The Egypt Game Theme of Community

In the Egypt Game, it's clear that the neighborhood where the kids live is a tight-knit little community. All their parents know each other and share babysitting duties, and when the murder happens, the community truly bands together. The parents meet to discuss how to keep the children safe, and they even take big groups out trick-or-treating on Halloween so that no one is alone or vulnerable. Within this larger community is a smaller, even more close-knit group—the kids who are playing the Egypt Game. They stick together no matter what, and they keep their secrets close.

Questions About Community

  1. How is the Professor considered an outsider to the community?
  2. Do the other kids welcome April into their school right away?
  3. Why do Toby and Ken decide to join the Egypt Game?
  4. How does the neighborhood change after the murder?

Chew on This

Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.

Initially, the Professor is shunned because he's not considered a part of the community—some people even think he's guilty of the murders. But after he saves April and Marshall's lives, the entire community rallies around him and makes their amends.

The kids involved in the Egypt Game don't just form a little band of after school friends; they create a community where they can trust each other and support each other's imaginative powers.