Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin is a thought-provoking work that lends itself to interdisciplinary teaching at the college level. It touches on various themes such as loneliness, the effects of systemic inequality, the creative power of video games, and the pivotal importance of human connection. The following are some interdisciplinary teaching suggestions and questions designed to generate discussion based on the novel:
The main narrative thread deals with video games as a way to bring people together (like Sam and Sadie at the start of the work) and allow connection in the digital world while reflecting the real one. Anthropology students might benefit from examining:
Video games as culture: Namely, what can video games tell us about the culture that produces them? What cultural values are embedded in a game's rules? What concepts of fair and unfair translate across cultures? Who gets represented as a hero, villain, victim, or 鈥渙ther鈥�? How do games teach players cultural norms without explicitly telling them what those norms are? If games are cultural artifacts, what can an anthropologist learn about a society by studying the games it creates?
Virtual worlds and the construction of identity: The novel is excellent for discussing identity as something constructed and performed. Sam鈥檚 avatar, for example, invites questions about online identity, gender and sexuality, disability and the body, anonymity, and how people behave differently in virtual and physical spaces.
Cultural appropriation, representation, and globalization: The novel鈥檚 games draw on Japanese culture and art, while Sam and Marx have Asian heritage and are working within an American-dominated gaming industry. The novel raises questions about the right to tell stories from another culture; namely, what is the difference between cultural appreciation and appropriation? Why are some cultures treated as aesthetic resources? Who gets to profit from cultural imagery? How does globalization influence popular culture?
Gender and the gaming industry: Sadie provides an excellent case study for discussing gender roles and occupational culture, since the novel specifically explores Sadie鈥檚 experience as a woman in programming and the sexism she encounters.
Anthropology of play: Why do humans play? What is the oldest recorded game? What does play accomplish socially?
Digital anthropology / online communities: Students could conduct a small ethnographic observation of an online community, such as gaming, Reddit, Discord, TikTok, etc., and analyze community norms, insider language, rituals, status, inclusion/exclusion, leadership, conflict, and identity.
Explore the therapeutic role of art and creativity in the novel. Investigate how engaging in creative activities can positively impact mental well-being.
A print of The Great Wave off Kanagawa by the Japanese ukiyo-e artist Katsushika Hokusai provides inspiration for the characters in the novel as they design their game. Research this and other works by the artist and examine the discussion of cultural appropriate that appears in the novel.
Encourage students to create art inspired by the themes of the novel or their own personal experiences.
Debate: Is game development primarily an artistic activity or an engineering activity?
Create an alternative book cover or poster for a film version of the work.
The novel provides a case study in entrepreneurship, collaboration, innovation, and the economics of the video game industry. Sam and Sadie鈥檚 development of Ichigo and their later business ventures allow students to examine how creative ideas become marketable products, the risks and rewards of entrepreneurship, and the challenges of managing partnerships when personal relationships and business interests overlap. Students could also explore issues such as intellectual property, licensing, pricing, labor, competition, marketing, and the value of creative work. The novel鈥檚 depiction of success and failure also opens the door to discussions about risk-taking and opportunity cost: the characters make choices that sometimes produce financial success and sometimes create significant personal or professional consequences. More broadly, the novel encourages students to consider whether economic success should be measured solely by profit and how factors such as creativity, relationships, personal fulfillment, and social impact complicate traditional definitions of business success.
Some topics to consider:
Who should produce Ichigo? The decision about whether to work with a larger company with greater immediate financial rewards or produce the game with a small company and more control is an excellent case study in risk versus reward. Students could evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of accepting outside investment, including access to capital, marketing, distribution, and expertise versus giving up some control and potential profits.
Investment and venture capital: Students could examine Marx鈥檚 role as an investor and consider what makes a creative project attractive to an investor. What risks does Marx take, and what does he expect in return?
Competition and market forces: Students could examine the video game industry as a competitive market and consider how technological changes, consumer preferences, and competition affect business decisions.
Marketing and branding: How do Sam and Sadie establish an identity for their games? Students could develop a marketing strategy for Ichigo or another game from the novel.
