1. Some critics have pointed out the similarity of style between Garfield's novels and those of Charles Dickens, Henry Fielding, and Robert Louis Stevenson. Read a novel by one of these other writers and see how many similarities you can find in language, characters, and situations.

2. Many of the character and place names in Footsteps are symbolic, or at least suggestive, of what they represent.

For example, John Diamond, also called Jack, plays more than one role in the story, as the jack of diamonds is wild and can take any part in some card games. Think about the other names in the novel, such as Mrs. Branch, and write a paper on symbolic names in Footsteps.

3. Much of the power of Footsteps derives from the evocation of place and character through descriptive language.

Study the descriptions of both people and...