Even if The Souls didn't have spookily unnatural knowledge about famous fathers or the Native American tribes of New York State, they'd still have even better knowledge: knowledge of the self. All these journeys that they've been on throughout The View from Saturday are basically just the old "finding yourself" story. And what The Souls figure out is that, if you know who you are, you've already won.
Questions About Identity
- How do The Souls know they are The Souls? What similarities do they recognize in each other?
- How does Mrs. Olinski know who her team members should be?
- Does the town of Epiphany have an identity? If so, what is it?
- How can you connect the book's narrative structure to the characters' identity?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
In The View from Saturday, Nadia, Noah, Ethan, and Julian already know who they are before becoming The Souls.
According to Konigsburg, becoming The Souls allows Nadia, Noah, Ethan, and Julian to become their best selves.