The House of the Spirits

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“An Exercise in Perspective”

In this activity, students identify and flesh out the background and story of a minor character in the book before penning a series of journal entries for that character.

The House of the Spirits spans generations, telling the interconnected stories of multiple characters over the course of half a decade; narrated by two different characters, it offers different perspectives and emphasizes the interconnectedness of life. However, the focus remains largely on the Treuba family and the del Valle women, and there are threads or stories that the story leaves incomplete.

• With this in mind, choose a character whose incomplete story intrigues you. Flesh out their background or project into their future, using your imagination and building on the details available in the text and other related sources.
• To help you imagine the life of your chosen character, play a game of “Hot Seat” with your class. Each of you occupies the “Hot Seat” in turn, and the rest of the group poses questions about anything ranging from your favorite food to your most secret desires.