The main plotline of the novel deals with two adolescents who bond over playing video games and ultimately go on to design and build one of their own. As such, there are many tie-ins that can be use in the fields of computing and game design. Some questions that may inspire in-class discussion follow.
Is game development primarily an artistic activity or an engineering activity?
Who deserves the most credit for a successful game?
Can a video game be as emotionally meaningful as a novel?
How do digital worlds affect real-world relationships?
What obligations do developers have to make games accessible?
Does technology bring the characters together or drive them apart?
How does the novel challenge stereotypes about programmers and game developers?
How do technical decisions affect storytelling in narrative games?
The novel provides an opportunity to discuss universal design for learning, and in particular Sam鈥檚 experiences with disability and chronic pain provide an opportunity to discuss accessibility, accommodation, and inclusion. Education students could examine how the novel treats the following and how these might translate to the face to face or online classroom:
Physical accessibility
Digital accessibility
Assistive technology
Universal Design for Learning
Invisible disabilities
Flexible ways of demonstrating learning
The difference between accommodation and true inclusion. In other words, are we designing educational environments so that all students can participate, or are we designing them for an imagined 鈥渁verage鈥� student and then modifying them when someone can鈥檛 participate?
It鈥檚 impossible to ignore the spectacularly unhealthy student/teacher relationship in the novel, which can be an entry point to discuss legal boundaries, imbalance of power, and the mentor role.
There are almost countless approaches to take with Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow from the perspective of literary analysis. Many of the themes mentioned in conjunction with other disciplines can be used in literary discussion as well as the subjects mentioned. Some additional approaches may be useful, as well:
The title references Shakespeare鈥檚 Macbeth, which foreshadows some of the themes of the novel. Examine the novel鈥檚 references to the play, to drama and acting, and to the fate of the characters in both.
Marx鈥檚 acting serves as a thread throughout the work and eventually inspires Master of the Revels. The idea of 鈥減laying鈥� (on the stage, in a video game, and in personal relationships) bears significant thematic weight and could lead to productive class discussions.
Ask students to consider when and why Zevin changes narrative point of view. What does the novel gain by shifting perspectives rather than telling the entire story from one character鈥檚 point of view? How does our understanding of Sam, Sadie, Marx, or other characters change when we experience events through their perspectives? This can also provide an opportunity to discuss a larger idea about storytelling: Can we ever fully understand another person鈥檚 experience, or do we always experience other people through the limited perspective of a narrator?
Think about what makes something 鈥渓iterature鈥� in the first place. Does literature have to be written and read, or can a story experienced through gameplay also qualify? How does the player鈥檚 participation change the way a story is told and experienced? Consider whether elements such as character development, narrative structure, dialogue, symbolism, theme, and emotional impact exist in video games in ways similar to traditional literary works.
Selected secondary sources dealing with theme of video games as literature:
Bookchin, Natalie. 鈥淭he Intruder.鈥� Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies, vol. 26, no. 1, Mar. 2005, pp. 43鈥�47. EBSCOhost, .
Nagpal, Ruchi. 鈥淚ndian Digital Literature(s): Tracing the Contours of an Emergence.鈥� New Review of Hypermedia & Multimedia, Dec. 2025, pp. 1鈥�20. EBSCOhost, .
Schelpe, Yves. 鈥淕ames as Literature in Motion: Stories That Refuse to Let Us Remain Spectators.鈥� Humanist, vol. 86, no. 1, Mar. 2026, pp. 17鈥�19. EBSCOhost, research.ebsco.com/plink/63f1be5c-7780-38e6-bb55-f64d6ffa2800.
Yeates, Robert. 鈥淧opular Modernism and Its Legacies: From Pop Literature to Video Games, Scott Ortolano (2018).鈥� European Journal of American Culture, vol. 40, no. 3, Sept. 2021, pp. 253鈥�55. EBSCOhost, .
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow can be a particularly useful text for a Foundations course because it explores themes that resonate with students who are navigating the challenges of college for the first time. The novel鈥檚 characters experience failure, disappointment, changing relationships, and significant shifts in their academic and professional paths, providing opportunities for students to consider failure not as an endpoint but as part of the learning process. Its emphasis on persistence can encourage students to reflect on how setbacks can lead to new possibilities and how success does not always follow a straight or predictable path. Discussions of the characters鈥� choices can also help students think about their own goals, changing interests, and the possibility of adjusting their academic plans without viewing a change in direction as failure.
