Philippine Normal UniversityThe National Center for Teacher Education

Faculty of Education SciencesTaft Avenue, Manila

Presented by:

Marinduque, Arvy R. Mojica, Kristine Joy SJ.

Montales, Roan C.

Year & Section:

IV-8 BEED

Professor:

Dr. Heide B. Macahilig

As of now, What's your life greatest

lesson?

Who is your favorite

teacher/s?

What makes them as your fav. Teachers? Let me tell you a inspirable story that

affects a large numbers of person that had read this novel.

A BOOK REPORT

Contemporary World(1946 up to present)

Describes the period timeframe that closely connectedto the present day, it is acertain perspective ofmodern history.

Contemporary World(1946 up to present)

•It is difficult to characterize because it reflectscontemporary life and culture, which is rapidlychanging and full of contradictions.•It is no longer "innocent' but ironic•It reflects our political, social, and personaldisillusionment, and no longer dares to believeit can create anything new. It only cast the oldin new forms.

with MORRIE

IN

Tuesdays

with MORRIE

INThis story takes place in the early to

mid 1990 in West Newton,

Massachusetts.Mitch recalls the

volatile political climate of the 1970's

and how they affected Morrie's years at

Brandeis University. Vietnam, Nixon

and even the O.J Simpson trial were

used as a context in the story.

Philosophically the novel deconstructs

Morrie's life and comes to some

conclusions about happiness and truth.

Tuesdays

with MORRIE

INO. J. Simpson murder case

On June 12, 1994, Brown and Goldman were found dead outside Brown's condominium. Simpson was charged with their murders. On June 17, after failing to turn himself in, he became the object of a low-speed pursuit in a white Ford Bronco SUVthat interrupted coverage of the 1994 NBA Finals. The pursuit, arrest, and trial were among the most widely publicized events in American history. The trial, often characterized as "the trial of the century", culminated on October 3, 1995 in a jury verdict of not guilty for the two murders. An estimated 100 million people nationwide stopped what they were doing to watch or listen to the verdict announcement. Immediate reaction to the verdict was notable for its division along racial lines: polls showed that most African-Americans felt that justice had been served by the "not guilty" verdict, while most white Americans did not .O. J. Simpson's defense counsel included Johnnie Cochran, Robert Kardashian, Robert Shapiro, andF. Lee Bailey.

Tuesdays

with MORRIE

IN

Tuesdays

Today, you can find personal opinion oozing through stories on cable TV news channels. It's easy to dismiss the noise when it's coming at you from all directions.

Rewind time to the late 1960s. CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite, after reporting on the Vietnam War, decided the conflict could only end in stalemate.

In a rare departure from straight news reporting, he spoke from his heart on an evening news broadcast. He said the war wasn't winnable. Some say that led President Johnson to negotiate with the North Vietamese and end his political career.

Even after Cronkite's death in 2009, some critics blast him for liberal bias. But unlike most commentators today, Cronkite took time to investigate before delivering his views.

with MORRIE

IN

Tuesdays

1974: Newspaper Brings Down President NixonInvestigative journalism reached its peak with Bob

Woodward and Carl Bernstein ofThe Washington Post. Their pursuit of illegal activities involving President Nixon ultimately led to the Watergate investigationand his resignation.

They spent years working sources, like the famed "Deep Throat", and had the support of the newspaper's editors and owner.

Woodward and Bernstein are immortalized in the bestselling book and Academy Award-winning film All the President's Men. Both the book and the movie show what it took to get one of the biggest news stories of the 20th century.

This had many journalists eagar to pursue investigative work. In the years since, corporate and political pressures have often made this kind of reporting tough.

• Mitch Albom was born May 23, 1958 in Passaic, New Jersey.

• Mitch Albom is an internationally renowned and best-selling author, journalist, screenwriter, playwright, radio and television broadcaster and musician. His books have collectively sold more than 35 million copies worldwide; have been published in forty-nine territories and in forty-five languages around the world; and have been made into Emmy Award-winning and critically-acclaimed television movies.

