Hope Jahren, Lab Girl (“Prologue,” pp. 20–27)
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What’s the purpose of the prologue in this book? Could it be a short freestanding essay of its own? What’s the significance of the last paragraph? Have you ever included a prologue in a piece you have written? What would it mean to add a prologue to one of the essays you are currently working on?
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In Jahren’s book, her lab emerges as a dominant setting. On pp. 21–22, she repeats, “My lab is a place…” followed by a simile that her lab is “like a church.” What is she trying to express here? If you do or have done laboratory research, how does your experience compare with hers?
Stephanie Land, Maid (pp. 58–71)
- While Hope Jahren writes about chosen work/profession, Stephanie Land focuses on paid work she has undertaken out of necessity: cleaning other people’s homes. How do her descriptions of her work compare to Jahren’s? Mention specific examples. How does she hope to influence her readers?
Frank McCourt, excerpt, Teacher Man
- Frank McCourt, like Jahren, writes of his professional life (as a high school teacher), but focuses on one of its less desirable aspects: dealing with student misbehavior. How does he use humor to convey a message about his identity as a teacher?
Attribution of Quotes:
Jahren, Hope. “Prologue.” In Lab Girl: A Memoir. Vintage Books, 2017. © A. Hope Jahren. All rights reserved. This content is excluded from our Creative Commons license. For more information, see https://ocw.mit.edu/help/faq-fair-use/.
