The Measure

One of the larger philosophical questions that Nikki Erlick explores in The Measure is about happiness—who has it, who deserves it, and how humans can achieve it. Through Amie and Ben’s correspondence, Erlick explores the ramifications of the strings on people’s perception of happiness, and offers a way to find happiness in the face of mortality.

With the strings, everyone now knows the length of their lives. In the immediate aftermath, people make changes, the result of a perspective shift that puts their daily lives into a larger context. Whereas before, humans had lived in blissful ignorance of their deaths, the strings have forced them to confront mortality. As a result, happiness seems out of reach, especially for people like Ben, with a short string. He is the first character to raise the idea of happiness directly in the novel. In a letter to Amie, he tells her about a friend of his who “set an alert on his phone to send himself the same message every year on his birthday: ‘Sit down and ask yourself: Are you happy?’” (213) This anecdote starts their conversation on the topic, and as they correspond, they delve more deeply into what it means to be happy, and how Ben can achieve it despite knowing about his short life.