• Tuesdays with Morrie is the chronicle of Mitch’s time spent with his beloved professor. As a labor of love, Mitch wrote the book to helppay Morrie’s medical bills. It spent four years on the New York Times Bestseller list and is now the most successful memoir ever published.

• His first novel, The Five People You Meet in Heaven, is the most successful US hardcover first adult novel ever. For One More Day debuted at No.1 on the New York Times Bestseller List and spent nine months on the list.

• An award-winning journalist and radio host, Albomwrote the screenplay for both For One More Day and The Five People You Meet in Heaven, and is an established playwright, having authored numerous pieces for the theater, including the off-Broadway version ofTuesdays With Morrie (co-written with Jeffrey Hatcher) which has seen over one hundred productions across the US and Canada.

• In 2010, Albom was named the recipient of the Red Smith Award for lifetime achievement by the Associated Press Sports Editors.

• Tuesdays with Morrie is a true story about“an old man, a young man, and life’s greatestlesson” that reaches down deep to your soul,rattles what you feel and think about life anddeath. The young man in this story is Albomhimself, and the old man is his college professor,Morrie Schwartz.

• It is a magical chronicle of their time together,through which Mitch shares Morrie's lasting giftwith the world.

• Tuesdays With Morrie is a world-wide best-sellingbook, has been made into a movie, and is often used asrequired reading for classes around the country.

• Albom had the opportunity to visit his oldprofessor on numerous occasions throughout theremaining months of Morrie’s life. He wrote downall of the things he learned during this time, his“thesis,” and compiled it into what is nowTuesdays With Morrie.

• Title:Tuesdays With Morrie

• Author:Mitch Albom

• Date Published:September 1997

• Protagonist:Morrie Schwartz

• Antagonist:The disease ALS

• Meaning of the Title:The title, Tuesdays with Morrie, refers to Mitch and Morrie’s weekly Tuesday meetings, in Morrie’s home, in which they discussed the meaning of life.

• Genre:Non-Fiction

• Setting

• Characters

• Point of View

• Plot

• Themes

• Mood

• Symbol

• Motifs

Setting

The novel takes place during 1995, in Morrie’sstudy, in West Newton, Massachusetts. Mitch and Morrie meet every Tuesday, in his study, to discuss the meaning of life.

Characters

Major Characters

• Morrie SchwartzThe novel is centered around him; Morrie is Mitch’s former college professor who was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gherig's disease); he meets with Mitch in his home every Tuesday to teach him about the meaning of life.

• Mitch AlbomMorrie's former student; he has since become a journalist and leads a very fast paced life; finds Morrie after hearing he is sick on "ABC's Nightline" and visits him every Tuesday.

Minor Characters• Ted Koppel

A famous television newsman/personality; he interviews Morrie three times for the “ABC's Nightline” show; he eventually describes Morrie as his friend and is almost in tears during his last interview with Morrie.

• CharlotteMorrie’s wife, who is also a college professor; she keeps her job as a professor even while Morrie is sick because it is what he wished for her.

• JanineMitch’s wife; she takes a phone call from Morrie, whom she had never met, and accompanies Mitch to his next visit with Morrie. As a professional singer, she never sings upon request; however, when Morrie asked her to sing she did without hesitation and moved him to tears.

• PeterMitch’s younger brother who lives in Spain; he has pancreatic cancer and refuses any help from his family. He seems reluctant to rekindle his relationship with Mitch, but by the end of the novel, we see that he has warmed up and may be letting his brother back into his life.

• CharlieMorrie’s father who came to America from Russia. He neglects Morrie and his brother; he even insists that Morrie keeps the death of their mother a secret from his younger brother. He dies after escaping muggers; Morrie had to travel to New York to identify his body at the city morgue.

• EvaMorrie’s stepmother who came into his life when he was about nine years old. She provided much love to Morrie and his brother, David. She highly valued education and served as a great motivation for Morrie to work hard at his education. Morrie’s love for education stemmed from Eva, which later lead to his career as a professor.

