Dialectical Journal: ​Crispin 

 
dialectical​ (die-uh-LEKT-i-cul), n.: the art or practice of arriving at the truth through logical arguments. 
journal​ (JUHR-nul), n.: a personal record of events, experiences, and reflections kept on a regular basis; a diary. 
 
1. This is what you must do in your journal: ​keep a dialogue with yourself. In your journal, have a conversation​ with the text and with 
yourself. You will be using textual evidence from the novel to interact with ​and respond to questions posed by your Core teacher. 
The frequency at which you will be using the Dialectical Journal will depend on where we are in the novel and what is occurring. Each 
time you are assigned a Dialectical Journal Entry you must complete it as quickly as possible so as not to get behind. If the class has 
moved on in the reading, it will be difficult to go back and answer the questions, especially when your teacher will be assigning new 
questions. 
 
How do I respond to each text entry?​ You can respond to the text in a variety of ways. The most important thing to remember is that your 
observations should be specific and detailed. You can write as much as you want for each entry, but ​you must write 3-5 sentences minimum. 
 
As part of your response, you can analyze the style of the text—reflect on elements like symbols, imagery, metaphors, point of view. Some 
basic responses are to: 
  
• Raise questions about the beliefs and values implied in the text 
• Give your personal reactions to the passage 
• Discuss the words, ideas, or actions of the author or character(s) 
• Tell what it reminds you of from your own experiences, or write about what it makes you think or feel 
• Agree or disagree with a character or the author 
To make higher-level responses try the following: 
• Analyze the text for use of literary devices (tone, structure, style, imagery) 
• Make connections between different characters or events in the text 
• Make connections to a different text (or film, song, etc…) 
• Discuss the words, ideas, or actions of the author or character(s) 
• Consider an event or description from the perspective of a different character 
 
● Note: If evidence of copying (or sharing your entries with a friend) is found, then each party involved will receive a 0 on the entire 
assignment. 
 
Chapter(s)  Prompt and Response 

1-2  “In the midst of life comes death.” How often did our village priest preach those words. Yet, I have also heard that “in the midst death 
comes life.” If this be a riddle, so was my life. How do you interpret the riddle at the beginning of Chapter One? 
 
I interpreted this riddle in a couple of different ways due to the complexity of it and how interesting it is. I think what the Father Quinel 
meant when he said “In the midst of life comes death.”, was that even when there is a world filled with life, death must happen at 
some point. I imagine a beautiful and lush forest full of life, but then a forest wildfire sweeps through the forest and burns everything, 
but the ashes of the dead help grow the living. This also reminds me of a phoenix, because when they die, they are turned into ashes 
and then reborn again. I think that when Crispin said “ If this be a riddle, so was my life.”, he meant if life and death are going to 
happen, and there is no escape from the situation, he must be part of the riddle, because there’s no escape from life or death. 

3-4  Based on the reading and descriptions, how does the treatment of Asta and her son reveal what life must have been like for a 
peasant in the Middle Ages? 
 
Life for a peasant in the Middle Ages; specifically Asta and Crispin was very difficult. On page 12 it says: “In a world in which one lived 
by the light of a father’s name and rank, that meant—since I had no father—I existed in a shadow.” That life was very difficult for many 
families, because many had lost fathers and mothers during the Plague made being important or noticed very difficult. It also states 
on page 13: “For in the entire kingdom of England there could have been no poorer Christian souls than my mother and I.” 
Unfortunately, many peasants during the Middle Ages were just as poor as Asta and Crispin; owning no land, having a shack of a 
home, and enough food and money to barely get by. Life must have been very difficult as a peasant during the Middle Ages; 
especially knowing that lords and nobles have much more wealth and power that you could never obtain. 

5-7  All choices that we make have consequences, whether they prove to be positive or negative. What is one choice that a character in 
this story has made so far that you think will have consequences for them? Choose a quote from the text to identify that choice, then 
make predictions based on any positive or negative consequences you believe that choice will have as the book progresses. 
 
We all make poor decisions and positive decisions in life, but Crispin made a very negative decision. On page 7 Crispin had made a 
decision that unraveled a rope of ungodly consequences. It states on page 7: “It was my curiosity—another name, my mother had 
often said, for Satan—that made me want to see what was there. Despite fear of discovery, I crept through the woods.” This led to 
John Aycliffe noticing Crispin and chasing him. Later, Aycliffe attempted to kill him and then send out the entire village as a search 
party; all because Aycliffe thought he had stolen some of his money. Crispin now has spent his days hiding from the villagers—not 
knowing if he will be captured, hanged, or slaughtered. One simple choice of being curious almost got Crispin killed; as they say, 
curiosity killed the cat.   

8  Father Quinel has just informed Crispin of his name, and that his mother could read and write. From Crispin's perspective, write a 
paragraph describing how he must feel finally knowing his true name, and what he might be thinking regarding his mother's ability to 
read and write. Remember that you are writing as if you are Crispin. 
 
 Over the last couple of minutes, I have been told all of the secrets in my life. I feel frustrated that I didn’t even know my own name or 
that my mother could read and write! We are poor as dirt and my mother has the education of a noble! I have so many questions 
swirling in my mind, like a bowl of soup. Who is my father? Is he still alive? Why did the village hate my Mother? I hope that Father 
Quinel can answer these questions very soon, because I cannot handle the anticipation. I feel like my whole life was hidden behind a 
stone wall, and now it’s starting to crack. I do not understand why Father Quinel or my Mother have not told me anything sooner. 
Why was I not told my own name? I am Crispin. I have a new life now, and I’m going to break the stone wall of secrets that towers 
over me. 

9-11  At the boundary cross on the southern end of Stromford, Crispin found Father Quinel’s body. 
Why would someone murder a priest, and out of the characters you’ve met so far who do you think was the murderer? Why? 
 
There could be a couple of reasons why someone would murder someone like a priest. One reason could be that Aycliffe or 
someone in the village had discovered what Father Quinel had been doing with Crispin, and murdered him. Maybe Cerdic 
could have spotted Father Quinel speaking to Crispin. As it says on page 41, “Filled with dissatisfaction, I stepped from the 
church. As I did, I thought I saw a shadow move.” This could be possible evidence that Father Quinel and Crispin were being 
spied on during the conversation. Maybe later on in the book we might discover why Father Quinel was killed, and who could 
have killed him.  

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