Absurdity and Choice within European Literature

Choices fill our everyday life; from the outfit we pick out in the morning to the meal we eat for dinner. Sometimes our choices are more intense and have consequences; other times the choices we make seem absolutley absured. Therefore, it is important to teach our students that it is okay to wait and not act on convenience, or to make choices that benefit everybody and not just themselves.

Literature Relation

This lesson will focus on the choices that the main characters made even though it was completely absurd. Using the story of Faust by Goethe and The Guest by Camus- both main characters are pitted against choices throughout the plot. Faust chooses to engage in witchcraft to appear thirty years younger instead of doing it naturally, and Daru from The Guest chooses to leave the Afghan prisoner alone instead of escort him to imprisonment.  Both were left with consequences they had to face after their choice.

Lesson Plan

There is a video on YouTube, titled The Marshmallow Test, in which children are given a marshmallow and told they can either eat it now or wait and be rewarded. By applying this lesson, we can teach our students about patience, choices, and a reward system.

Here is how it’s done:

  • Have student sit in a chair and place a marshmallow on a table in front of them.
  • Offer them the choice to eat it or wait for a reward.
  • Since the age groups differ, you can judge if they should receive a different reward or a second marshmallow.
  • Leave. Wait.
  • Provide reward or consequence.

This test will show the absurdity behind even having to make this choice but like the characters in the stories, there are benefits and consequences to what the person will decide.