• DavidMorrie’s younger brother who developed polio at a young age.

• ConnieMorrie’s at-home health care aide; she assists Morrie in going to the bathroom, getting up and into his chair and also with his meals.

Point of View

The story is told in the first person, limitedpoint of view. In the first person, the narratordoes participates in the action of the story;however, it is important to note that since thenarrator is taking part in the action, he or shemay not be telling the objective truth. Thepoint of view is also limited because Albom’sknowledge is limited to only himself and he isnot all knowing or omniscient.

Plot

Plot

Exposition

Plot

Exposition

The exposition takes place in the first four chapters of the book. The first chapter, "The Curriculum", tells us that there will be a class taught on the meaning of life and that it was the last course the old professor would teach, leading us to believe that he dies in the end. The second chapter, "The Syllabus", gives us background information on Morrie Schwartz. We learn about ALS, a deadly disease that will eventually kill Morrie, who is also the teacher. Chapter three gives information on the student, Mitch Albom, and how he lives for money and success. “The Audiovisual” is the final chapter in the exposition in which Albom describes how he first heard of Morrie's sickness on a television show entitled the "Nightline".

Plot

Conflict

Exposition

Plot

Conflict

Exposition

Plot

Conflict

Rising action

Exposition

Plot

Conflict

Rising action

Exposition

Plot

Conflict

Climax

Rising action

Exposition

Plot

Conflict

Climax

Rising action

Exposition

The climactic point is not reached until Mitch and Morrie's last visit. Morrie is in such a horrible state that he is stuck in his bed and can barely breathe. Throughout the novel, Morrie's goal was to make Mitch cry. After all this time, Mitch starts to cry when he realizes that this is the last time he will be able to speak with Morrie.

Plot

Conflict

Climax

Falling action

Rising action

Exposition

Plot

Conflict

Climax

Falling action

Rising action

Exposition

Climax

Plot

Conflict

Climax

Falling action

Rising action

Resolution

Exposition

Plot

Conflict

Climax

Falling action

Rising action

Resolution

Exposition

At the end of the novel, when Mitch is at Morrie’s funeral, he remembered Morrie telling him to talk to him, so Mitch tried talking with Morrie and was surprised at how natural was. Mitch will probably continue to find these conversations with Morrie helpful. He has a new perspective on life now, and Mitch also tries contacting his sick brother in Spain. For the first time, Mitch tells his brother how much he wants to be closer and how much he loves him. By the end of their conversation, we can tell that Mitch and his brother are going to stay in touch.

Themes

Throughout the book, Morrie recites a quote byhis favorite poet or this variation in his ownwords. This is one of the most important lessonshe wishes to teach Mitch and express on“Nightline”. Morrie feels that love andcompassion are necessary for a person to befulfilled. Morrie says that when love abounds,there is no higher sense of fulfilment one canexperience.

Morrie’s lessons often contribute this theme that one should reject pop-culture values and standards and instead develop his or her own values. Morrie sees pop-culture as a dictator under which we must suffer. Morrie was able to create his own set of culture and values founded on love, acceptance and

open communication.

Morrie often talks about detaching himself from hisexperience, especially when he suffers from violentcoughing spells. Morrie bases this theory of detachment,from a Buddhist philosophy. He feels that no one shouldcling to anything, and that everything that exists isimpermanent. Through detaching himself, he is able toremove himself from his surroundings into his ownconsciousness. This way he is able to gain perspective inuncomfortable and stressful situations.

Mood The mood changes slightly throughout thenovel; however, the mood is mostly solemnbecause we know from the very beginning ofthe book that Morrie is dying. At times we canfeel Morrie’s positive personality, when he isjoking with Ted Koppel or Mitch, and we sensemore of a light hearted tone. The novel alsoexpresses a mood of reflection andenlightenment during Morrie’s lessons.

