When Breath Becomes Air

In When Breath Becomes Air, literature exists alongside medicine with equal importance in Paul’s experience and philosophy as a doctor. Eventually, these two disciplines significantly inform his relationship to his cancer diagnosis and illness. Analyze the ways in which literature and medicine work together to enhance each other’s impact on Paul. Consider these points as you reflect on the text to answer the question.

• What role do both literature and medicine play in Paul’s education and journey toward becoming a doctor?
• How does each discipline inform and add to the other? What does literature provide that medicine alone can’t, and how does medicine impact Paul’s relationship to specific works of literature?
• How does the theme of Books and Literature supplement and help develop the text’s other themes of The Meaning of Death, The Patient-Doctor Dichotomy, and The Future?

Teaching Suggestion: Readers might utilize a provided graphic organizer prior to the discussion so they can prepare comments, questions, and evidence. Alternatively, students might work in pairs or teams to create a template for use in considering the significance of literature and medicine separately before synthesizing the two ideas and connecting their thoughts to the text’s main themes.

Differentiation Suggestion: For students who might benefit from an alternative form of collaborative discussion, a “silent discussion” might be helpful in which students either record their questions and thoughts on the board or pass around a piece of paper in a small group for questions, comments, responses.