Goodbye Days

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Disclaimer: Goodbye Days deals heavily with grief and loss. There may be students in your class who have experienced a loss. You may want to alert your guidance counselor that you are planning to discuss this book. They can provide resources for students who may be struggling. This list of resources may also prove useful for students.

Short Answer

1. The five stages of the grieving process are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. What are some of the mental and physical reactions people may have to grief? Why is it important to explore the emotions that grief brings—what can happen when people don't have the chance to express their grief? What types of “grief rituals” (like memorial services) do people use to work through loss?

Teaching Suggestion: Goodbye Days uses internal monologues, flashbacks, and dreams to convey Carver’s emotional evolution (e.g., Chapters 20, 22, 26). Reviewing these devices will help students recognize Carver’s grief processing as he progresses through the stages of grief. Students should recognize that, although these are not action-driven plot points, they are still essential to Carver’s character development and move the narrative forward.