1984 by George Orwell
Ausländer by Paul Dowswell
Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare
Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare
The Diary of Anne Frank (The Diary of a Young Girl) by Anne Frank
Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

OTHER BOOKS BY THE AUTHOR

Are You Experienced?

The Love Hexagon
New Boy
Bad Influence
Whatever Makes You Happy

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