Scribd
Upload
420 views

Week 5 Discussion

This document summarizes a discussion about Tara Westover's memoir "Educated". Members of the discussion list absent group members and answer questions about the book. They discuss how Westover had to balance her life on the mountain with her new student life. They also analyze how an encounter with her brother Shawn destroyed Westover's relationship with her family and shaped who she became. Finally, they reflect on how Westover's experience shows the importance of gaining an independent education and perspective.

Uploaded by

api-528651903
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
420 views

Week 5 Discussion

This document summarizes a discussion about Tara Westover's memoir "Educated". Members of the discussion list absent group members and answer questions about the book. They discuss how Westover had to balance her life on the mountain with her new student life. They also analyze how an encounter with her brother Shawn destroyed Westover's relationship with her family and shaped who she became. Finally, they reflect on how Westover's experience shows the importance of gaining an independent education and perspective.

Uploaded by

api-528651903
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

Educated: Week 5 Discussion

Please use different color fonts for answers.

Roles

List any absent group members:

● Facilitator: Abbey Giolas


● Recorder: Tushita Sinha
● Prioritizer: Fatima Zaidi
● Connector: the one the only the incredibly long-necked, the tall and skinny built
like the country chile

Gage
● Questioner: Angelina Yong

Notes

1. After Westover decides to continue her education, she finds it increasingly difficult to
reconcile her life on the mountain with her new life as a student of history. She writes
that she had a “fractured mind.” Does it seem to you that she must lose one life to gain
another?

She doesn’t have to lose her whole life. Her life has to change in order for her to attend
college. She needs to find a balance and connect both her lives together. In order for
Tara to be a part of her family, and live the luxuries of her college life, she must give up
some aspects of both lives and compromise a lot. When she says a “fractured mind” I
think she means that her mind is strained because of all the pressure that she is facing.
Both lives are weighing her down in some way, so in order to be a part of both, she
must compromise and sacrifice parts of both lives.
2. One of the most difficult scenes in the book comes near the end when Westover
realizes that Shawn has killed his dog Diego after coming to her parents’ house with a
knife in hand. How does this moment change things for Westover?

It was very surprising and more violent than we expected. She realizes that she will not
get near Shawn ever again. Her relationship with Shawn was completely ruined at this
moment, and Tara realizes that. In later chapters, she also mentions that this was most
likely the point in her life where he relationship with her father went downhill. She
realizes that her father takes Shawn’s side even though he committed such a violent
and brutal act, she completely alienates herself from her family. Moreover, she writes
that this was the moment in which her 16- year old self refuses to leave the mirror, and
she finally just changes who she is as a person.

3. One professor describes Westover as “Pygmalion,” while Westover herself at one


point says she believed she could “be remade, my mind recast” at her university. And in
the end, she writes that she is a “changed person” from the person she was as her
father’s daughter, and from her 16-year-old self. “You could call this selfhood many
things,” she writes. “Transformation. Metaphorosis. Falsity. Betrayal. I call it an
education.” What do you make of these final lines?

These final lines were influential because they end with a final thought that leaves the
audience with lingering ideas about the impact of education. Her past is always valuable
to her. She realizes the importance of an education because of her background, and
values it. These final lines sum up the whole book. She became educated, and that
changed her because she found new ideals and found another way of living that in
many ways was better than her old life.

4. Looking back over the book, what did you learn about family and forgiveness and
trauma? What did you learn about education? What is your biggest take-away?

Regarding family and forgiveness, Tara values her family a lot in the beginning, most
probably because she was heavily influenced by her family. As she grew up, she gained
more independence, even independence in thought, which prompted her to come up
with new ideas and ways of living. From this book, I learned that getting an education is
knowing how to think independently and not be influenced by bias. My biggest takeaway
is to get an education so that we can make our own decisions and form our own
opinions, instead of allowing our parents to lead our lives. I also learned that
forgiveness is sometimes something that is out of the question, even when it comes to
family. As we see with Shawn and Tara, their relationship is “toxic” and for a long time,
Tara convinces herself to not forgive Shawn and she tells herself that she “forgot”.
However, as she grows up, and becomes educated, she realizes that she cannot forgive
Shawn after all.

5. How do you think Tara will continue making her life choices and breaking through
obstacles given her past experiences?
I think it will always be a little difficult for her to forget about her experiences and
the things she learned from her parents. Even when she gives speeches at this time,
she mentions her parents and talks about how they have influenced her. I think family
values are very important to Tara, and they will still influence her future decisions, and
she will most likely push her towards making more conservative decisions. Each future
decision will allow her to move one step forward to being independent. (What if she
married Charles?). I also think Tara will probably come back to her family in times when
she is feeling down and in trouble. She might want to come back to her “faith”. The
more distance she creates with her family, the less influence they will have on her life,
and she will be more free from the restrictions of childhood.

Summary:
Tara Westover ends the book on a note emphasizing the importance of education and
allowing the readers to realize the struggles she went through and the ways in which
she grew up. She realizes that she will have to give up one of her lives to live the other,
and will have to compromise one way or the other. She also comes to realize not
everyone deserves forgiveness and that even though Shawn is family, she will not
forgive him. She sees a different side of her father and Shawn and breaks their
relationship. Moreover, Tara will always be a part of her past and that will always affect
her decisions and future choices. Tara was “educated” and she grew up.

You might also like