Wednesday, July 19, 2023

Honors Summer Read 2023: Rules of Engagement

"Island Library" (1977) by Jamie Wyeth

Welcome to the East Central University Honors Program's Enduring Questions website!

If you are enrolled in an Honors Enduring Questions class for the fall semester of 2023 at ECU (EQ1 or EQ3), this website is for you. Read on!

Ten percent of each student's grade in both EQ1 and EQ3 will be largely based on your responses to the questions raised here.

This website is designed to spark conversation. The sort of conversation we're looking to create with this website is academic in character. Thus, your responses should consist of clear, concise statements of your ideas crafted in standard English (not text-speak!). They should be long enough to convey your thoughts, but short enough for other readers to read and respond to fairly quickly. In short, you don't want your responses to be so long that you monopolize (or kill) the conversation by going on, and on, and on.....(we all know how irritating that can be!).

Obviously, responses should not use profanity. They should be civil and respectful. People do not always agree. Responses can be critical; however, all communication is expected to be courteous and professional. Contributors' positions may be questioned; their character should not.

The objective here is to reflect on some of the issues raised by the text, to connect the reading to your personal experience, and to help first- and second-year Honors students get to know each other better.

When should I begin posting my responses?
As soon as you have begin reading The Midnight Library by Matt Haig.

When is this assignment due?
This writing assignment is designed to be completed before classes begin in August.  Details about where and how to account for and submit your word count total will be provided in class when the semester starts (preview: you will compile your comments into an email that you will send to sbenton@ecok.edu after classes begin).

How many questions should I respond to?
We do not expect you to respond to each question, but you should respond to several representing different sections of the book. We hope that by the time all the class has completed the assignment, every question will have at least one or two responses.

Are there any questions I have to answer?
Yes: "The Takeaway." Only answer "The Takeaway" when you have finished reading the book. When you answer the Takeaway, you are also testifying that you have read the entire book.

How will you know if I have read the book? Will we be tested on it?
We won't test you. We'll trust you. These questions are not designed to show whether or not someone has read the book. They are designed to enrich your engagement with the book and with other Honors students. But if your answers somehow raise suspicions about whether you've read the book or not, you may get further questions. The main thing at stake is your Honor.

How much should I write?
Your responses should add up to a sum total of not less than 750 words.  Don't try to load up all 750 words into one or two comments.  You should also respond to comments left by other readers. And pose questions to other readers. (Check back later to see if anyone has responded to your comments-and respond to their responses.)  All of this writing will count toward your 750-word total.  Students are responsible for keeping track of their word total (eventually, we will ask you to cut and paste your responses into a Microsoft Word document, which has a word count feature).  This is not just a writing assignment, though; it's a reading assignment, too.  Every student is responsible for reading every word of the assigned text.

Where do I post my responses?
At the bottom of each question post, you will find a "comment" link. If it has a "0" beside it, that means no one has commented yet; as more people comment, the number will go up. When you're ready to weigh in, click on the "comments" button, read any previous comments, and start writing. Please sign your posts. And use your real name--not a nickname--so we can get to know each other).

More questions?
E-mail us at sbenton@ecok.edu!

Now, go here!

Monday, July 17, 2023

Engaging the Midnight Library

Matt Haig. Photograph: Alex Lake/The Observer

In this post, you will find links to questions about Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library. These questions are identified by the chapters they refer to in the book and are listed in the order in which the issues they address are raised by the text. 

Once you've started reading the chapters listed below, click on the links, read the corresponding questions and comments other readers may have left (click on the "comment" button beneath each post to see them), and then join the discussion (or initiate it). 


Most posts have several questions. You may answer any of them you wish. It is not necessary to answer all of them. 

 

There is only one question that every student is required to answer.  That's the last one, referred to here as “The Takeaway.” Don't answer it until you've finished reading the book. Your answer is your promise that you have read the entire book. 
 
As you are reading, underline any passages that you consider to be thought-provoking, insightful, or artfully expressed (unless you're reading a library copy, in which case, you may want to just make note). You may want to refer to one of the passages you have underlined in "The Takeaway." 

 

Prologue: Plath

Before the body of the text begins, in what serves as a sort of prologue, Haig inserts the following passage of text written by the poet Sylvia Plath:

I can never be all the people I want and live all the lives I want. I can never train myself in all the skills I want. And why do I want? I want to live and feel all the shades, tones, and variations of mental and physical experience possible in my life.

Like many of the prompts on this website, this prompt includes several question sets. You can choose which one to respond to (or you can choose to respond to another set).

Set A:
If you knew of Plath previously, did the passage reinforce your sense of her or change it?

If you didn't know of Plath previously, do some research on her life and consider: How does incorporating a reference to Plath at the beginning of a book frame reader expectations of the narrative that follows?

