Roman Fever and Other Stories Lesson Plan

What is Garnett's restaurant companion's philosophy about routines? How did he come to this opinion? Do you agree or disagree with him?

The man recommends that Garnett get his life down to routine and eliminate all surprises. He thinks it is best to arrange things in life so that when a person wakes up in the morning, they will know precisely what's going to happen that day and every day in the future. He claims "it's better than being hit on the head by a brickbat," a brickbat being his idea of a surprise. After years of not knowing what was going to happen from one moment to the next, the man finally built a strict routine, which, he explains to Garnett, has cut down...