Name: _______________________
Ms. Mizerak
English 12
STUDY GUIDE FOR TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE TEST
I.
Know the following characters:
a. Al Axelrad-Rabbi from Brandeis. Performs Morrie’s funeral service.
Reads poems to the mourners.
b. Charlie- Morrie’s father. Shows Morrie and his brother little attention
and no affection. Refuses his son’s affection. Insists that Morrie keep
his mother’s death a secret from his brother because he wants Morrie’s
brother to believe his stepmother is his biological mother. Charlie dies
after running away from muggers. Morrie has to travel to New York to
identify the body.
c. David- Morrie’s younger brother. Has polio. Limps to the gravesite.
Morrie blames himself for David’s paralysis/polio.
d. Janine- Mitch’s wife. Does not usually sing upon request but she sings for
Morrie. Sings “The Very Thought of You” for him.
e. Mitch- Narrator of the book. Wrote an Honors Paper. Massages Mitch’s
feet. Out of a job when the staff at the newspaper he writes for
decides to go on a labor strike. Waited 16 YEARS before visiting Morrie
f. Morrie- Mitch’s favorite professor from Brandeis University. Suffers
from ALS (will kill him eventually by suffocation). Came to love Mitch like
a son. Most fondly known as a teacher. Morrie’s favorite aphorism was
“Love always wins.” Morrie enjoyed being called “Coach.”
g. Morrie’s Mother- Died when she was very young.
h. Peter- Mitch’s brother. Lives in Spain and has pancreatic cancer. Refuses
all help from family but eventually warms up and forms a better
relationship with Mitch. Commuted to Amsterdam
i. Ted Koppel- Interviews Morrie three times for the news show
‘Nightline.’ Morrie teases him about being a narcissist.
II.
Motifs: a symbol used throughout the work, repeated, to emphasize the
author’s theme, voice, and impact. An example is the large shade tree.
III.
One of Morrie’s “obsessions,” is keeping the hibiscus plant on the
windowsill so that he would be able to constantly see the renewal of life.
Morrie also described cars, property, and toys as being substitutes for
love
IV.
Albom shares the illuminating and perceptive detail that at Chestnut
Lodge patients yearned for compassion.
V.
Be prepared for the “essay”
VI.
What is one foil in the book?
VII.
What does the food represent? (aka, what is it a symbol for?)
VIII. Know the character motivations (aka, why did Morrie become a teacher?
Why did Mitch become a sports writer? Why did they fall out of touch?
Etc)
IX.
Where is Morrie buried and why is this important/symbolic?
X.
1.
Write 4 sentences using Linking Verbs
2.
3.
4.
XI.
1.
Write 5 sentences using Action Verbs- identify them as transitive or
intransitive.
2.
3.
4.
5.
XII. Write 5 sentences using Imagery
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
XIII. Write 4 sentences using semicolons
1.
2.
3.
4.
XIV. Write 4 sentences using colons
1.
2.
3.
4.
Good Luck on this test!! Have a GREAT Weekend and be Safe!
Ms. M