The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet

Introduction-Chapter 11

Reading Check

1. Carousel (Chapter 1)

2. The Great Gatsby (Chapter 4)

3. Microcapsules (Chapter 6)

4. A swan (Chapter 8)

5. “Plastic” (Chapter 11)

Short Answer

1. He realizes that his novels have been about himself, in various ways, and that he now wants to try openly writing about himself instead of hiding behind the veil of fiction. (Introduction)

2. For years before the COVID-19 pandemic occurred, Green publicly speculated about the serious harm a global pandemic might do—and yet when the pandemic actually arrived, he found that he was as unprepared as everyone else. (Chapter 2)

3. He is moved by both the human act of creating art—especially in the distinct way of making a stencil of the hand—and by the human desire to conserve this art for future generations. (Chapter 5)

4. Because it is entirely made up of artificial ingredients, Diet Dr. Pepper feels like a vice in the way that the cigarettes he has given up used to feel. (Chapter 7)

5. Green is making a point about the capacity of human beings to impact the natural world in both positive and negative ways. (Chapter 9)

Chapters 12-22

Reading Check

1. Two percent (Chapter 13)

2. Their persistence (Chapter 15)

3. Shoved them off a cliff (Chapter 18)

4. Kobayashi (Chapter 20)

5. Smart or pleasant (Chapter 22)

Short Answer

1. Burning fossil fuels to create air conditioning so that people can live comfortably in hot climates is actually making the planet a hotter place to live. (Chapter 12)

2. It allowed him to share his fears and his true self with online friends, who did not prejudge him the way people he met in person often did. (Chapter 14)

3. Dudek’s story illustrates the idea that good times often follow terrible times, and Green wants readers to keep this in mind during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Chapter 17)

4. It was the first grocery store where customers selected items for themselves instead of having a clerk fetch what they needed. (Chapter 19)

5. He points out that their format does not allow them to take the time needed to offer accurate, in-depth stories contextualized in a way that adds to the audience’s understanding of current events. (Chapter 21)

Chapters 23-33

Reading Check

1. Amy Krouse Rosenthal (Chapter 24)

2. Ditch (Chapter 26)

3. Landlord’s Game (Chapter 29)

4. His wife/Sarah (Chapter 31)

5. The COVID-19 pandemic (Chapter 33)

Short Answer

1. Both were professional athletes whose careers were almost ended by a case of the “yips.” Both battled back and became successful again. (Chapter 23)

2. Green encountered the badly burned child in the emergency room when he was a chaplain working with patients there. (Chapter 25)

3. He enjoys the sense of community and tradition surrounding the event. He also points out that developments in automotive technology have come from racing events like the Indy 500. (Chapter 28)

4. Green points out that life tends to reward people who are already ahead, while the video game is structured to offer power-ups to players who are behind. (Chapter 30)

5. He compares Doi’s art to his own repetitive signing of books and sheets of paper provided by his publisher. (Chapter 32)

Chapters 34-Postscript

Reading Check

1. Damascus (Chapter 35)

2. Iceland (Chapter 37)

3. Tallahassee (Chapter 39)

4. “What’s Even the Point?” (Chapter 42)

5. “Wondrous” and “awful” (Postscript)

Short Answer

1. He found it difficult to communicate the pain he was feeling, and this made him feel separated from others. This feeling was made worse by people’s platitudes about how everything would eventually work out. (Chapter 34)

2. Green discusses the pathetic fallacy. He recognizes that it is illogical, but he nonetheless enjoys its use in literature because he thinks it adds something to the reader’s perspective. (Chapter 36)

3. Many of the most commonly used letters are not located where the typist’s fingers naturally rest, on the home row. (Chapter 40)

4. He finds their whimsy and uselessness charming. (Chapter 41)

5. Green is pointing out that pictures’ meanings change over time because the future unfolds in unpredictable ways that impact our interpretation of the photo. (Chapter 44)