Symbols

• Waves on the ocean

Morrie recounts a story he had heard about a small wave seeing thewaves ahead of him crash on the shore, disappearing intonothingness. He suddenly brims with fear upon the realization thathe too will soon 'crash on the shore' and, die as the wave fears hewill. This little wave confides his fear in another wave who comfortshim with the news that he will not crash and die, but will insteadreturn to become a small part of the larger ocean. This small waveis symbolic of Morrie, as he too is on the brink of crashing into atheoretical shore, a symbolic embodiment of his death. Like thewave, Morrie is comforted by the knowledge that he will soonreturn to something larger in the afterlife. Morrie's affinity for theparable denotes his belief in a form of reincarnation, which heunderstands as intrinsic part of the natural life cycle.

• Morrie's hibiscus plant

The pink hibiscus plant is used as a metaphor forMorrie's life throughout the time of his sickness. As wesee Morrie's body gradually give way to death, we seehis hibiscus plant deteriorate as well. The plants petalsslowly wither and die as Morrie becomes moredependant on other people. The plant is also ametaphor for life itself; we all experience the naturallife cycle which ultimately results in death. Throughoutthe novel Morrie also stresses how important therealization of death is to leading a fulfilling life.

• Morrie's bed

Throughout Morrie's sickness he always preferred to stay in hischair, in his study, where he was surrounded by pictures of hisfamily, friends and could look out his window and appreciate theseasons and sunlight. Morrie states that, "when you're in bed,you're dead". Morrie is determined to live the last days of his life asmuch as possible because he feels that if he decided to stay in bed,he would be surrendering himself to death. We only see Morrie inhis bed on the last Tuesday which happens to be one of the finaldays of his life. He had been successful at not staying in his bed untilthese last few days which was when he fully accepted andsurrendered himself to death.

Motifs• Food

Aside from dancing, one of Morrie's favorite things to do is eat.Each Tuesday Mitch stops at the grocery store and brings Morrie abag of food. Shortly after Mitch starts this tradition, Morrie is nolonger able to eat solid food. Mitch does not find this out until afew weeks later when Morrie's wife, Charlotte, shows Mitch all hisfood she had stored away in the freezer and refrigerator. Each weekMitch continues to bring the bag of food and presents it to Morriewho acts excited to see it. Although Mitch knows Morrie can nolonger eat the food he continues to bring it because it reminds himof when Morrie was not sick, especially when he and Mitch used tohave lunch together in the cafeteria at Brandeis. Mitch feelscomfort in bringing the food each week, to cushion the reality thatMorrie's death is actually approaching.

• The Media

The media is referenced a lot throughout the book as aninherently evil dictator under which our society suffers. Themedia has caused Mitch to become a materialisticworkaholic, and has drained him of compassion andappreciation of life and love. Mitch's career forces him tobe only concerned about stories of crime and hatred, whichso negatively impacts our society. The O.J Simpson trial isalso referenced a lot throughout the novel; this emphasizesMitch's claim that society has become obsessed anddepended on pop-culture and media stories whichcontribute nothing to life or compassion of other humanbeings.

• Reincarnation and Renewal

Reincarnation and renewal are presented as facets of bothlife and death; in life, Morrie teaches that a person is ever-changing, and in death, looks forward to some form of newlife with the natural progression of the life cycle. WithMorrie as his mentor, Mitch is able to reincarnate himself inlife, transforming a man who was once motivated bymaterial wealth into a man who is motivated by a passionto love, and to emulate the man who has so touched hislife. Morrie reveals that despite his old age, he is stillchanging, as every person does until their dying day.

