My English Paper about "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch.
Voice and tone are two very important aspects to any well written work of literature. If the voice and tone are weak and depressing the piece of work can be ruined. If the voice and tone is strong, however, it can become one of the great works of art that we know today, for example Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. In “The Last Lecture” by Randy Pausch, the voice and tone throughout the book is hopeful and entertaining. He takes a situation where we usually can not help but to feel heavy hearted and uses dark humor to show us the positive.
In “The Last Lecture”, based off of his Last Lecture given at Carnegie Mellon University in 2007, Pausch describes how he found out he had 10 tumors in his liver and he had only three to six months left to live. He would be leaving behind his wife, Jai, and his 3 children. Shortly after receiving this news he was asked by Carnegie Mellon University to come and give a lecture, his last one. His wife Jai objected to this proposal saying he needed to spend his last months with his family and friends, not working on a lecture. Pausch decides however that giving this lecture is one thing he wants to do before he dies and he begins working on his lecture while spending time with his loved ones. 400 people showed up to hear his final speech, all whom were impacted by his courage and attitude.
He decided to write a book that goes along with his lecture so his children, when ready, can read it and know who there father was. His tone in this book could have been depressing and heart wrecking considering his situation but it was quite the opposite. His tone was humorous and entertaining throughout and it made an enjoyable and encouraging read on how we all should live life to the fullest. He made the hard to bear parts bearable, for example when him and his wife found out he had cancer. Before he got the results they spent a day at the water park and he told his wife “Even if the scan results are bad tomorrow, I just want you to know it feels great to be alive, and to be here today, alive with you. Whatever news we get about the scans, I’m not going to die when we hear it. I won’t die the next day, or the day after that, or the day after that. So today, right now, well this is a wonderful day. And I want you to know how much I’m enjoying it.” (Pausch 62, 63) His love and his compassion for his wife are very evident throughout the book just through his tone alone. He thought about what he said at the water park the day before he got the news and he decided this was how he wanted to live his life.
“I’ve found that a substantial fraction of many people’s days is spent worrying about what was in other people’s heads, we’d all be thirty- three percent more effective in our lives and on our jobs. How did I come up with 33 percent? I’m a scientist. I like exact numbers, even if I can’t always prove them. So let’s just run with thirty three.” (Pausch 34) It is his form of thinking that makes this book enjoyable. He looks at everything with a different perspective that can be quite humorous at times. It makes an enjoyable read to see his different perspective on life and how he lives his life to the fullest.
July 25th, 2008 the amazing father, husband, professor, and writer lost his fight to cancer. He left behind his loved ones but not without something for them to remember him by. A book, “The Last Lecture”, is for his children when they get older so they can see who there father was. With his tone in the book it seems like he left a part of him within these pages. With his quick and funny humor there is no doubt that this will be a book that will be read for generations to come. We will continue to learn life’s lessons while being narrated by a voice that won’t be forgotten for all the years to come, Randy Pausch.
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