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The Soloist By Steve Lopez - The Peay Read
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Anticipation Guide: The Soloist

BEFORE you read The Soloist, read each statement and on the left, under “Pre-reading”, give each statement a rank of 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5.  The “5” ranking indicates that you strongly agree with the statement whereas a ranking of “1” indicates that you strongly disagree with the statement.

AFTER you read The Soloist rank each statement (using the same ranking system) on the right.  All quotations come from The Soloist.

Pre-reading Statement Post-reading
  1. “Music is a meditation, a reverie, a respite from madness.”  
  2. Friendship can alter the lives of the disenfranchised.  
 3. People can describe the last homeless person they saw. 
 4. “Email is a safe, convenient cover, the last refuge of the small minded and profane.” 
 5. Mental illness is “a choice born of moral and spiritual weakness.” 
 6. I will never be homeless because I will earn a college degree. 
 7. As a society, we marginalize those who are mentally ill. 
 8. “The challenge [of the journalist] is not to figure out how to write. . . but why.” 
 9. “A friend is someone who inspires, who challenges, who sends you in search of a truer sense of yourself.” 
 10. We should all strive to be normal. 
 11. Homelessness is a choice. 
 12. Most people that have a mental illness are homeless. 
 13. A person with mental illness should not be stigmatized. 
 14. We all need social connection. 
 15. Mentally ill individuals are hard to persuade and are very opinionated. 
 16. Mentally ill individuals are happy in the environment they make for themselves. 
 17. Mentally ill individuals should not be allowed to decide where they want to live. 
 18. Interacting with mentally ill persons can change one’s beliefs about them. 
 19. Mentally challenged individuals do not bother about their safety. 
 20. People with schizophrenia can have compulsive behaviors in certain areas (like cleanliness). 
 21. People with schizophrenia also have talents. 
 22. Mentally challenged individuals relapse in their conversation. 
 23. Ignoring mentally ill people is acceptable. 
 24. Mentally ill people should be forced to take medication. 
 25. Helping people with schizophrenia is rewarding. 
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