Character Analysis: Tuesdays With Morrie

As he continues his duties as senator “he felt in full control of his will when he appeared in public again at three in the afternoon, rested and clean, wearing a pair of course linen slacks and a floral shirt, and with his soul sustained by the anti-pain pills”(1092 Marquez). He appeared to be more concerned with being a part of social activities, his job, then spending time with his wife and children. There could be many reasons for this avoidance of family; his wife may be in hysterics, she may spend her time tending to the children, or he may not want to face leaving them behind. It could also be based upon his demanding job as a Senator, in hopes to keep things as normal as possible he remains in the public eye. He walks among the village during a campaign visit; he gives gifts to those around him to show his goodness. He may also be giving gifts could be as Prince-Paul states the “powerful desire to help others [or] to be in another’s presence” (369). He is surrounded by people at all times; guards at his door, people who will do whatever he asks, town folk who adore him, a wife and five children, yet he still feels alone. Understanding the Meaning of Social Well-Being at the End of Life states that “the need to belong, to have close personal connections and

A topic that both the textbook and novel touched on that I think is the most valuable in a person’s life is family. I think this is the most valuable topic because if a person does not have a family then they do not have anything. To be happy in life you need other individuals to enjoy activities and life in general with. Material objects can make someone happy, but they do not share the value that an actual relationship with a person can have. Family is the foundation of a support system that everyone needs. Morrie states “If you don’t have the support and love and caring and concern that you get from a family, you don’t have much at all. Love is so supremely important.”(Albom, 91) This statement is very true, you get support, care, love, and concern from family members and if there is no one there for you then you do not have any of these. Morrie then goes on and makes the comment “Without love,

Morrie believes that without the love and support from his family, he wouldn’t have much importance in his life, “Love each other or perish,” said Morrie. He thinks that without his family, he may not be able to keep fighting through this rough time in his life. Morrie’s family is important to him because they’re always there for him, provide him with love and they watch over him. He states that family provides him with such an important that can’t find found elsewhere. Also, Morrie believes that having children provided him with a unique experience. He mentions that having kids made him learn how to bond and love in the deepest way possible.

Love is the only rational act, aging isn’t just decay ya know, it’s growth, and love always wins.

Once, I had a friend who was spreading rumors about other friends including me ,and they didn’t really care about anyone’s feelings but themselves. Somebody suggested that I quit that friendship. I ended up going through with that after I had found out everything that they were doing, and I am super happy now that I followed that advice. It truly changed my life. In tuesdays with Morrie, there is a man named Mitch, who grows a strong connection to an old man named Morrie. Every tuesday he goes to his house to visit, talk about life, and get advice. Morrie is very wise, but is slowly being taken over by the disease ALS. He wants to pass on aphorisms to his kindhearted, youthful friend Mitch. Morrie wants Mitch to take this advice to make sure he lives his life with

He does not see it as something fatal, does not worry, and even make some jokes about it. Just because he gives it another meaning, he lives better and happier with his family. There are also many other examples such as money, power, and fame. For many of us, these last three things are essential. We think that they are requirements for our happiness, but it is not always true. We think this way because of the meaning we create. Morrie helps us know that other things such as love and family are more important.

First, Morrie quote “The truth is, once you learn how to die, you learn how to live.” This quote from Morrie mean a lot to me. Although he is dying, he is seeing the real purpose of his life. Life is meant to be filled with a lot of happiness, joy, and peaceful relationships throughout it. Not sorrow. He knew happiness his entire life.

People who suffer from two or more concussions, multiple hits to the head or serious head injuries are most likely to suffer from ALS. Most people are diagnosed at the age of 40- 70. A person after diagnosed may live up to 2-5 years. The ALS Association wrote “...about twenty percent of people with ALS live five years, 10 percent will survive ten years and five percent will live 20 years or more”. Many contact sports increase your chances of getting ALS. A prime example would be Lou Gehrig, the first baseman for the New York Yankees or most commonly known for his famous speech “Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth”. He played 2,130 consecutive games and was elected to be in the hall of fame next to Babe Ruth. He was diagnosed 1939 after symptoms such as, having trouble tying his shoes and passing out on the field. After going public about his diagnoses ALS would be commonly known as the Lou Gehrig’s disease. The disease had been around for years, yet no one really knew about it until Lou Gehrig went public. Other examples would be Glenn Montgomery, football player, was diagnosed July 1997 and passed away June 28, 1998. Ezzard Charles, boxer, was diagnosed in 1998 and passed away at the age of 53. If informed these athletes and other athletes would have come upon a different fate, the same could be said about

