Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.
- Is Benjamin/Leibowtiz/the Wanderer/you know who we're talking about actually the same, immortal character? If so, is he Leibowitz, The Wandering Jew of myth and legend? Justify your answers with quotes from the book, and explain how they affect your reading of the novel.
- Why do you think the novel is separated into three sections?
- Why did Miller choose these particular time periods for his settings? Is there any significance to the fact that the novellas are each separated by 600 years?
- Why do you think Miller uses the three protagonists he does? Questions to consider when answering (because like Miller, we enjoy putting question-cherries on the tops of our question-whipped cream): Why is Fiat Homo the only section in which the abbot is not the central character? Why is Zerchi, not Joshua, the protagonist of Fiat Voluntas Tua? Why Dom Paulo, and not The Poet?
- Where do you see Miller employing Latin in the novel? Why do you think he chooses the sections he does? What purpose does this dead language serve?
- The only major women characters in the entire novel are the Woman with her child and Mrs. Grales/Rachel—and they both appear briefly in the final section. Why aren't there more women in this book? Why do you think these two (three?) particular women are the only female characters? What's the relationship between the church and traditional gender roles? Between state institutions and traditional gender roles?
- Why does the blueprint show a squirrel cage motor? No joke, we're curious.
- Speaking of blueprints, why don't you create your own blueprint for an adaption of A Canticle for Leibowitz? You can choose any medium you would like: movie, music, artistic collage, TV series, graphic novel, animated feature, or even a video game. You can also blend different media, like the incredible When the Wind Blows. Decide how you will adapt the novel to best fit the medium. Now for the tough questions: why did you choose the medium you did? What other choices did you make in adapting the story, and why did you make those decisions?