Writing prompts for Foundations submitted by Dr. Lanza:
After reading Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, answer any 3 of the following questions in at least two paragraphs each:
What video games have you formed an attachment to in your life, as a child and/or as an adult? What about the gameplay, story, or characters drew you in and left an impression on you?
Which of the main characters did you identify with most and why?
Do you consider video games to be art? How did the novel impact your perspective on this?
Would you have taken the deal with Cellar Door Games or Opus Interactive to produce Ichigo? Please explain.
Did your familiarity with video games (or lack thereof) matter to your enjoyment of the story? Please explain.
In your view, does Sam or Sadie deserve more creative credit for Ichigoand Mapleworld, their two most successful ventures and why?
There are a few key points in the story that affect the trajectory of careers. How has your career path evolved over time? What were the inflection points where you headed in a new direction? In what ways has this changed since you began your college journey?
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow offers opportunities to explore performance, identity, casting, and the ways people are sometimes defined by the roles others assign to them. Anna and Marx, in particular, can prompt a discussion of typecasting and the assumptions that can influence casting decisions. His character can be used to consider how performers may be expected to fit particular physical or personality types and how contemporary theatre is increasingly challenging those expectations. Productions such as Hamilton and Six provide useful examples of how casting, race, gender, historical interpretation, and performance conventions can be reimagined for contemporary audiences. Students could consider how these productions challenge traditional expectations about who gets to play particular characters and what those characters are expected to look or sound like. The novel also provides a broader opportunity to discuss the importance of drama and performance in everyday life. Zevin鈥檚 characters frequently perform versions of themselves for one another, raising questions about how people use storytelling, performance, and role-playing to communicate, build relationships, and make sense of their experiences.
Just for fun, theatre students could discuss the tradition/superstition of never speaking the name of the Scottish Play which includes the 鈥渢omorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow鈥� speech in a theatre unless said play is being performed. What steps must be taken if the actual name of Mackers is uttered in a theatre and why?
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow offers a philosophy class a surprisingly rich text because the novel repeatedly asks questions about identity, free will, suffering, friendship, creativity, mortality, and what makes a life meaningful. The characters鈥� experiences can serve as accessible starting points for connecting philosophical ideas to contemporary life, especially because the novel鈥檚 video-game setting invites students to think about the relationship between the real world and the virtual ones we create.
Some possible approaches:
How is identity formed? Sam, Sadie, and Marx change significantly throughout the novel. Students could consider whether identity is something stable or something continually constructed through experience, relationships, and choices.
Free will vs. determinism: The characters make choices, but those choices are shaped by circumstances they cannot control. Students could consider how much control people actually have over their lives and whether a decision can be 鈥渇ree鈥� when it is influenced by past experiences.
The meaning of suffering: Sam鈥檚 experiences with pain and disability and Sadie鈥檚 relationship to illness provide opportunities to discuss whether suffering can have meaning and whether hardship necessarily makes people stronger.
What makes life meaningful? The characters pursue friendship, creative achievement, love, and professional success. Students could consider whether meaning comes from achievement, relationships, pleasure, creativity, service to others, or something else.
Mortality and the value of life: The novel鈥檚 treatment of illness and death provides an opening for discussing how awareness of mortality affects the way people live. Students might connect this to existentialist ideas about creating meaning in a finite life.
The ethics of friendship: Sam and Sadie鈥檚 relationship raises questions about loyalty, forgiveness, obligation, jealousy, and betrayal. What do we owe our friends? Are there limits to forgiveness? Can someone be a good friend while making choices that hurt us?
Virtual worlds and reality: Because the characters create games that simulate experiences and emotions, students could consider philosophical questions about what makes an experience 鈥渞eal.鈥� This could lead naturally into Plato鈥檚 allegory of the cave, questions about simulation, or contemporary discussions of virtual reality and AI.
