Sorry for a bit of a delay getting these to you. Here are a few questions to get your wheels turning for our Monday night meeting…

According to this book what is a real man? Both Joe and Shane are heros to Bob; how are they different?

What is Shane’s role in Bob’s development as a man?

How is Shane dangerous, but not dangers to Bob and his family?

Why does Shane allow Chris to make fun of him when they meet at the bar?

What prompts Chris’s change of heart at the end of the book?

How would you define the relationship between Marian and Shane?

How do you think Joe would have handled the situation with Fletcher if Shane had not come along?

As you read through the book, what are the signs that this is a Christ-type, both general and specific? For example: General would mean his helping quality and integrity. Specific would mean that he helped Joe eradicate the stump (the symbol of evil that Joe could not get rid of by himself).

Why does Shane say Miram’s pie is the best stump he’s ever tasted?

Think about the way the story is told—the viewpoint of both the adult Bob looking back on his childhood interspersed with the child’s point of view? What difference does this make to the telling of the story? Why is this a good choice of viewpoint?

How old do you think Bob was while Shane stayed with them?

How is the woman character treated in this book compared to other westerns you have read or seen on film?

How does Jack Schaefer build tension in the book?

What does the fence post Shane put in that Joe can’t move symbolize?

Where do you think Shane came from? and where is he going?

For such a small, short book Shane is packed full of great things to discuss!