Set B:
What did you think of the message Plath's quotation communicates about life and desire? Consider: is having a wide range of desires and ambitions important to thrive in life? Or is it a recipe for disappointment? 

Would you say that people in our society more often fail to "dream big" or do they fail to be realistic about their ambitions?

Chapter 1: "A Conversation about Rain"

"Chess" by Osman Hamdi Bey (1842-1910)

This prompt has 2 sets of questions. You may respond to either, both, or neither.

Set A:
Consider the game that frames the opening scene in Haig’s novel: who is playing it, when, where, and why. Consider how it might change the dynamics of the novel if the characters were playing a different game.

How does this opening chapter relate to the quotation from Plath and the description of the library that is  between life and death?

Set B:
Based on this scene, what is your first impression of, Nora? (Keep that impression in mind as you continue to read the novel. Pay attention to whether your impression of her changes.

Chapter 3: "String Theory"

 

"How do you draw a line under pressure?" (2019-2020) by [aysh]

Do you agree with what Neil says in this chapter about pressure? (Use examples to support your answer.)

Chapter 4: “To Live is to Suffer”

Photo of Bedfordshire town, UK

A) In the opening paragraph of this chapter, Haig describes the city’s atmosphere rather than Nora's state of mind. What effect might that decision have on the experience of the novel's readers?

B) What do you make of Nora’s reluctance to interact with Dan not because she doesn’t care for him but because she does?

C) Nora says that it is a basic law of thermodynamics that the universe tends towards chaos and entropy. How might that belief influence someone's life choices?

Chapter 6: “How to Be a Black Hole”

"Henry David Thoreau Study III" (2015) by Mathieu Laca

A) What do you make of the reference to Thoreau (a prominent figure in the narrative) and his advice to "go confidently in the direction of your dreams"? Generally speaking, do you feel that people in our society don't pursue their dreams enough or that they too often have unrealistic fantasies about their life options?

B) Have you ever felt like Nora, namely, that you might be “crap … at life”(18)? If so, what led you to feel that way? Alternatively, do you have any friends or family members who often wrongly think of themselves that way?  If so, how does that affect your interactions with them?

Chapter 7: "Antimatter"


What do you learn from or about Nora from her suicide note?

Chapter 10: "The Midnight Library"

"The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living" (1991) by Damien Hirst

Consider what the Midnight Library protects Nora from and what it gives her time to do.

To what extent does this novel (and other novels?) create the same opportunity for readers?

Chapter 11: "The Moving Shelves"

"Regrets" (1981) by Morteza Katouzian

Why do you think Nora looks at the book she does first? Do you think you would be inclined to make the same choice if you were in the same position? What advice would you give to someone who is inclined to make such a choice?

Chapter 12: "The Book of Regrets"

Still from We're the Millers (2013).

Consider how you feel after reading Nora’s regrets.

Would you describe yourself as someone who has a lot of regrets? Do you think about your regrets more than the average person does?

Has there ever been a time in your life when you dwelt on your regrets more or less than you do now? What has changed since then?

Do you think our society would be better off if people reflected more on their regrets or if more people lived without regrets?

Chapter 13.1: "Regret Overload" (1 of 2)

"Pensive Love" by Kitagawa Utamaro (1753-1806)
What do you make of his quote from philosopher Bertrand Russell: “to fear love is to fear life, and those who fear life are already three parts dead”?

Why might someone fear love?

Chapter 13.2: "Regret Overload" (2 of 2)

"On the way back from the Funeral" (1876) by Jean Béraud

How does Nora’s mother’s death and the wedding help you understand Nora more?

Have you had external events shape life decisions you have made? Have you ever seen it afect the life decisions of a friend or family member? What advice would you give to someone in a similar situation?

Chapter 14 "The Three Horseshoes"



Consider your initial impression of Nora's first trip into an alternative life. Does your impression change as the chapter progresses?

Given what Norah learns about the life she thought she missed out on, does this challenge you to think differently about things you think you might have missed out on? Do you think most people in our society tend to idealize experiences they missed out on or do they try to diminish their importance? Can you think of examples in your own life when you have done one or the other?

Chapter 16: “The Penultimate Update”


"Fook Island Envelope & Stamps" (1975) by Walter Battiss

Have you ever heard of an epistolary novel? It is a novel comprised of letters or diary entries. Haig incorporates epistolary interludes into The Midnight Library.  How do these interludes affect the reader's experience of the narrative?

Also: what do you make of the shifts in chapter length and how they might contribute to the novel's themes?

Chapter 17: "The Chessboard"


What do you make of what Mrs. Elm says to Nora about  the difference between a "want problem" and a "lack problem"?

Chapter 19: "Fire"

 

"Study for After Swimming" (1955) by Alex Colville


In this chapter, we learn more about something Nora did when she was a child.

