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Loewe Wong
Ms. De Gregorio
ENG 1D1-d
20 April 2014

A story of true friendship
The title of this life changing book is Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom. This book
is about an old professor named Morrie Schwartz and his former student, Mitch Albom. Morrie
was a kind-hearted and wise man who embraced life no matter what was thrown at him. Mitch
was a focused workaholic who always avoided his problems by working. Mitch had always
wanted to be a musician but after his uncle died, he left that career and decided to work as a
journalist for a Detroit newspaper. Morrie was a professor at Brandeis University, teaching
sociology. The antagonist in this book is ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis). ALS is a brutal,
unforgiving illness of the neurological system (Albom 7). It was a disease that had attacked
Morries body in August 1994. When Mitch had heard about Morries disease on TV nearly
sixteen years after he last saw Morrie, he decided to take time off work to go visit his old
professor. This was a big decision to Mitch since his work was most of his life. Every Tuesday
after that first visit, Mitch was determined to visit Morrie.
When Mitchs uncle had died of pancreatic cancer, Mitch had to give up being a musician
and move on in life. It was a big change in his life because his dreams didnt turn out the way he
wanted. Though he was successful at his new job as a journalist, he had to let go of one of his big
ambitions whether he wanted to or not. He was failing for the first time in his life (Albom 14).
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Throughout the novel, Morrie had faced many difficulties. When he was in his sixties,
Morrie had developed asthma, which caused him to give up dancing, one of his favourite
hobbies. It was devastating for Morrie since he loved dancing, no matter when or where. Now
with ALS attacking his body, he was limited to certain movements and had trouble with most
things. He couldnt breathe properly without coughing, he couldnt sleep at night, he couldnt
walk and he needed help going to the bathroom. Though Morrie struggled to even wake up every
day, he still got up and went on with his numbered days. I give myself a good cry if I need it.
But then I concentrate on all the good things still in my life (Albom 57). Morrie had said this to
himself many times which helped him cope with the struggle of getting up. With all the pain and
suffering, Morrie still looked forward to each visit he had with Mitch. Many other struggles
include the struggle of the fact that Morries days were numbered and that he was in pain. Mitch
didnt like seeing his professor this way, and with all the stress from work, Mitch was also in
pain. But he later on discovered that putting others before yourself and giving others what you
have is the greatest satisfaction (Albom 126).
The main themes in this novel are death, love, acceptance, and friendship. Morrie told
Mitch that everyone knows theyre going to die but they just dont believe it (Albom 80). He told
Mitch that to be prepared for death, you have to live your life to the fullest. You never know
when that day will come so the best thing to do is be happy that you wake up every morning and
to live life with no regrets. He also told Mitch that love always continues. When Morries mother
died, his father seemed to have drifted away from Morrie and his brother. He felt as though
maybe his father didnt love him but he was wrong. His father loved him dearly and though he
didnt show it much, he truly did love Morrie. Morrie had also accepted that he was sick, even
though he didnt like or want it. He accepted that he couldnt change anything except that now,
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he had to be careful and he had to live life without regrets. Mitch had also learned to accept that
his sick brother didnt want to be in contact with him because he didnt want Mitch to see him in
his conditions. He wanted to protect his feelings. Last but not least, Mitch and Morries
friendship is one everyone would want. Even after sixteen years, Mitch and Morrie connected as
though no time had passed. They were like brothers or father and son. Morrie even said that if he
had another son, he would have liked it to be Mitch (Albom 168). This shows the strong bond
that they had and that friendships can last a life time.
The moral of this novel is to live life to the fullest. It doesnt matter if you have ten days
to live or 50 years to live. Living life to the fullest will guarantee a happy life. Just like Morrie,
he knew he didnt have much time to live and he knew he would be in a lot of pain the longer he
lived yet he still stayed positive throughout. Morrie enjoyed his life and didnt put his attention
towards the newest technologies or gadgets. The thing he appreciated the most was physical
company. He would always make time to see people who came to visit him, in pain or not.
Morrie put others before himself and lived in happiness. Simple things like not telling Mitch he
couldnt eat the foods he brought over every Tuesday so he wouldnt hurt his feelings or
getting up even though he had a bad night. Morrie taught us that life is precious and that once we
learn how to die, we learn how to live (Albom 82).






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Works Cited
Albom, Mitch. Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Lifes Greatest Lesson.
New York: Doubleday, 1997. Print.