Tuesdays with Morrie Novel Analysis

Morrie is about in his late seventies. “He has thinning silver hair that spills onto his forehead…and tufts of graying eyebrows. ” (pg. 3) He lived in the late 1970s. “It is the late spring of 1979…” (pg. 3) Morrie is a sociology professor at Brandeis University. “…the senior class of Brandeis University…my favorite professor…” (pg. 3) Morrie has a wife named Charlotte, and two sons named rob and Jon. “Morrie with his wife Charlotte; Morrie with his two sons rob… and Jon. ” (pg. 91)
Mitch is about fifty-one years old and lived in the 1990s. He is a sports journalist. “I earned a master’s degree in journalism and took the first job offered, as a sports writer. ’ (pg. 16) He has an older sister and a younger brother. “You have an older sister too right? ” (pg. 94), “I do indeed have a younger brother…two-years-younger brother. ” (pg. 95) Morrie’s fortune changed when he was diagnosed with ALS. “Morrie had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)…” (pg. 7). ALS caused Morrie to “have trouble walking” (pg. ), and it caused him not to do a lot of other things like use the bathroom by himself. “Connie would wheel him to the toilet, then lift him from the chair and support him as he urinated into the beaker. ” (pg. 49) His moral character also changed because he said, “Now that I’m suffering, I feel closer to people who suffer than I ever did before. ” (pg. 50) Mitch’s fortune changes when the newspaper he works for goes on strike, “…the unions at my newspaper had gone on strike. ” (pg. 44) His moral character also changes because Morrie “finally made him cry”. pg. 186). Mitch’s knowledge changes because he learns that “offering others what you have to give” will give you satisfaction. (pg. 126). He also learns how to find a meaningful life by “devoting yourself to loving others, devoting yourself to your community around you, and devoting yourself to something that gives you purpose and meaning. (pg. 127) I think that Morrie is a round character because we see different sides of him. We see a very emotional side like on page 185 when it says, “His eyes not small, and then he cried…” we also see a carefree side like on page 5 when it says, “He would close his eyes and with a blissful smile begin to move to his own sense of rhythm. ” I also think he is a static character because his personality, morals, or feelings didn’t change. I think Mitch is also a round character because we see different sides of him. We see a tough side on page 30 when it says, “I wear old gray sweatshirts and box in the local gym and walk around with an unlit cigarette in my mouth…” We see an emotional side on page 186 when Morrie finally makes him cry.
I think Mitch is a dynamic character because at the beginning of the story Mitch is more concentrated on his work. “In a few years, I was not only penning columns. I was writing sports books, doing radio shows, and appearing regularly on TV…” (pg. 16) Then in the middle of the story he didn’t concentrate on work because he went to visit Morrie every Tuesday. I think the most important lesson Morrie taught me was to appreciate every day in every way. Morrie said, “The loving relationships we have, the universe around us, we take these things for granted. (pg. 84) After reading this book I truly do realize that I take things for granted. I also think “detachment” really helped me. Morrie said, “Detachment doesn’t mean you don’t let the experience penetrate you. On the contrary, you let it penetrate you fully. That’s how you let it go”. (pg. 103) I think Morrie is saying that you should feel one emotion for a short period of time then let it go so you can experience another one. The first lesson to appreciate every day in every way relates to the world.

I think it relates to the world because like Morrie said, “We are too involved in materialistic things, and they don’t satisfy us. ” (pg. 84) By concentrating on materialistic things, we don’t realize the love of our family and the world around us. I think the lesson “detachment” also relates to our world. Every day we see and hear people talking about something that happened a long time ago, and they don’t experience another emotion because they are stuck on that one.