57 pages • 1 hour read
Jeffrey Zaslow, Randy PauschThe Last Lecture
Nonfiction | Essay / Speech | Adult | Published in 2008A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
During Reading
Reading Questions & Paired Texts
Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.
CHAPTERS 1-15
Reading Check
1. Who contributed to Pausch’s ability to live out his childhood dreams?
2. What does Pausch believe we are doing to children today?
3. What skills does Captain Kirk display that make him a childhood hero?
4. What should be seen as “brick walls,” according to Pausch?
5. How does Pausch categorize his flaws?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. How does Pausch’s The Last Lecture differ from other last lectures?
2. What rhetorical impact does quoting his father have in the text?
3. How does Pausch view self-esteem?
4. Why do we meet brick walls, according to Pausch?
5. Why does Pausch both sugar-coat his arrogant attitude and outright call himself a “jerk”?
Paired Resource
The Meditations, Book 1, by Marcus Aurelius
- Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius begins his popular work by acknowledging the virtues of Stoicism and the relationships and mentors who inspired him to become a better person.
- This explores the lasting benefits of Working Together and gratitude toward role models.
- What thematic, structural, and stylistic similarities do you notice between Marcus Aurelius’s first century The Meditations and The Last Lecture? Why does this type of writing appeal to readers almost 2,000 years later?
CHAPTERS 16-31
Reading Check
1. What emotion did the delivery team convey during Jai’s placental abruption?
2. When and how did Pausch learn about his father’s Bronze Star for valor?
3. What is the “most appropriate fixation,” according to Pausch?
4. What is the most important skill teachers help develop?
5. What are the drawbacks of being hip?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. Why was Pausch a relationship “brick wall” to all but Jai?
2. How is the balloon ride after their wedding symbolic?
3. What advice does Pausch give for caregivers?
4. What is one piece of advice Pausch gives regarding time management?
5. How does Pausch scale access to childhood dreams at Carnegie Mellon?
Paired Resource
“How the ‘Cult of Grit’ Masks Myths About US Society”
- This Harvard Gazette interview with author Emi Nietfeld offers a counterpoint to Pausch’s claims that resilience, hard work, and scaling “brick walls” are the fundamentals of success.
- This connects to the themes of The Importance of Positive Thinking and The Pursuit of Childhood Dreams.
- How do Nietfeld and Pausch differ in their view of overcoming obstacles? How might factors such as audience, occasion, and speaker account for these differences? Does Pausch’s advice about overcoming obstacles contribute to a problematic “cult of grit” in regard to social problems?
CHAPTERS 32-45
Reading Check
1. What does Pausch tell his ex to skip in favor of getting a job to pay off her debts?
2. To whom does he advise to believe in a partner’s actions more than their words?
3. What does his “First Penguin Award” remove from the experience of failure?
4. How do you repay the support and wise counsel received in youth, according to Pausch?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. What is one of Pausch’s tips on working together?
2. In what way does this section differ from the previous section?
3. What does Pausch think Superman and Rocky have in common?
4. What role does a VCR play in Pausch’s classes?
5. What does a “thank you” note say that a resumé or transcript cannot?
Paired Resource
“Aphorisms of Confucious,” “Proverbs from Ghana,” and “Navajo Sayings“
- These resources offer students a chance to explore aphorisms in non-Western philosophy and compare the wisdom they present to Pausch’s advice.
- These texts include insights and methods for succeeding in The Pursuit of Childhood Dreams.
- What makes Pausch’s aphorisms similar to and different from those from other times and cultures? What makes them effective or ineffective for readers in the present?
CHAPTERS 46-61
Reading Check
1. How does Pausch define honesty besides being morally right?
2. Where did Pausch consider his academic habits and credentials meaningless?
3. Where do rights come from?
4. What does the minister tell Pausch he needs in addition to life insurance?
5. What phrase represents a bigger part of Pausch’s grief than “I won’t…” in Chapter 59?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. How does preparation relate to optimism?
2. What is the meaning behind Pausch’s crayon box analogy?
3. What is the message behind the anecdote of the $10 salt and pepper shakers?
4. What does Pausch’s oncologist consider problematic about optimism and positive thinking in cancer patients?
5. Why does Pausch hesitate to leave dreams or hopes for his children behind?
Paired Resource
“The School” by Donald Barthelme
- This darkly humorous story about life and death riffs on the structure of the anecdote to confront and assuage fears surrounding the mysteries of life and death. (Content Warning: Brief and casual references to fictional children’s deaths and sexual intercourse intended as humor may be triggering for some readers.)
- This story explores The Importance of Positive Thinking when facing the unknown.
- What role does the anecdote play in both “The School” and The Last Lecture? Why might the personal anecdote be effective for allowing everyday people like Pausch or the narrator to speak about deep topics with authority?
Recommended Next Reads
Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
- Mitch Albom reconnects with college professor and mentor Morrie Schwartz in the last months of his life, visiting him each Tuesday for one last lesson on life, love, and the power of relationships.
