Knowing Study Guide Questions
-Knowing indicates that determinism rather than randomness is the way of the universe. If predictions can be made about man-made disasters as well as natural disasters, does that mean that it is already determined what everybody’s choices are going to be?
-How would you feel if you knew a big disaster was coming, but were powerless to stop it?
-Why do you think the Whisper People give Caleb the nightmare about the trees and animals burning? Do you think his vision of the animals burning influences his decision to save the rabbits in the end?
-Dianna says that she likes not knowing what the future holds in store, especially since we all die in the end. John feels that he needs to know what’s in store, especially when it comes to disasters. Do you personally feel that knowing or not knowing is better?
-Lucinda receives the warnings and it terrifies her, which leads to her dying of an overdose. Caleb and Abby receive the warnings and accept them. Does this mean that the children were more worthy than Lucinda to be rescued and start over?
-There are indications that John wasn’t speaking to his pastor father even before his wife died. Does this mean he was already having religious doubts and that his wife’s death only made his doubts stronger? At what point do you think John regained his faith? Is it possible that one of the reasons John received the warning was for the sake of his eternal soul?
-Do you think the numbers Caleb started writing down were of any significance? Were they just a reminder to John that Lucinda didn’t finish writing the numbers on the original paper, and that he needed to see the door where she scratched the final numbers?
-Knowing shows a lot of panic and chaos near the end. Do you think most people would act that way at the end of the world? Would you?
-What if the Whisper People hadn’t warned John about the end of the world? Would John have been as mentally or spiritually prepared for it? Would he have been as willing to let the Whisper People take his son away?
-The Whisper People give the children a choice to stay behind. What does this say about the Whisper People?
-What religious undertones did you notice in Knowing? Do you think the movie is a good representation of the Rapture or the Apocalypse?
-Do you think the Whisper People are angels or aliens? Could they be both? If they are both, does that mean that heaven is simply on another planet?
-There are other “ships” leaving Earth, which indicates that this is one of many stories of people being rescued. Caleb and Abby brought a pair of rabbits with them. Could it be that other people that were rescued brought pairs of other animals with them like in Noah’s Ark?
-There are a bunch of black stones at the place where the Whisper People pick up the children. Could there be more stones like that in the places where other people of Earth are picked up? The black stones appear several times throughout the movie. Do you think they are the sign of the Whisper People themselves, or just a sign of the pick-up spots?
-When the Whisper People say, “Only the children must go, those who heard the call,” do you think they were just referring to the people in that group, or could it be that all of the people rescued from Earth were just children?
-Could many other people on this planet have figured out the clues through the numbers the way that John did? Could the Whisper People have sent out other kinds of messages to the various people of Earth depending on their personalities? If you were one of the people rescued, what kind of message do you think the Whisper People would have sent you?
-When John is waiting for the destruction, do you think he is ready for it? Do you think he has fully accepted the truth? Even though John is scared, do you think that part of him is happy that he will soon be with his wife again?
-What do you think the tree at the end represents? Could it be the Tree of Life or the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil? Could the tree have some other kind of purpose?
-When the time comes to repopulate the new planet, do you think that Caleb and Abby will stay with each other, or will they go with some of the other people that were rescued?
-Do you think the people who were rescued will try to make their new planet a better place than Earth was, or do you think history will repeat itself on the new planet?
-Are they alone on the planet? Do you think some of the Whisper People are still there to help? Could that planet already have people living there that could help the new people?
-How would you describe the ending of Knowing? Happy? Sad? Disturbing? A little of each? With all the hints of life after death, can you really call it an ending?