On Tuesday, the 8th-period class talked about how The Mezzanine may be a reaction against the ideology discussed towards the end of the book. More specifically, the end of the book discusses an excerpt that discusses how 'transient and trivial is all mortal life.' As a class, we discussed how the book may reflect how Howie wants to focus on little things in his life, rather than how trivial everything he enjoys is. This implies that Howie is somewhat intimidated or unwilling to discuss the larger variables in his life, but I disagree. I think Howie may have taken this excerpt as a challenge to show how interesting and fulfilling life really can be. I think The Mezzanine is a response to the challenge of making life seem interesting. Nicholson Baker intentionally chooses the most boring situation imaginable, a regular office worker enjoying his lunch break, and takes us on a ride through the most interesting parts of that hour. By expanding on and ...