The CurriculumThe SyllabusThe StudentThe AudiovisualThe OrientationThe ClassroomTaking AttendanceThe First TuesdayThe second Tuesday

The Third TuesdayThe Audiovisual, Part TwoThe ProfessorThe Fourth TuesdayThe Fifth TuesdayThe Sixth TuesdayThe Professor, Part TwoThe Seventh TuesdayThe Eight Tuesday

The Ninth TuesdayThe Tenth TuesdayThe Eleventh TuesdayThe Audiovisual, Part ThreeThe Twelfth TuesdayThe Thirteenth TuesdayThe Fourteenth TuesdayGraduationConclusion

The

Mitch Albom opens the novel withbackground information on Morrie Schwartz.Morrie was one of Mitch’s favorite professors,in college, at Brandeis University. Mitchintroduces Morrie to his parents and gives hima briefcase for a gift. They hug; and whenMitch steps back he can see that Morrie iscrying.

The

Morrie could sense that his health was suffering, whenhe could no longer dance; this was even before he wasdiagnosed with ALS. Morrie loved to dance to any music andeven with or without a partner.

As he aged into his seventies, breathing became harder,walking more challenging, and sleep troubling; he began tosee doctors and was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateralsclerosis (ALS), which is also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Despite his terminal illness, he kept swimming, with helpof course, and even insisted on teaching a class at theUniversity.

The Student

Mitch explains what has happened to himsince he last saw Morrie on his college graduationday. He moved to New York City with high hopesof becoming a musician. However, upon thedeath of his uncle he soon saw his life to be tooshort to waste time playing at empty venues,committing to unreliable bands, and writingsongs which he thinks will never be heard. Mitchdecided to continue his education at ColumbiaUniversity, obtaining his Masters Degree inJournalism.

The Audiovisual

One evening as he was flipping through thetelevision channels, he heard the voice of TedKoppel ask, “Who is Morrie Schwartz”?

The chapter then flashes back to the first timeMitch met Morrie: it was their first class togetherin the spring of 1976. It was a small class andMorrie asked Mitch what he preferred to becalled. Upon telling Morrie that his friends callhim “Mitch”, Morrie told him that he hopes oneday Mitch will think of him as a friend.

The Orientation

Mitch arrives at Morrie’s house still on the phonewith a producer about one of his stories. He does notwant to end the call so he pretends he is looking forsomething in his car. When Morrie sees Mitch, he hugshim with so much affection, after almost sixteen yearsof not seeing him. The two sit in the house and Morriebegins to speak about his looming death.

Mitch and Morrie talk for over two hours that day,mostly about Morrie’s sickness. Mitch eventually leavesto catch his returning flight and hugs Morrie good-bye.

The Classroom

These chapters flashback to Albom’s collegeyears; Mitch nicknamed Morrie, “Coach” andrecalls the lunches they ate together in thecafeteria.

Mitch began appreciating the study of humanrelations and caught Morrie’s contagious passionfor books. They would often talk after class andMitch even consulted Morrie advice about thisconfusing stage of his life.

Taking Attendance

A few weeks after his visit with Morrie, Mitchflies to London to cover Wimbledon. He noticesthe slough of printed tabloids and hungryreporters around him. He thinks of Morrie andtheir conversation.

When Mitch arrives back in Detroit, theunions at his newspaper had gone on strike.Mitch was currently out of his newspaper job. Hecalled Morrie and the two agreed to meet againthe following Tuesday.

The chapter then flashes back to Mitch’ssophomore year in college when he began tomeet Morrie outside of the classroom fordiscussions. Mitch talks to Morrie about hisaspirations in life because Morrie listens,unlike Mitch’s father who wants him to be alawyer.

The First Tuesday – We Talk About the World

Mitch visits Morrie for the second time. Mitchnotices a stack of newspapers that Morrie hadobviously read. Mitch is surprised that Morrie iskeeping up-to-date with the news. They discuss a bit ofnews going on in the world and Morrie cries.

The flashback in this section takes place in one ofMitch’s college classes with Morrie. Morrie enters theroom and is silent for about fifteen minutes. Thestudents become uncomfortable which thus leads intoa discussion regarding silence. Morrie tells Mitch, afterthe class, that Mitch reminds him of himself.

The Second Tuesday – We Talk About Feeling Sorry for Yourself

This second Tuesday Mitch and Morrie discussfeeling sorry for yourself. Morrie says that he feelssorry for himself in the mornings when he realizes howmuch feeling or movement he has lost; he cries andthen gets on with his day.

