The Last Lecture

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

ACTIVITY: “Living Your Dream”

In this activity, students will examine structure, style, and thematic organization in Pausch’s The Last Lecture to create an original valediction, or last lecture, exploring their own dreams and values.

The concept of a “last lecture” in academia offers speakers a moment of reflection to pause and look back on their life, acknowledge relationships, and determine what has made their life meaningful. It is an activity that celebrates life, rather than lamenting its passing. In this way, it shares similarities with valedictorian speeches, which are formatted to reflect on shared experiences, create closure, and provide advice for the future. Whether thinking of this task as a “last lecture” or valedictorian speech, use Pausch’s style, structure, and thematic organization as inspiration.

• A: Brainstorm - List, journal, or web your ideas for an inspirational talk. What are your childhood dreams, how have you pursued them, and what advice would you give to others for achieving their dreams? Consider up to three themes or truths you want to share, a single unifying statement, and the supporting details.
• B: Analyze - Review The Last Lecture for inspiration and organizational ideas. Consider how Pausch built his speech for his audience, then consider your own. What techniques will inspire them most? Choose 3-5 rhetorical devices you feel Pausch has used most effectively for his audience, such as anecdotes, analogies, or aphorisms, to incorporate into your own speech.
• C: Plan - Draft or outline your speech. Speeches should be organized around a larger unifying message, and they should include up to three themes or truths and up to five rhetorical devices. Consider the use of relevant images, props, or other interactive techniques such as dance, costume, uniform, or traditional dress, art, or music, to inspire your audience.
• D: Finalize - Polish and deliver your speech. Watch a portion of this video to see how Pausch addresses his audience and implements public speaking skills into his lecture. Pay careful attention to body language, eye contact, tone of voice, pacing, volume, and transitions. How does Pausch successfully engage his audience? Which of these techniques might you use when you deliver your own speech?  

Speeches will be delivered formally during class.

Teaching Suggestion: Consider showing portions of Pausch’s last lecture (as referenced in Part D) or a famous valedictorian speech prior to beginning the Activity. Students might benefit from an in-depth analysis and discussion of the techniques between written and spoken formats, including the similarities and differences between approaches. Students may benefit from targeted peer or teacher feedback at each phase of the process.

Differentiation Suggestion: English language learners and students with organizational or executive functioning differences may benefit from graphic organizers, simplified lists, and annotated or prehighlighted portions of the text for analysis. For nonspeaking students or students with social anxiety, consider having a trusted volunteer deliver their speech, or you might allow them to prerecord their speech in private to show on video. To engage more learning styles, consider encouraging students to organize their speeches around meaningful props or analogies, such as Pausch’s Imagineer shirt and use of the crayon smell, to incorporate their hobbies or culture directly into the presentation. For additional rigor, consider presenting for a wider audience than the classroom, such as at an assembly, open house, TED Talk, or other community center.

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Pausch takes time to name and acknowledge several people who have made a lasting impression on him.

• What is the role of mentorship in The Pursuit of Childhood Dreams? (topic sentence)
• Choose up to three of Pausch’s role models and explain their impact on Pausch and his successes.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain why it is important to have mentors and to be a mentor for others.

2. Pausch explores the benefits of critical feedback on his ability to grow, change, and overcome obstacles.

• For Pausch, why is criticism necessary in an individual’s upbringing and edification?
• Explain up to three examples of how criticism helped Pausch become better in one or more areas of his life and what these examples reveal about the role of criticism in personal growth.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain how criticism can help one become more successful in life.

3. Pausch relies on many rhetorical devices to engage readers and support his argument. For the focus of this essay, choose one rhetorical device, such as analogy, cliché, aphorism, or anecdote.

• How does Pausch use this rhetorical device to engage his audience and support balanced argumentation?
• Cite up to three examples of your chosen rhetorical device in the lecture and explain the impact of those examples on audience, purpose, and message.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, evaluate the effectiveness of Pausch’s rhetorical choice.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. Midlife reflection is a long-standing trope in both philosophical and memoir writing, and yet The Last Lecture has been translated into 48 languages and appeared on worldwide #1 bestseller lists. Considering such elements as style, audience, occasion, and theme, what might make Pausch’s work so appealing to global audiences? How does it exemplify the midlife reflection despite Pausch’s impending death? What makes The Last Lecture both timely and timeless?

2. One of the central pillars of The Last Lecture is reflection on how to live “the good life.” How does Pausch define and construct arguments around what it means to live a good life? Considering such elements as speaker, occasion, audience, and theme, what factors contribute to Pausch’s ability to define “the good life” with authority and conviction? Has Pausch lived the good life?   

3. Reflect on the centrality of human relationships and community support in Pausch’s lecture. Why does Pausch emphasize these topics so heavily? How do they relate to the importance of Working Together and/or The Pursuit of Childhood Dreams? Consider his overall purpose and the occasion. How does Pausch achieve organizational unity by centering these topics in a one-hour lecture that covers his entire life?

