Enjoy: my favorite reading of the course! Again, I’d suggest that
it would be best to read through for enjoyment, then come back to this assignment.
A few things before you go off to read this for the first time: go ahead and
skip the big paragraph on page 86 and the very next one that leads into page
87. Also, you are warned that there is a racial slur that we can talk
about in class if you wish.
As for the assignment, like always, you’ll need to read through the entire
passage to competently answer the questions. Many of you will have to
read it a third or fourth time (especially for those of you who are looking
to improve your grade). I’m providing for you a reading guide first,
as I used to do, then the homework assignment .
Quick Reading Guide
The first part, before the “Treatise” begins, is a careful introduction.
Some things to consider in the first part: one, third paragraph, do
you agree with Harry Haller’s quote?; and two, fourth paragraph, who besides
Nietzsche and Harry Haller fits this description?
The Treatise on the Steppenwolf introduces to us the problem, embodied in
the Steppenwolf. Carefully read through this section to identify and
be able to describe the two parts to the Steppenwolf. You’ll need to carefully
analyze the problem, the Steppenwolf, to better understand the solution, which
comes right afterward the paragraphs you are supposed to skip.
The solution is contained in the rest of the pages. It comes in two
parts. The first part is the solution for the Steppenwolf.
The second part is the psychological truth in all of us. This is probably
the most difficult part of the reading to understand. Don’t sweat the
details, just try to grasp the basic idea. We’ll talk about this solution
in detail in class.
Homework Questions
#1. Describe both elements of the Steppenwolf. Half-page.
#2. Describe what the Steppenwolf must do to cure himself. Short paragraph.
#3. What is the “one last fiction…to make clear?” What is the
truth? Short paragraph.