Mitch recalls a specific class with Morrie during hisjunior year in college. Morrie had everyone in the classstand and turn their backs to one another. He wantedeach student to fall backwards in trust that theirassigned partners would catch them. Only one studentin the class completed the assignment.

The Third Tuesday – We Talk About Regrets

Mitch brings a tape recorder to Morrie’s in order to remember their discussions. They discuss regrets and how culture prevents us from thinking about such things until we are near our death.

On the plane ride home that day, Mitch made a list of all of the questions he had for Morrie.

During Mitch’s senior year in college, Morrie convinced him to write a sociology thesis on sports. Mitch is very proud of his work and momentarily considers returning for graduate school.

The Audiovisual, Part Two

The “Nightline” show did a follow-up storyand Ted Koppel once again interviewedMorrie. He mainly asked him what he will dowhen he can no longer speak and move hishands.

The Professor

Morrie then read a letter that he wroteback to one of the viewers and we find outthat Morrie lost his mother when he was achild.

Albom then presents us with Morrie’schildhood background.

The Fourth Tuesday – We Talk About Death

Morrie is now becoming dependant on an oxygenmachine but still meets Mitch on this fourth Tuesday.They discuss death and how most people do notbelieve that they are ever going to die. Morrie tellsMitch that once one learns how to die, they learn howto live.

With this said, Morrie asks Mitch that if he couldaccept the fact that he could die at any time, would hestill work as much as he does. He suggests that Mitchfind some sort of spiritual development.

The Fifth Tuesday – We Talk About Family

This Tuesday Morrie and Mitch discuss familyand children. Morrie again emphasizes theimportance of love, especially love from a family.He feels that if he did not have the love andsupport from his family, that he would havenothing at all.

Morrie then discusses the joy he had inraising a family and asks about Mitch’s ownfamily.

Mitch has a younger brother who was always afamily favorite. He moved to Europe after high schooland caught pancreatic cancer just as their uncle had.His brother would not allow any of the family membersto help him while he battled cancer, which made Mitchangry.

Mitch then recalls a memory of him and hisbrother sledding when they were children. The sledwent in front of a car and the boys jumped off tosafety. The two were filled with pride at having justskipped death.

The Sixth Tuesday – We Talk About Emotions

Mitch arrives at Morrie’s once again withhis usual food supply. Morrie’s wife, Charlotte,answers the door for the first time and shetells Mitch that Morrie is not doing so well thisparticular day. She also tells him that Morriehas not eaten any of the food that Mitch hasbeen bringing because he can no longer eatsolid foods.

As Mitch and Morrie start talking, Morrie talks of“detaching” himself. He says that if one is too afraid ofan experience a certain emotion, they he or she willnever be able to detach themselves. The two discussother emotions and the fears that come along withthem inhibiting people to let go of the fear and toexperience the emotion.

Morrie tells Mitch that he does not want to die in astate of fright and that he would rather die peacefully.

The Professor, Part Two

After Morrie received his PhD, he spent timeworking at a mental hospital near Washington,DC. Morrie ended up working at the hospital forfive years and even befriended some of thepatients.

Following his work at the hospital he went toBrandeis to teach. He taught classes on socialpsychology, mental illness and health; he focusedmore on personal development than careerskills.

The Seventh Tuesday – We Talk About the Fear of Aging

This Tuesday Morrie and Mitch discuss thefear of ageing. Morrie has finally surrendered tohis illness: he can no longer go to the bathroomby himself. Instead of being frustrated he isenjoying all the people around him who arehelping him and taking care of him.

Morrie describes why he thinks it is beneficialto age: to learn more, gain a betterunderstanding of your life and to experiencegrowth.

The Eight Tuesday – We Talk About Money

Influenced by a quote from the newspaper,Morrie and Mitch discuss money and power.Morrie lived his life enjoying simple pleasuressuch as dancing, singing and laughing. Heexplains in this chapter how he sees society beingbrainwashed into thinking that “more is good”.

