Honors English II - The Last Lecture Test

Randy Pausch

main character, 1st person narrator, author; ten tumors in his liver, cancer; has a few months to live; married to Jai with three kids: Dylan, Logan, Chloe; lecturer at Carnegie Mellon; wants his last lecture to be about living life to the fullest; recorded for his kids

Jai

Randy’s wife; mother to Dylan, Logan, and Chloe; wants Randy to spend time with his family

Dylan

Randy and Jai’s oldest son, five years old

Chloe

Randy’s daughter, 1 year old

Randy’s Mom

tough and old-school English teacher with high expectations; took Randy and Tammy to the circus; doesn’t like spending money often

Randy’s Dad

a World War 2 medic, in Battle of the Bulge; helped immigrant kids learn English; ran a small business; Randy’s inspiration; died of leukemia

Tammy

Randy’s older sister, mom to Chris and Laura

Andy van Dam

computer science professor; “Andy Van Demand”; Randy’s “Dutch Uncle” who put him in his place

Chris and Laura

Tammy’s kids; Randy’s niece and nephew; Randy took them on fun adventures with few rules

Coach Graham

Randy’s tough football coach who pushed Randy to do his best and served as his role model later in life

Randy’s childhood

great; comfortable middle class life; great parents who let him express himself and chase his dreams; inspired by his father

all of Randy’s childhood dreams

be in zero gravity, play in the NFL, write an article in the World Book Encyclopedia, be Captain Kirk, win stuffed animals, be a Disney Imagineer

Randy’s inspirations

his father, Jackie Robinson, William Shatner, Coach Graham, Andy Van Dam, Sandy Blatt

what Randy made Chris and Laura promise

to take his kids on fun adventures, just like how he took Chris and Laura on fun adventures

Jai and Randy’s relationship problems

neither felt ready to settle down; Jai said she did not love him but realized she did, so they got married

Dylan’s birth catastrophe

Jai had “placenta abrubta” and she and Dylan almost died; Randy helped her through and everyone survived

surprise at end of lecture

Randy had everyone singing Happy Birthday to Jai and he explained how this lecture was for his kids