The freshman seminar I teach is meant to be a "great books" course, and as such those of us who teach it have great leeway in the direction we take and the materials we offer. Mine is a pretty standard political theory course; in the first semester we cover the ancient Greeks and early Christians, and in the second semester we read the standard contract theorists, Marxists and libertarians, and postmodern critiques of traditional power relations.
I never imagined that one of the books I use would ruin a student's relationship ...
In the second semester I've added a section in which I get a bit more personal, and ask the students to tell their story -- the University is supposed to enlighten them, teach them how to ask important questions, and send them on a path in which they seek Truth. I wonder how we're doing.
Toward this end, one of the books I use is Allan Bloom's The Closing of the American Mind, which is excellent for this purpose. Another is Somerset Maugham's The Razor's Edge, which on a basic level is a novel about a young man's quest for enlightenment in the face of a materialistic and consumerist world.
The story revolves around young Larry Darrell, who is engaged to Isabel Bradley; Larry loves her but she's a social climber and cannot accept Larry's insistence on traveling to Europe to "find himself." Instead, she stays home and marries the aptly named Gray, a nice but simple-minded jock, who has money but none of Larry's depth.
It's one of my favorite books ever because it gets at some of the most important choices we all have to make.
Having read this, one of my students approached me today and she said that the book literally changed her life. How so? I asked. "Well," she said, "I finished the book and the next day broke up with my boyfriend. I realized that I was dating Gray."
Wow. How am I supposed to feel about this? Did I liberate this young woman or did I just ruin what might have otherwise been a fulfilling relationship? Perhaps the worst part is that I know this girl to come from a socialite family and that her former boyfriend was exactly the type of connected guy they hoped she'd end up with.
I'm expecting an angry call from them any day now.
Did you do her?
Posted by: RAT at April 27, 2005 10:28 PMAnd then she'll see Gray dating some hottie and she'll be pissed at you and wonder what she was thinking. Or she'll end up marrying "the other guy" and Gray will become very successful and she'll really hate herself for getting a less prestigious "MRS" degree.
Posted by: MOG at April 28, 2005 01:12 AMI've gotta say, I'm really looking forward to the wittykitten's take on this one.
Posted by: MOG at April 28, 2005 01:12 AMI wouldn't worry about it overmuch. She could have reacted to the book by rejecting it, saying that they're dumping on Gray, etc. Instead, she identified with it. It's rare that experiences with narratives really change the way a person thinks; more often they crystallize existing doubts/ideas etc. that had been ignored by the reader's pre-existing narrative view of life. In other words: she'd most likely already been trying to put her finger on why she was uneasy about Gray, but couldn't satisfactorily define her concerns until she encountered an analogy for them.
And if you can muster an air of credible deepitude, you've probably got a good shot at totally doing her. After the semester is over, of course.
Posted by: jenniebee at April 28, 2005 09:10 AMBut maybe you're Gray too.
Posted by: MOG at April 28, 2005 02:59 PMLeo,
I'm assuming that the reason you chose this book to read is that you hoped that students would learn something from it. Looks like you were successful in this regard.
You cannot control what they do with the knowledge they gain from the course you are teaching after the teaching is done. Nor should you be held responsible for what this girl did.
Saddam Hussein took poli-sci from some American based universities, should we hold them responsible for his genocides?
Posted by: Tman at April 28, 2005 03:26 PM
Tman - it depends on which school it was.
Posted by: MOG at April 29, 2005 02:09 AMSorry MOG! I must've missed the boat on responding to this one earlier...so three short points
1. I agree with Jenniebee. The book was a catalyst. I'm sure she had major doubts beforehand and just needed something to trigger it. I don't think Stotch should take it personally. I once broke up with a boyfriend after I spent the weekend in Georgia visiting a friend. Space was the catalyst. Not the friend. This break up would've happened eventually.
2. She's a friggin freshman. How many college relationships last until graduation? My bet is slim and none. I have a feeling she will end up with another Gray, another time. Because everybody thinks they want a Larry until they spend every hour slaving away to pay the bills. Then you get sensible and want someone who is not just a dreamer but a do-er. And actually makes enough of a salary so you can live not paycheck to paycheck. That said I haven't read the book so maybe Stotch's quick summary of him leaves out some important points.
3. This is the Seinfeld where George tells Debra Messing she could do better and her and her husband break up. If you didn't realize by now everything has a point of reference in television that should be referred to for all of these types of questions. 'Nuff said.
Now I suggest RAT's advice and offer to take her out and "be there" for her over coffee.
Posted by: Wittysexkitten at April 29, 2005 10:27 AMNow have her watch "Taboo"
Posted by: Christopher Cross at April 29, 2005 03:30 PMYou didn't tell her to leave the guy, she made this decision; if her decision was based solely on the book, well she has a problem. If the book promoted some soul-searching, then the book, and the class you taught on it, did what it was suppose to do: encourage thinking. Thinking should alter behaviour, otherwise we would be nothing more than automatons.
Posted by: Rachel Ann at May 1, 2005 04:06 AM