Morrie tells Mitch that in order to feelsatisfied, people should offer to others, what theyhave, whether it be a skill or simply just listening.

The Ninth Tuesday – We Talk About How Love Goes On

The previous day, someone had asked Morrieif he was afraid of being forgotten after he wasdead. He feels that since he has been involvedwith so many people in close ways, that he is notso worried about being forgotten.

Mitch describes how he loves the way Morriegreets him upon his entrance. Mitch admires howMorrie has such a talent as to make each personfeel special when they are around him.

Morrie tells Mitch how important it is tostay focused and to only be present with thepeople who are around you. He thinks that somany people are in a hurry and do not findthe time to even engage in a real conversationwithout thinking of something else.

The Tenth Tuesday – We Talk About Marriage

On this tenth Tuesday, Mitch brings his wife to meetMorrie. Mitch had called Morrie earlier in the week to seehow he was feeling and he asked to talk to Mitch’s wife,Janine. When she got off the phone with Morrie, she toldMitch she was coming on the next trip. They talk andMorrie asks about her career as a professional singer andhe asks her to sing something for him. She sang a 1930’ssong written by Ray Noble. When she finished singing,Mitch noticed tears running down Morrie’s face.

Mitch and Morrie then discuss marriage and Morrieshares with him, what he has learned through his manyyears of marriage.

The Eleventh Tuesday – We Talk About Culture

Morrie’s disease is starting to hit his lungs, which ishow he predicted he would die. The physical therapistteaches Mitch how to slap Morrie on the back to breakup the poison in his lungs.

Mitch and Morrie discuss our culture and theshortsightedness of most people.

Later that afternoon, Mitch and Connie watch theverdict of the O.J. Simpson trial.

The Audiovisual, Part Three

Ted Koppel and the “Nightline” crew comeback for a third and final interview withMorrie. Morrie is much sicker now and is notsure he can even do the interview.

Ted Koppel and Morrie do the entireinterview from Morrie’s study, since he isconfined to his chair. He is noticeably weakerbut successfully completes the interview.

The Twelfth Tuesday – We Talk About Forgiveness

It is the Twelfth Tuesday and Mitch andMorrie discuss forgiveness. The whole time,Mitch rubs lotion on Morrie’s feet to relieve themof some pain.

Morrie tells Mitch a story in which he neverforgave one of his friends for an incident whichhappened years ago. He then continued to saythat we also must forgive ourselves for the thingswe feel we should have done.

At the end of the chapter Morrie tells Mitchthat if he could have had another son, he wouldhave liked it to be Mitch.

The chapter flashes back to a conversationbetween Mitch and Morrie when Morrie foundthe place in which he would like to be buried. It ison a hill beneath a tree and overlooking a pond.He hopes that Mitch will come visit him and tellhim all his problems.

The Thirteenth Tuesday – We Talk About the Perfect Day

Morrie has decided to be cremated uponhis death. He tells Mitch how people act as ifdeath is contagious and how they are afraid tosee it.

Morrie has been having very bad nightsinvolving terrible coughing spells. He hadrecently had one so terrible that he almost feltas if he was going to die. He told Mitch that hesuddenly felt at piece with dying.

Mitch asks Morrie what he would do if he wasperfectly healthy for one day. Morrie describes asimple day of being with friends and dancing.

They then discuss Mitch’s sick brother who hehas been trying to reach for weeks. Mitch cannotunderstand how his brother wants to be leftalone during this time. Morrie tells him that hewill eventually find a way back to his brother justas he found him.

The Fourteenth Tuesday – WeSay Goodbye

Charlotte had called Mitch that day, to tell himthat Morrie was not doing well but he still wantedto see him. When Mitch arrived, Morrie was stillasleep and now bed ridden. He was very weak; hetold Mitch that he was not doing well, and that heloved him. Mitch kissed Morrie, longer than usual,and finally began to cry.

