Dear students: Although an existentialist might say that my soul has no destination, my physical person has still not fully recovered from the Earthly ailments caused by the microorganisms that inhabit my bodily vessel. (Plus, as I rolled my rock up the mountain, I lost my voice screaming into the vast empty expanse of the indifferent universe.)
1. Finish Film: Stranger than Fiction
1. Finish Film: Stranger than Fiction
Take notes on existential themes you see in this movie. Try to capture quotes that might fit with those themes. (*Note the terms on the board)
2. JOURNAL 1.20: Make an interpretive claim (in the literary style that we practiced) that connects this film to existentialism. Write a TEA paragraph that supports the claim with evidence from the film.
Terms/ideas to consider:
- Meaninglessness
- Existential crisis
- Existence precedes essence
- The absurd
- Absurd hero
- Angst
- Alienation
- Freedom/Free will
- Acceptance of one’s own absurd condition
- Authenticity
Questions to consider:
- Is Harold Crick an absurd hero?
- What does Ms. Eiffel represent? How might Harold becoming aware of her voice relate to existentialism?
- How does Harold’s angst impact his perspective on his own life?
- What or who might Dustin Hoffman represent? (think about his advice to Harold about pancakes AND to accept his death...)
- What might this film be saying about living an authentic life?
- HONORS: How does Stranger than Fiction relate to The Stranger? In what ways are Meursault and Harold Crick similar?
3. Synthesize the reading: Background Knowledge Aristotle's Eudaimonia
***If you have not done this reading yet due to absences or forgetfulness, please spend your time doing so before/as you answer these questions.
Solo or with a partner, answer the following questions on a piece of paper or a Google doc. Share the doc with Jessica and be sure both partners' names are on it.
1. Define "Eudaimonia." Google it beyond this reading. Does this Google search add to your definition? How might Aristotle's definition of happiness differ from the way Stanford researcher Jennifer Aaker defined it in the very first reading we did in this project? (see JOURNAL 1.11 on "The meaningful life is a road worth traveling")
2. According to Aristotle, what makes humans different than the other forms of nature? What does this difference have to do with the purpose of our existence and our pursuit of happiness?
3. For Aristotle, how do we live a happy and meaningful life? What might this involve? Give specifics.
4. Explain the Golden Mean. Use the table on the last page of your reading to help you understand it. Look up any words on the table that you don't already know; annotate the meaning and add it to your vocabulary!
5. What might an existentialist say to Aristotle's theory of a meaningful life?
4. If you finish all of that, read Into the Wild
If you have not signed out a copy, please do so in the book on the table. Don't forget to write your book number next to your name!
Our first Literature Circle meeting will be next Monday, at which time the first 60 pages along with some written prep will be due. Please review the Lit Circle Guidelines to note the pre-write assignment.