Did you have any similar experiences that shaped your childhood?

What does this chapter reveal to Nora about the lives she regretted not living?

Chapter 20: "Fish Tank"

"Woman Before a Fish Bowl" (1922) by Henri Matisse

How might the information given about fish in this chapter also apply to humans?

Do you agree with what this chapter says is true about most lives?

Chapter 22: "The Successful Life"

Do you agree with what this "TedTalk Nora" says is the essence of success?

Chapter 23: "Peppermint Tea"

"Sheeple" (2015) by John Conway

What do you think of the Thoreau quotation: "Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be slaves"?

When are conformity and obedience positive attributes and when are they dangerous?

What, if anything, should Nora disobey?

Chapter 24.1: “The Tree That Is Our Life” (1 of 2)

"The Gray Tree" (1911) by Piet Mondrian

Consider the tree analogy of the chapter and whether it can be detected in other aspects of the novel. How might the basic insight offered by this analogy be useful (or problematic) as a way to think about life?

Chapter 24.2: "The Tree That Is Our Life" (2 of 2)


This "TedTalk Norah" makes comments about success and life that go all over the place. What stands out to you before she gets to the "just be kind" exit line? Why do you think she made her audience uncomfortable? What does she say that you agree or disagree with?

Chapter 25: “System Error”


"Mis Abuelos, Mis Padres y Yo" (1936) by Frida Kahlo

How did you feel when Nora talked about the role of parental influence in her life? Could you relate? D you think people in our society over-estimate or under-estimate the affect of parental influences?


Chapter 26: “Svalbard”

Abov: Svalbard, Norway


How does featuring a life where Nora is a glaciologist affect reader perspectives on her and on the novel as a whole?

What do you make of the tie Haig makes in this chapter to climate change and geological time?

Chapter 28: "Walking in Circles"

"The Island of Solitude" by Achraf Baznani (b. 1979)

Consider the Thoreau's thoughts on the opportunities that solitude provides. How often and under what circumstances do you experience that kind of solitude? 

What gets in the way of this for us too often today--something that is even referenced in the chapter?

Do you think silence and solitude are underutilized or overrated?

Chapter 30: “The Frustration of Not Finding a Library When You Really Need One”

In this chapter, Nora discovers that “in the face of death life seem[s] to get more attractive” (132).

Do you think the COVID pandemic cut through our standard cultural denial of death and forced many more people to look at death in a way that might help them value life?

Or do you think most people thought the dangers of the pandemic were exaggerated?

Do you think our society would be better off if people paid more attention to death and the threat of death?




Chapter 31: “Island”

Why does Haig use the figure of an island in this chapter?

What island has Nora found her way to due to the encounter with the bear?

Have you ever had an experience of  "vastness" that has changed your perspective on life?

Chapter 32: “Permafrost”

"Destiny" (1900) by John William Waterhouse
Consider what Nora wrongly imagined was true about her destiny (135).

Have you ever wrongly imagined what your destiny might (or might not) be?

Why do you think we do this?

What does this chapter say about generational influence, including generational trauma, namely, the way we inherit and then reproduce patterns of behavior across generations in ways that shape our destiny and unconscious ways?

Do you believe that the traumas of one generation can be passed on to the next generation?

What do you think of the insights about life, expectation, and forgiveness that close the chapter?

Chapter 33: “One Night in Longyearbyen”

"David Hume" (1766) by Allan Ramsay

The chapter opens with a reference to philosopher David Hume (shown above). What do you think of his assertion that human life is of no greater consequence than the life of an oyster? What consequences (for us as well as other species and the environment) might follow from shifting to this attitude, and away from the view that humans are the apex of creation?

How does what Nora learns about Hugo change the narrative in this chapter? Have your expectations for the narrative shifted too?

Chapter 34: "Expectation"

Above: An Atlantic Puffin

What do you make of the point that is made about freedom and expectation (and, perhaps, happiness) in this little intermezzo chapter?

Have you ever had an experience that aligns with Nora's emerging thoughts on these issues?

How do you know when "accepting yourself as you are" is liberating and when it is just complacency?

 

Chapter 35: “Life and Death in Quantum Wave Functions”

"Death and Life" (1916) by Gustav Klimt

In this chapter we learn about parallels (and dissimilarities) that exist between Hugo and Nora. How do these developments affect your perception of Nora (and Hugo)?

How might knowledge and acceptance of quantum wave theory, as described in this chapter, change someone's attitude about life (and their behavior), the value of "dreaming big," and the dangers of "looking for the meaning of life"?

Do you agree with Nora and Mrs. Elm that humans typically dumb everything down to see things more simply (148)? How can you know when such a trait might be helpful and when it might be harmful?