Every Day

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. Consider the many kinds of technology that you use on a daily basis: Your cell phone, computer, social media, video games, and everything in between. Many sociologists and psychologists warn of the dangers of technology, claiming that it affects our ability to connect with one another and can in fact exacerbate loneliness and isolation in people. Do you agree or disagree?

Teaching Suggestion: This question will get students thinking about Technology’s Power to Connect and Separate. A, the protagonist of the book, has a special relationship to their e-mail. If possible, lead the discussion toward students’ relationship to their e-mail. As you move through the conversation, encourage students to consider both sides of the debate equally, giving equal weight to exploring ways in which technology has brought them together and it has driven them apart.

• The CNET article “How Tech and Social Media Are Making Us Feel Lonelier Than Ever” discusses the paradox of modern-day connection through technology: We now have the capability of connecting with each other 24/7, and yet many people report feeling more lonely than ever.
• In Forbes’ “Technolonely: Is Technology Curing Loneliness or Causing it?,” Sanat Rao asks if technology might be at the root of loneliness in the 21st century.

2. A central tenet of the religious philosophy Zen Buddhism relates to time. Essentially, it states that, in order to attain enlightenment, we must live in the present, rather than focusing on a past that’s already gone or a future that hasn’t arrived yet. What do you think about this notion of time? What does it mean to “live in the past/future” as opposed to living in the present? What are some of the other tenets of Zen Buddhism?

Teaching Suggestion: The novel Every Day intersects in key ways with Zen Buddhism. This prompt will get students thinking about Zen Buddhism as it relates to The Pressure of Time, which A grapples with throughout the novel as he cycles through different bodies and experiences. His experience also echoes the Zen Buddhist notion of reincarnation, which in turn is tied to the theme of Fluidity of Identity. Lastly, A believes that we are all essentially the same, are somehow interconnected, another central belief of Zen Buddhism.

• Tim Lott writes in The Guardian about reclaiming and expanding the present moment in “Zen Buddhism Teaches Us of the Importance of Living in the Present.”
• In “What Makes a Buddhist a Zen Buddhist?,” the Buddhist magazine Tricycle explains the core concepts behind one of the world’s most influential religions. 

Differentiation Suggestion: For advanced learners who might be able to make higher-level connections between Zen Buddhist belief and Every Day, you may opt to have those students spend more time building their background knowledge of Zen Buddhist thought, as well as Buddhism in general. The Met Museum offers this timeline of Zen Buddhism, which documents Zen Buddhist’s art history, while this 30-minute video from the Secular Buddhist Association explains the early history and development of Zen Buddhism.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the novel.

Consider the various components that comprise your identity – the things that make you you. You may think of your gender identity, your religious affiliation, your ethnicity, or your age, among many others. Which parts of your identity have changed over time? In what way have the changed?

Teaching Suggestion: This question is designed to get students thinking about The Fluidity of Identity by recognizing that, though perhaps their own identity does not undergo such extreme changes as A’s does, they too have a self that is constantly shifting, evolving, and changing. After the students have answered the question, clarify that when we speak of a “fluid identity,” this is what we mean.

• The concept of “gender fluidity” has gained considerable national attention in recent years. In “Gender Fluidity: What It Means and Why Support Matters” (Harvard Health Publishing), Dr. Sabra L. Katz-Wise explains how a person’s gender can change over the years, or even from moment to moment, depending on the person.
• The concept of “intersectionality” is another angle that gets at the fluidity of identity, demonstrating that our sense of self is made up of multiple, distinct parts – even parts that contradict or clash with each other. In “Intersectionality 101: What Is It and Why Is It Important?,” the non-profit Womankind Worldwide gives a helpful primer on the subject.