DRAWING BOARD PLAN Who is John Mandeville? The story of a leather-bound burgundy briefcase as it travels through the hands of strangers and backto its rightful owner. Key Themes 1.Fate: The novelette deals with the concept of the irony of Fate, and , written from an atheistic perspective, the comical value of the ide a of a Set/Deterministic Path. 2.The Meaninglessness of Life: A modern approach to the E xistential question of whether life is worth living, expressed through John Mandeville‟s failed suicide attempt. 3.Black Comedy: Taking deep, philosophical subject matter and making light use of it in a nonchalant sense between a group of fairly two-dimensional characters. Un-referenced Quotations „The greatest problem with linking dreams, feelings and th oughts to chemicals in our brain is that science cannot yet prove their cause or effect, which is unhelpful, yet not enough to dismiss the idea entirely. One must always have the ability to believe otherwise, or we shall never move forward as human beings. ‟ - Dr. Hartman (My own fictional character) “Amor Fati –“Love Your Fate”, which is in fact your life.” Nietzsche “You often meet your fate on the road you take to avoid it.” Goldie Hawn “Do not be afraid; our fate Cannotbe taken from us; it is a gift.” Dante “Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.” Emerson Characters The characters are introduced in the following linear order in the novelette = 1.Gold and John