ALS stands for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, and is also referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease. After this disease is contracted, it weakens skeletal muscles and the body is eventually paralyzed. In some cases, ALS affects the limbs first, causing difficulty to move. Due to being a progressive condition, patients will suffer from many different symptoms as time goes by. After being diagnosed, only about fifty percent of patients live for at least two more years (Facts You Should Know 2010). Moreover, about twenty percent live five years after being diagnosed and only ten percent of people can expect to live for over ten years after the diagnosis (NINDS 2013). This being said, ALS is typically very rare. Approximately two out of one hundred

In his most famous work, the medieval French poet Francois Villon, suggested that, “necessity from virtue hinders, and wolves seek for prey by hunger prest.” Omar Tyree explores this philosophical problem of the origins of good and evil in his dark novel, Leslie. The story introduces Leslie, the twenty something college student of Haitian origin, who grew up in the abject poverty of New Orleans’ projects. Unable to deal with her unfortunate circumstances, she gradually embraces the dark side. Tyree uses language emphasize the character’s alienation and stereotypes, the masks and disguises to symbolize moral disengagement and the captive character of a cynical drug dealer, Coup, as a proxy for a cruel reality, devoid of any illusions and wishful

Morrie chose to live everyday as if it was his last, because in reality any day could have been. Morrie stated “Once you learn how to die, you learn how to live.” (82) This statement reveals his outlook about his final days on earth. Morrie decided to become more involved in his life, once he accepted the fact he was going to die. Morrie took a good look at his life and determined what was truly important to him. Morrie chose to not waste his final days fearing the inevitable, he wanted to spend time making the most of it. Morrie also stated “Lear to forgive yourself and to forgive others.” Morrie wanted no regrets. He wanted to correct the wrongdoings of his past. Morrie learned to forgive others, and more importantly himself. He was able to free his conscience allowing him to live more fulfilling final days. Morrie did everything he could to make the most of his last days. He spent his hours teaching his friends and family about life's important lessons. Morrie said “Do I wither up and disappear, or do I make the best of my time left?” Morrie spent the last year of his life with people he loved. Even in his weakest moments he wanted to be surrounded with love and affection. Morrie realized his death was inevitable, and did not wallow in self-pity. Unlike King Lear, Morrie truly lived a life of no regret, and did not isolate himself from those who loved and cared for him.

Symptoms vary depending on the case and condition. All patients progress differently so it could be faster or slower unique to the situation. The most common sign of ALS is muscle weakness. Every year about 5,600 people are affected, which means about 15 people are diagnosed every day. There is no nationality or specific place in the world that it effects more people than others, but the age group is a different story. The most common cases are found in males in between the ages of 40 and 70. However, it still can effect anyone at any age or gender. Every two people in 100,000 die because of ALS and at any given time about 30,000 people on earth are living with the disease. The life expectancy after diagnosis is anywhere from two to five years. There are some cases that progress quickly and take the life of the patient after only a few months, when other case progress slower allowing the patient live with the disease for over five years. The longest case of someone with ALS is Mr. Stephen Hawking, he was diagnosed at 21 years of age, and currently still living with the disease at age 72. This disease has been around for about 75 years now and there is still no

“Don’t cling to things, because everything is impermanent” (Albom 103). Everything in life is temporary. Nothing in life is permanent.. In the story Tuesdays with Morrie, Morrie is dying from ALS. He is changing the way he lives his life and is teaching it to others. He is explaining to Mitch that he and others should not be too attached to things because they are not permanent. Morrie teaches people to live life through grieving if needed, accepting death and forgiving oneself and others.

What can one learn from Morrie is to live life to the fullest and don’t hold grudges against anyone, no matter what they do, or did. People should live life like they have no tomorrow, but still do the things they love to do and see the beauty in the everyday tasks. Treat others the way that person wants to be treated but better, be open to new ideas and people. Help the ones that can’t help themselves or can’t help in return. Do everything possible to be the “good samaritan” in everyday life no matter what, don’t try to be better than everyone else in life or competition. Have joy in everyday activities and engagements, have joy in physical and spiritual contact from other people.

Within this novel, Morrie embraced his mortality with “love, acceptance and open communication” as he gave the reader a glimpse into what he considered to be “The Meaning of Life.” Using Mitch Albom as a vessel to pen his “own culture values,” Morrie was able to define the contradictions between others vision of “popular culture values” and his style of truly living through “life, death and reincarnation.” With the use of materials obtained from the course, this writer was able to summarize various observations about Morrie’s “final lecture” on life, death and family amidst his perceptual understanding that reorganized “aging as growth and not