57 pages • 1-hour read
The Last Lecture
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Summary
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Section 1, Chapters 1-3
Section 2, Chapters 4-5
Section 2, Chapters 6-7
Section 2, Chapters 8-11
Section 3, Chapters 12-15
Section 3, Chapters 16-19
Section 3, Chapters 20-22
Section 4, Chapters 23-24
Section 4, Chapters 25-27
Section 5, Chapters 28-31
Section 5, Chapters 32-34
Section 5, Chapters 35-37
Section 5, Chapters 38-40
Section 5, Chapters 41-45
Section 5, Chapters 46-50
Section 5, Chapters 51-55
Section 5, Chapters 56-58
Section 6, Chapters 59-61
Key Figures
Themes
Symbols & Motifs
Important Quotes
Essay Topics
Tools
Symbols & Motifs
Brick Walls
Part of Pausch’s central lesson in his last lecture is about overcoming obstacles with tenacity and a positive attitude. He uses the image of a brick wall to symbolize the obstacles that we face when we try to achieve our dreams. His own brick walls involved getting rejected from a graduate program, almost missing out on marrying his wife, and nearly losing his chance to experience zero gravity with NASA. However, Pausch believes that “brick walls are there for a reason”—they are an opportunity for a person to be more creative with their approach to overcoming an obstacle. Brick walls also challenge a person to decide how much they want their goal.
The Head Fake
A head fake occurs when you believe you’re learning one thing only to discover the lesson’s real purpose was something else. When executed correctly, a head fake “teaches people things they don’t realize they’re learning until well into the process. If you’re a head-fake specialist, your hidden objective is to get them to learn something you want them to learn” (39). Pausch first mentions the concept in Chapter 7, when he introduces Jim Graham, his mentor and former football coach whom Pausch describes as a master of the head fake. Although his dreams of playing in the NFL didn’t pan out, Pausch later realized that the real point of playing football wasn’t about reaching the NFL but developing the never-give-up attitude that would later propel his entire career.
The head fake motif recurs throughout the text, particularly in the end, when Pausch reveals that the book’s objective isn’t to teach readers how to reach their dreams, nor is it a rundown of his life experiences. Rather, the book is roadmap for how to live life in a way that enables you to achieve your dreams, which is the legacy he wants to leave behind for his children.
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