- Shared themes include The Importance of Positive Thinking, Working Together, and The Pursuit of Childhood Dreams.
- Shared topics include advice on living a fulfilling life, the meaning of life, reckoning with death, honoring mentors, and reflecting on life before death.
- Tuesdays with Morrie on SuperSummary
The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elizabeth Tova Bailey
- When a friend gifts Bailey with a snail to keep her company as she endures the effects of a debilitating bacterial infection, Bailey cannot fathom the meaning behind the gift, but, as both settle in and adapt to their circumstances, she realizes there is much to learn from the creature, including companionship and profound life lessons.
- Shared themes include Working Together and The Importance of Positive Thinking.
- Shared topics include coping with the unknown, life lessons, the meaning of life, the power of companionship, and adjusting expectations to meet circumstances.
- The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating on SuperSummary
Reading Questions Answer Key
CHAPTERS 1-15
Reading Check
1. His parents (Chapter 4)
2. Coddling them (Chapter 7)
3. Dynamic leadership skills (Chapter 9)
4. Setbacks, obstacles (Chapter 11)
5. Social, not moral (Chapter 14)
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. The “last lecture” is a reflective exercise in which one gives a lecture as if it were the last, but in Pausch’s case, he is dying, and it is actually his last lecture. (Chapter 1)
2. Quoting his father both pays homage to a childhood hero and makes his advice more palatable, since it comes from a third party and not directly from Pausch. (Chapter 4)
3. Pausch believes self-esteem cannot be given to kids by coddling them; it is something you build with kids by asking them to get better at what they cannot do yet. (Chapter 7)
4. We encounter setbacks to test how much we really want something. (Chapter 11)
5. Pausch is modeling the difference between the frank feedback people are willing to engage with and the tactless feedback that made others think he was arrogant. (Chapter 14)
CHAPTERS 16-31
Reading Check
1. Calm (Chapter 19)
2. Posthumously in 2006 (Chapter 20)
3. Time management (Chapter 23)
4. Self-reflection (Chapter 24)
5. Short-term (Chapter 29)
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. His tiny apartment, reputation as a bachelor, and lack of material comforts scared off all but Jai. (Chapter 16)
2. Like a long-term relationship, balloon rides are unpredictable because balloons cannot be steered and are at the mercy of outside circumstances, and sometimes the best you can do is pick the least hazardous place to land. (Chapter 17)
3. Remain present and let the little things go. (Chapter 21)
4. Pausch provides many pieces of advice about time management, including 1) managing time explicitly, like money, 2) planning life in small steps, 3) spending only on worthwhile pursuits, 4) developing a good filing system, and 5) making the most of waiting periods. (Chapters 23-24)
5. He creates an interdisciplinary course offering called Building New Worlds. The Carnegie Mellon teams grow the interdisciplinary Entertainment Technology Center and develop ALICE software, allowing kids to animate, tell stories, and learn coding. (Chapters 25-27)
CHAPTERS 32-45
Reading Check
1. Yoga class (Chapter 32)
2. His daughter Chloe (Chapter 36)
3. Stigma (Chapter 39)
4. Pay it forward (Chapter 44)
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. Pausch provides many tips on working together, including 1) reflecting on proper first meetings, 2) finding commonality, 3) optimizing meeting conditions, 4) letting everyone talk, 5) checking egos at the door, 6) praising each other, 7) phrasing alternative ideas as questions, and 8) looking for the best in everyone. (Chapters 35 and 36)
2. The previous section dealt with his childhood and past; it included multiple anecdotes about important people in his life and their impact. This section is about lessons and advice, with shorter chapters and singular anecdotes. (Various chapters)
3. Both display resilience in the face of adversity and are unstoppable once they choose a course. (Chapter 38)
4. Pausch smashes VCRs both to get students’ attention and to remind them to always design instructions that will not frustrate the average user to the point of damaging their technology. (Chapter 40)
5. Whereas resumés and transcripts showcase skills and experience, a thank-you note showcases your character, which Pausch believes is more important. (Chapter 41)
CHAPTERS 46-61
Reading Check
1. Efficient (Chapter 47)
2. Disney (Chapter 52)
3. The community (Chapter 54)
4. Emotional insurance (Chapter 58)
5. “They won’t…” (Chapter 59)
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. If you have a contingency plan, you can afford to be optimistic. (Chapter 46)
2. Pausch uses a whole crayon box as a metaphorical counterpoint to black-and-white thinking, advising people to embrace nuance whenever possible. (Chapter 49)
3. One kind deed can have a bigger economic impact than can be measured or imagined. For example, when the shopkeepers at Disney replaced their broken souvenir at no charge, it created a great and memorable day for the family, and they felt so good about the Disney brand that they paid over $100,000 in trips over the following years. (Chapter 50)
4. When patients give optimism and positivity too much power and thus attribute their bad days or decline to a personal or moral failing, it can become counterproductive. (Chapter 57)
5. He believes they should find their own way and so leaves them with the hope that they will be fulfilled in their lives by whatever means they see fit. (Chapter 59)
