Soul Surfer Litereature Circles

30 Discussion Questions

1. Where does Bethany live? Kauai, Hawaii
2. Does Bethany’s mother like surfing? Why? Yes. She has since she was a little girl.
3. What do you put on surfboards to help you keep your footing? Wax. There are different kinds

of wax, such as hard wax that you melt on your board.
4. What beaches does Bethany go to? She goes to Pauaeaka Beach and Tunnels Beach.
5. Was Bethany being a pessimist or an optimist when the waves were weak in the beginning of

the story? She was being an optimist because she was happy to just be with her friends and
practice surfing.
6. What conclusions can you draw from the fact that Bethany is homeschooled? She is serious
about her surfing and she is close to her family because she is with them a lot.
7. What do you notice about Bethany’s lifestyle? She is dedicated to her surfing and she is athletic.
She also loves God.
8. What might happen if Bethany had continued going to her public school? She wouldn’t be able
to be so serious about her surfing because public school would take up a lot of time.
9. Which one of Bethany’s parents went to Hawaii first? Her dad went to Hawaii first with just a
plane ticket and a little bit of money.
10. What can you infer about the fact that Timmy was in public school when he could have been
homeschooled with Bethany during the years before/during the attack? Timmy probably
wanted to go to public high school.
11. What feelings can you infer Bethany’s brother Timmy was feeling after he missed a lot of his
senior year because of Bethany’s attack? We think he was sad and disappointed but he was
loyal to Bethany when she needed him by her side.

12. What are some specific ways that life was harder for Bethany after her arm was bitten off? It
would be hard for her to do normal, everyday things like peeling an orange, making a sandwich,
and even getting dressed until she learned how to do them.

13. Why do you think Bethany is so competitive? Her brothers are competitive and she is athletic.
14. Compare and contrast Bethany to Ryan from the article analysis task. They both got attacked by

a shark. They are also not afraid to get back on their feet and in the water again. They both
have very supportive families. Ryan didn’t lose a limb, just got injured; however, Bethany did
lose her arm.
15. If a shark had just attacked you in the ocean, what would your emotions be like? Alexis: scared,
worried, shocked, freaked out, doubtful. Hannah: totally creeped out, praying, shocked.
16. What emotions do you think Bethany was feeling? She was probably praying to God to help her
and help her live. She says in her book that she was thinking, “Get to the beach, get to the
beach.”
17. How long do you think it took Bethany to recover from the shock of the attack? We don’t think
it took very long because Bethany is so competitive and persistent.
18. Who was a major motivator for Bethany to continue surfing even after the attack? Her dad’s
encouragement helped her push herself to be successful at surfing again.
19. How is the organization World Vision a humanitarian organization? They help others that are
poor and in need by directing people’s gifts to those people.
20. Why does Bethany not wear shoes a lot? It is hard to put on shoes with only one arm so she
generally either wears no shoes or flip-flops (she calls them rubber slippers).
21. Why doesn’t Bethany wear the prosthetic arm? She would have to wear long sleeves because of
the straps on it and the arm would be uncomfortable on the whole.

22. What do you think Bethany’s dad’s emotions were like when he heard that there was a shark
attack on a thirteen year old girl? We think he was scared and very nervous and sad because he
knew it was either Bethany or Alana.

23. Why did Bethany agree to do all of the interviews and put her story out into the public and
mainland? She thought that God would want her to and that God would use her to do great
things and inspire others to lean and depend on God.

24. How does Ryan’s family compare to Bethany’s family? They are both very supportive of their
family member that got attacked by a shark.

25. Why did Bethany stay so calm during the shark attack? She knew that God was with her. Also,
she is a very laid-back person.

26. How is the mainland different from Hawaii? In Hawaii, things are more laid back than the
mainland. Also, each Hawaiian island knows everyone else on that island; they are very tight.

27. Why didn’t Bethany die from the attack? She fought and also got medical care quickly. I
(Hannah) think that God wanted to spare her so she could be such a witness to others of God’s
flowing love.

28. Why did Bethany have to sneak out the back door of the hospital and recover at her friend’s
house instead of her house? There were too many reporters, and she needed a quiet place to
recover.

29. Why did even Alana and her family have to have counseling? They were freaked out because of
the trauma of the shark attack and needed help overcoming that stress.

30. What can you infer from Bethany’s strong relationship with God? She trusts him with her life,
and has complete faith in him and will let him play out her life, and she will just go with it.