TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE
BY MITCH ALBOM
INTRODUCTION
MORRIE’S APHORISMS
 Throughout the novel Morrie will say several
aphorisms.
Aphorisms are defined as having some general truthful
advice or being a stated observation.
 Once you know how to die, you know how to live.
 Why does silence make people so uneasy?
 Never do work that uses, hurts or degrades people.
 Never make money off the sweat and pain of others.
THE MAIN CHARACTERS
MITCH ALBOM (right) is a 30-somethingsports writer and graduate of
Brandeis University. While he always wanted to be a jazz musician, Mitch
instead leads the fast-paced life of a sports journalist, enjoying the success
and adventure of being very good at what he does.
MORRIE SCHWARTZ (left) is a 70-something former professor of
Mitch’s, recently diagnosed with ALS. Despite the terminal nature of his
condition, he insists on living out each day to its fullest instead of just
dying quietly.
CHARLOTTE - Morrie's caring wife, who, at his insistence, keeps her job
as a professor at M.I.T. throughout Morrie's illness.
JANINE - Mitch's patient wife who willingly takes a phone call from
Morrie, whom she has never met, and insists upon joining Mitch on his
next Tuesday visit.
PETER- Mitch's younger brother who lives in Spain. Peter flies to various
European cities seeking treatment for his pancreatic cancer, though he
refuses any help from his family, who he has for the most part seperated
himself from.
TED KOPPEL -- One of the most famous living television interviewers,
Koppel conducts three interviews with Morrie for the news show
"Nightline."
Just what is ALS?
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive
neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the
brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons reach from the
brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the
muscles throughout the body. The progressive degeneration
of the motor neurons in ALS eventually lead to their death.
When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to
initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With voluntary
muscle action progressively affected, patients in the later
stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed.
THEMES
Definition: The main idea or meaning of a literary work.
The Rejection of Popular Cultural Mores in Favor of Self-created Values
Each of Morrie's lessons contributes to a larger, all-encompassing
message that each individual, Mitch especially, should reject
popular cultural values, and instead develop his own.
"Love Or Perish"
Morrie recites a quote by his favorite poet, W. H. Auden, to
encompass one of his most important lessons
to Mitch: in the absence of love, there is a void that can be filled
only by loving human relationships.
SYMBOLS
Definition: An object or action that represents more than its actual meaning.
Pink hibiscus plant
As Morrie's body deteriorates, so does the condition of the hibiscus plant.
Waves on the ocean
Morrie thinks about a story he had heard about a small wave seeing the waves ahead
of him crash on the shore, disappearing into nothingness. He suddenly brims with fear
upon the realization that he too will soon 'crash on the shore' and, die as the wave fears
he will.
Morrie's bed
Morrie's aphorism, "When you're in bed, you're dead," eventually comes true.
Throughout Morrie's struggle with ALS, he refuses to stay in bed, as he sees it as a form
of surrender, and instead opts to rest in the chair in his study.