Technology and the human experience: The novel provides an accessible way to discuss whether technology brings people closer together or creates new forms of isolation. Students could consider whether technology changes human nature or simply gives us new ways to express longstanding human desires and problems.
The philosophical question at the heart of the novel: The idea of 鈥渢omorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow鈥� invites questions about time, repetition, mortality, hope, and the possibility of beginning again. When Macbeth speaks the lines, they are hopeless and he feels life is devoid of meaning, but the novel offers a different interpretation.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow provides several examples to examine trauma, relationships, identity, motivation, resilience, and the ways experiences can shape behavior. Dov鈥檚 relationship with Sadie is particularly useful for discussing the psychological effects of manipulation, power imbalances, and inappropriate student/teacher relationships. As an example, students could examine how Dov鈥檚 behavior affects Sadie鈥檚 sense of self, confidence, and decision-making. His position as her professor and mentor also raises questions about power differentials and professional boundaries. Sadie鈥檚 experiences with Dov can provide an opportunity to discuss how traumatic experiences may affect relationships, emotional responses, trust, and self-perception long after the experience itself has ended. Rather than simply asking why Sadie 鈥渄oesn鈥檛 leave,鈥� students could examine the psychological and situational factors that can make it difficult for someone to recognize, leave, or recover from an unhealthy relationship.
Psych students might also examine how physical and emotional pain can influence behavior, relationships, and perceptions of the world. Students could consider how people respond differently to pain (emotional or physical) and how pain can sometimes lead people to self-isolate, become defensive, or struggle to communicate their needs.
Of course, exploring why we crave video games is a fruitful avenue of discussion, and the works below shed some insight into this topic.
Selected scholarly works for further reading:
Benedict, James O. 鈥淎 Course in the Psychology of Video and Educational Games.鈥� Teaching of Psychology, vol. 17, no. 3, Oct. 1990, p. 206. EBSCOhost, .
Gil-Aciron, Luis Angel. 鈥淭he Gamer Psychology: A Psychological Perspective on Game Design and Gamification.鈥� Interactive Learning Environments, vol. 32, no. 1, Feb. 2024, pp. 183鈥�207. EBSCOhost, .
Lee, Ming-Chi, and Tzung-Ru Tsai. 鈥淲hat Drives People to Continue to Play Online Games? An Extension of Technology Model and Theory of Planned Behavior.鈥� International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, vol. 26, no. 6, June 2010, pp. 601鈥�20. EBSCOhost, .
Stan臎k, Jakub. 鈥淐elia Hodent. The Psychology of Video Games.鈥� E-Psychologie, vol. 17, no. 3, July 2023, pp. 69鈥�70. EBSCOhost, .
The novel is a great way to examine how social class, privilege, power, race, gender, and access to opportunity shape individual experiences and life outcomes. Students can consider how Sam, Sadie, and Marx enter the world of game development with different levels of social, economic, and cultural capital, and how those differences affect the opportunities available to them. Students could examine whether the characters鈥� successes and failures can be understood primarily as the result of individual choices or whether larger social structures and unequal access to opportunity play an equally important role. Students might discuss:
How much control do individuals really have over their own success when their starting points are so different?
If Sam, Sadie, and Marx possess different forms of economic, social, and cultural capital, can their achievements really be compared on equal terms?
Does the novel ultimately suggest that success is primarily a matter of talent and persistence, or does access to opportunity play an equally important role?
Have students select one scientific or technological idea from the novel and investigate what is accurate, exaggerated, outdated, or fictionalized. Examples might include:
Computer programming
Game development
Artificial intelligence
Virtual reality
Disability and technology
Human-computer interaction
They could then present their findings as a short research paper, infographic, podcast, or presentation.
The relationship between Sam and Sadie begins because of illness and disability. The novel gives students an opportunity to think about disability, chronic pain, trauma, and the difference between treating a body and understanding a person, and Zevin鈥檚 reading guide specifically identifies disability and chronic pain among the novel鈥檚 themes.
This could be particularly effective in anatomy, physiology, nursing prerequisites, or health sciences. Rather than turning the novel into a medical case study, students could consider questions such as how Sam鈥檚 experience challenges the idea that disability can be understood simply by looking at someone's physical condition?