Assignment for Tuesday the 24th

Refresh yourself on McKibben's concerns about the loss of community and/or collective meaning in our culture. Look, for instance, between page 50 and page 60, although not only there. Make your own argument about the "loss of meaning" (or the non-loss of meaning), using both McKibben and Ware as sources (Jimmy's complete absence of community, and near-absence of human contact, are obvious starting points here). Asking yourself some of these questions might help you to generate an argument.

1) Is McKibben right or wrong that we have lost (collective) meaning?
2) Is this change (if you accept it) worthwhile, given the other things we have lost, or not?
3) How does Jimmy's life and situation reflect on the collective loss of meaning? Take, for instance, his lifelong obsession with Superman, his strange fantasy life, his relationship with his mother, etc. as starting points. Is Ware trying to depict modern life in general, or just one sad loser?

You can certainly use any of the material you worked on during our last class for this assignment.