Last Lecture

I chose to write an essay about the “Topic of Cancer” by Christopher Hitchens. In this short autobiographical essay, Hitchens discusses his experience with Esophageal cancer. Just one day after lanching his book “Hitch-22” Hitchens was made aware of his illness, where he later describes the news as “taking me from the country of well, to the stark frontier.” It was then he chose to write about his experience for the purpose of documenting the changes that he, and his body were about to go through with chemotherapy, and also for the purpose of contemplating his current situation. The reason that I chose this story is because of my own personal experiences that I have had with many loved ones in my life. There is one case in particular that stands out in my memory, among the rest. It was when my friend of many years discovered that he had a very rare form of brain cancer. Soon after undergoing chemotherapy, he lost his battle. There are many people that believe chemotherapy at any stage is the best, and often times, the only way to cure cancer, yet others claim that chemotherapy is not the answer at all. A close analysis of recent statistics can settle this debate.

“Hypothetically, if you knew you were going to die and you had one last lecture, what would you say to your students?” That is how Professor Randy Pausch, from Carnegie Mellon, began his last lecture, a speech entitled “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams” while in fact he was dying of Pancreatic Cancer. He knew he only had months left to live and put together this last lecture to read to his students. His lecture focuses in on points such as the importance of: making sincere apologies, not whining, being gracious and being humble. To stress his thoughts and views on life and following one’s dreams, Randy Pausch used a great amount of repetition, metaphors, allusion, humor, ethos, and pathos in his last lecture.

The main theme in this book is that of individual experience, which is written as if the reader was looking through the eyes of the narrator, not knowing the context, but understanding how life is for those who have been through the experience.

You would think a man dying of cancer would not be so happy and willing to spend the last few months of his life giving a lecture. But, Randy Pausch, who has 10 tumors in his liver, does not want people to pity him for having cancer. Rather, he wants to teach people how to follow their childhood dreams. Looking at the seven elements of communication we see how he is so effective in his last lecture.

If I had made a list of my child hood dreams, I admit, it wouldn’t be very impressive. I never wanted to be a firefighter or a policeman. I never had the urge to be a millionaire, and I never even thought of being a G.I Joe or Army Man. If you could see my list, you would see only two words scribbled down in that chicken scratch hand writing of mine. But only one of those words would follow me out of that first grade class room and stick with me to this present day.

The most prominent rhetorical device used in the book is Pausch’s appeal to pathos. Pausch starts off his story by saying“ The obvious part is being with, and taking care of, my family. While I still can, I embrace every moment with them, and do logistical things necessary to ease their path into a life without me (pg 1)” in a way that brutally plays with the reader’s emotions. While multiple readers can envision living with both of their parents for years to come, readers would soon register that Pausch’s children won’t have the same opportunity, instead they would suffer the loss of their father at a very young age.In spite of this, Pausch makes sure that every second spent wouldn’t be roaming around depressed but instead fulfilling even more memorable moments with his

Despite his circumstances, Joel does his best to maintain his positive outlook. He says, “I have never gotten angry about my illnesses. I have been sad, but never angry.” In fact, in the face of this battle for his life, Joel finds contentment in maintaining his service to others. “The one thing having cancer has really done for me is it has reaffirmed my commitment to being of service to other people who are in greater need than I am. I found the path to unconditional love a long time ago. Having a life of love and care and compassion has been the right kind of life for

“Don’t give up, don’t ever give up.” The words of the great Jimmy Valvano. Jimmy was a Men’s Basketball Coach at N.C. State University. He is one of the greatest coaches of all time. But he is also the man who delivered the “Never Give Up” speech at the ESPY Awards in 1993. This has inspired so many people. It’s the thought of Cancer that often brings Jimmy into mind. Stuart Scott is also very inspirational when it comes to cancer. A real inspiration is Mrs. Spatz. She has beat cancer 4 times. Over and over again, she has fought and beat cancer. She is now a teacher at Wyndcroft Private School in Pottstown. Although she is my mother, she creates inspiration for many

Dr. Randy Pausch, a professor of computer science at Carnegie-Mellon University who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, educated me with his powerful inspirational message. Dr. Randy Pausch, 47 years old man who has terminal cancer with a life expectancy of a few months gave me a life lesson. He thought me how to achieve dreams also how to face death. Being diagnosed with any kinds of cancer is devastating and despairing, but for him it was opposite; he was happy and cognitively healthy during his final lecture at Carnegie-Mellon University. He even said, “If I don 't seem as depressed or morosed as I should be, sorry to disappoint you” (Video) and continued lecturing. He hadn’t show any sadness or depression during his lecture

Our world is plagued with cancer. And our world is dying because of it. Lives are taken every day in wars around the world caused by pessimistic people who can’t be happy about life. These pessimistic people in our world cause this cancer, and the only way to find a cure it is to be optimistic.

Many people can relate to his personal battle with cancer and his dedication to cancer research. His speech was full of emotion. He gave examples of his anguish during a seven-day stay before the awards ceremony, explaining his liver complications, kidney failure, and multiple surgeries. This provided the audience with real life experiences to understand the depth of what this award stands for.

From the beginning, Engelberg shows the struggle between the life threatening nature of cancer and dealing with

The theme of this book is determination and victory. I learned that life is valuable, and something worth fighting for. It amazes me that all the doctors and nurses were so dedicated to helping a boy they did not know, a boy who’s condition was only getting worse. This book proved that anything is possible when God is in control; all we need to do is fully rely on Him.

“’So what’s your story?’” she then then replies “’I already told you my story. I was diagnosed when-‘” He interrupts and says “’No, not your cancer story. Your story. Interests, hobbies, passions, etcetera… Don’t tell me you’re one of those people who becomes their disease. I know so many people like that. It’s disheartening. Like cancer is in the growth business, right? The taking-people-over business. But surely you haven’t let it succeed prematurely’” (Green, 32).

The Last Lecture is equally a telling of how Randy Pausch lived his life and a guide on how others should live theirs. Pausch was a professor at Carnegie Mellon and gave his last lecture after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. However, this lecture was not filled with weepy memories of his family or things he wished he could change. Instead, it was a recount of how he was able to achieve all of his childhood dreams and steps for anyone to do the same. Almost everything Randy says in his lecture are extremely quotable words to live by. He touches upon some of the most fundamental themes that everyone can understand, like the benefits of a positive attitude and how to overcome obstacles to achieve your dreams.