1. Highlight the theme of the first Discussion/Challenge on page 71-72 of Chapter 5.
2. On page 75, what does say Robinson that creative expressions represent?
3. In the Discussion om page 77, Robinson discusses the concept of “good enough”. Princeton Univ. Professor Avram Alpert wrote a book, The Good Enough Life. Read the book description, then describe how Odysseus, and all of us in contemporary US society might benefit from this concept:
We live in a world oriented toward greatness, one in which we feel compelled to be among the wealthiest, most powerful, and most famous. This book explains why no one truly benefits from this competitive social order, and reveals how another way of life is possible—a good-enough life for all.
Avram Alpert shows how our obsession with greatness results in stress and anxiety, damage to our relationships, widespread political and economic inequality, and destruction of the natural world. He describes how to move beyond greatness to create a society in which everyone flourishes. By competing less with each other, each of us can find renewed meaning and purpose, have our material and emotional needs met, and begin to lead more leisurely lives. Alpert makes no false utopian promises, however. Life can never be more than good enough because there will always be accidents and tragedies beyond our control, which is why we must stop dividing the world into winners and losers and ensure that there is a fair share of decency and sufficiency to go around.
Visionary and provocative, The Good-Enough Life demonstrates how we can work together to cultivate a good-enough life for all instead of tearing ourselves apart in a race to the top of the social pyramid.
4. This question centers on Telemachus. Read p. 83-86 starting with paragraph 2, and the 3rd paragraph on p. 90, “Though…”. Then discuss the themes of these father-son relationship challenges
5. Explain the benefits for men to “Stop, Feel, Love”, from page 93.
THE BOOK IS What Aging Men Want: The Odyssey as a Parable of Male Aging, John C Robinson, (2013), ISBN 978-1-78099-981-4, THAT IS THE SOURCE.