Graduation

Morrie died on a Saturday morning withhis immediate family present. The funeral washeld on a damp, gray morning. Charlotte keptthe ceremony small for only friends andfamily, although hundreds wanted to attend.

Mitch talked with Morrie in his head andnoted how familiar the conversation felt. Hethen realized that it was Tuesday.

One of the main things that Morrie taught Mitchwas that, "there is no such thing as 'too late' in life".Mitch seemed to take this thought to heart, as he wasinspired to contact his sick brother in Spain. Mitch toldhim that he respected his desire for the distancebetween them but that he wanted to remain in contactbecause Mitch loved him. Mitch stated that he hadnever said such a thing to his brother; it seems asthough by Mitch telling his brother that he loves him,also allowed his brother to see that it is never too lateto regain contact and include his family in his life.

Morrie Schwartz was Mitch Albom’s favorite collegeprofessor. At the start of the novel Albom recalls a memoryfrom his college graduation day: he is saying goodbye toMorrie and gives him a tan briefcase with his initials on it.They hug and when Mitch steps back he sees that Morrie iscrying. Mitch promises to stay in touch with Morrie but henever does after college.

Since his graduation, Mitch has become a newspaperreporter and husband. He leads a very fast paced life and isconstantly working and traveling. He has become soengrossed in his work that it consumes his life.

The novel recommences about sixteen years afterMitch’s graduation day; Morrie has since been diagnosedwith amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. Since Morrie’sdiagnosis, he began jotting down ideas and thoughts ontoscrap paper, yellow pads or even envelopes. He also wrotephilosophies about living knowing death was very near. Oneof his friends was so taken with his writing, he sent them tothe Boston Globe reporter, who wrote a feature story aboutMorrie. The story intrigued one of the producers of theshow, “Nightline”, who then did a feature story aboutMorrie. Mitch happened to see the “Nightline” show andrecognized his old professor. He called him to set up a visit.

Mitch began visiting Morrie every Tuesday. Theirdiscussions ranged from the world, regrets, death, loveand money; the purpose of their meetings was todiscuss Morrie’s view on the meaning of life. Mitchbecame so intrigued by Morrie’s philosophies that hebegan taking notes and even recording Morrie.

Morrie’s philosophies included rejecting popularculture morals and following self-created values, lovingothers, and learning to accept death.

With each lesson, Morrie becomes increasingly sick;during their last meeting, Morrie was bed ridden and neardeath. As he and Mitch hugged for one last time, Morrienotices Mitch is finally crying.

Morrie dies a short time after. At his funeral Mitch trieshaving a conversation with Morrie, as he had wanted.Mitch feels a certain naturalness and comfort to thisconversation and realizes that it happens to be Tuesday.

After Morrie’s death Mitch regains contact with hisbrother who lives in Spain and is battling cancer.

"Once you learn how to die, you learn how to live.“

"You closed your eyes. That was the difference. Sometimes you cannot believe what you see, you have to believe what you feel. And if you are ever

going to have other people trust you, you must feel that you can trust them too-even when you

are in the dark. Even when you're falling."

"As you grow old, you learn more. If you stayed at twenty-two, you'd always be as ignorant as

you were at twenty-two. Aging is not just decay, you know. It's growth. It's more than the

negative that you're going to die, its also the positive that you understand you're going to die, and that you live a better life because of

it.”

"So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they're busy doing things they think are important. This is because they're chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others,

devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that

gives you purpose and meaning."

"The culture we have does not make people feel good about themselves.

And you have to be strong enough to say if the culture doesn't work, don't

buy it."

"The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let

it come in."

"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."

"The truth is, you don't get satisfaction from those things. You know what really gives you satisfaction? ...Offering others what you have

to give."

"Forgive yourself before you die. Then forgive others."

"Death ends a life, not a relationship."

“The way you get meaning into your life is todevote yourself to loving others, devoteyourself to your community around you, anddevote yourself to creating something thatgives you purpose and meaning.”

– Morrie Schwartz