The Changing of the Guard story
A professor who is forced into retirement contemplates suicide, but changes his mind when the ghosts of his former students that were killed in the war persuade him of his worth. Directed by: Robert Ellis Miller. Story by: Rod Serling.
14 total · 3 choice · 5 major · 6 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| the need for a purpose in life | choice | While Prof. Fowler felt worthless after being forced to retire from his teaching position, the ghosts of some of his former students paid him a visit to remind him that he'd had a profound impact on their lives. This knowledge reassured the professor that his life had no been lived in vain. |
| the need to feel useful to society | choice | While Prof. Fowler felt worthless after being forced to retire from his teaching position, the ghosts of some of his former students paid him a visit to remind him that he'd had a profound impact on their lives. This knowledge reassured the professor that his life had no been lived in vain. |
| the power of art to influence people | choice | Fowler very nearly killed himself in a moment of self-doubt, bet then he came to realize that the poetry he had taught for 51 years had not been nearly as pointless as for a moment he thought. |
| contemplating suicide | major | Depressed at being laid off and doubting his life's worth, Fowler was about to commit suicide when he was interrupted by a congregation of ghosts who made him re-evaluate thing. |
| coping with aging | major | Prof. Fowler forced to retire from his teaching post. |
| coping with an existential crisis | major | Fowler thought his long life had lacked meaning when he considered that none of his students had learned anything from him. |
| ghost | major | Prof. Fowler was visited, and cheered up, by the ghosts of some of his former students. |
| poetry | major | Prof. Fowler read classic poems to his students. |
| Christmas traditions | minor | Prof. Fowler's students paid him tribute by singing him a Christmas carol from outside of his window. |
| literature appreciation | minor | Prof. Fowler read classic poems to his students. |