Multiple Choice and Long Answer Questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, exams, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. What is the significance of the title “An Injured Lion Still Wants to Roar” in Chapter 1?

A) It’s hypothetical since humans can’t really understand a lion’s motivations.

B) It’s ironic since a lion can recover from injuries but Pausch cannot recover from cancer.

C) It’s analogical since Pausch needs to do what he was born to do even if he is sick.

D) It’s symbolic because lions are often called the kings of the jungle and Pausch is a king of his field.

2. Which quote from Chapter 4 best exemplifies the grounding role Pausch’s mother played in his life?

A) “If you have a question, find the answer.”

B) “Never make a decision until you have to.”

C) “Just because you are in the driver’s seat doesn’t mean you have to run people over.”

D) “This is my son. He’s a doctor, but not the kind who helps people.”

3. In what way does The Wrath of Kahn relate to Pausch’s situation?

A) He achieves a childhood dream when giving William Shatner a tour of his facilities.

B) William Shatner and Captain Kirk both dislike no-win situations, like Pausch’s cancer.

C) It was Pausch’s childhood dream to work on the set of a Star Trek movie.

D) Like the movie at the time, Pausch’s work in programming was revolutionary.

4. What is the subtext when Pausch describes himself as someone with a “healthy sense of self and abilities” in Chapter 14?

A) That he does not understand that others consider him humble and saint-like

B) That he is incapable of humility and is dishonest about his weaknesses

C) That he can use self-deprecation as a rhetorical device to engage his audience

D) That he has often come across as an arrogant know-it-all

5. What is the connotation of introducing Jai as his greatest “brick wall” in Chapter 16?

A) It highlights their oppositional and difficult relationship since his diagnosis.

B) It implies that she is someone he wanted and worked the hardest for in his life.

C) It implies that he does not appreciate her reservations about delivering his lecture.

D) It is an analogy to her strong and stubborn belief that he will recover.

6. In what ways were the post-wedding balloon ride and Dylan’s birth similar?

A) Both were life-threatening but they got through by staying calm and working together.

B) Both involved runaway modes of transportation.

C) Both were a test of their compatibility and willingness to support each other.

D) Both reveal the necessity of being prepared.

7. Why is it significant that he made a New Year’s resolution to be tidier?

A) His resolution is sweet because he has always been messy and wants to help Jai out.

B) His resolution affirms that he is in denial about his terminal illness.

C) His resolution affirms his belief that self-improvement is integral to a fulfilling life.

D) His resolution proves that he values Jai over everyone else in his life, including himself.

8. To what does he compare higher education?

A) To buying designer clothing because self-worth improves with good appearances

B) To investing in a demanding personal trainer because self-worth improves through effort

C) To driving a bus while it is being built because the end goal is clear but the process is not

D) To retail because one can return items that did not work and exchange them for others

9. What is inspiration, according to Pausch?

A) A means to an end

B) Only as good as the leader behind it

C) A complete waste of time compared to hard work

D) The ultimate tool for doing good

10. Why is Pausch’s definition of experience so optimistic?

A) Experience is the result of earnest hard work.

B) Experience is what makes a person special.

C) Experience is valuable, and death is just an experience waiting to happen.

D) Experience is what you get when you fail, meaning you can never lose when you try.

11. Why does Pausch compare analogies to antibiotics?

A) Community harm is a social infection and apologies treat and cure the harm.

B) Like an infection, apologizing is infectious and spreading goodwill benefits all.

C) He doesn’t; instead, he uses a cliché to compare a bad apology to salt in a wound.

D) Pausch is an award-winning microbiologist who pioneered antibiotic technologies.

12. Why did Pausch hand out crayons at his last lecture?

A) He hoped to inspire optimism and dreams for the future.

B) He hoped to inspire kindness and giving.

C) He hoped to take people back to their childhoods.

D) He hoped to show the connection between creativity and achieving dreams.

13. Why does Pausch regret keeping his initial Carnegie Mellon rejection a secret?

A) He believes once he had tenure, there was really no reason to fear his humble origins.

B) He faults himself for not adequately modeling failure for his students over the years.

C) He fears he is a hypocrite for asking his students to fail while being ashamed of rejection.

D) He missed a chance to model persistence and demythologize his persona for students.

14. What example does Pausch give of adults being bad communitarian models?

A) Believing in a trial by jury but desperately avoiding jury duty

B) Telling kids to share but forgetting to share their successes with others

C) Parents and teachers passing their charges for showing up, not skill and effort

D) Giving every kid at the little league game a trophy

15. What does Pausch mean when he says he is able to “leave the field under [his] own power” in Chapter 61?

A) That he is ashamed of people in his situation that do not stay positive and proactive

B) That his one regret in life is not making it into the NFL

C) That, like an injured football player, he is out of the game but leaves with dignity

D) That he has already found replacements for his many projects like ALICE and ETC

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. How does Pausch define a “good life,” and how does one achieve it?

2. To what extent did Pausch live the “good life” and achieve his childhood dreams?