Staying Fat For Sarah Byrnes

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

Why might healthy debate be beneficial to individuals and society? How might open-mindedness be beneficial when participating in a debate?

Teaching Suggestion: Contemporary American Thought class (CAT class) serves as one of the primary settings for the novel and becomes a source of conflict between the protagonist and his classmates. Eric, the protagonist, learns to question his beliefs by keeping an open mind in class while other classmates view CAT class as an attack. Consider asking students to speculate on the benefits of debate and keeping an open mind before reading the article and reflecting on the questions.  

• This 5-minute video argues the importance of debate, its purpose, and the correct approach to debate.
• This article, “How to Be Open-Minded and Why it Matters” defines open-mindedness and how it can be applied.

Short Activity

Eric is faced with a significant ethical dilemma in the book. Review the links on ethical dilemmas and consider the questions below to expand your understanding of them.

• If your best friend cheated on an important test, would you report them?
• If a person is starving, is it wrong for them to steal food?
• If you damage your neighbor’s property and no one knew, would you take responsibility for it? What if the damaged property is incredibly expensive?
• If you were shipwrecked on an island with a group, would you prioritize certain people or would you share the food equally?
• If a friend asked you to keep an important secret, but the secret is a matter of life or death for the friend, would you keep it?
• If the government fails to carry out justice, is it appropriate to carry out justice for yourself or another victim?