Tuesdays with Morrie free essay sample

Morrie starts to speak about one particular letter. It was from a lady who lost a parent when she was an adolescent and how she attended a group, which provided therapy for people who went through the same situation. Morrie then breaks down crying during the interview and conveys how when his mother died when he was a child, he wishes he would have had a group assisted people like they did for her. The reason why he said that is because he was so lonely when his mother died. During a flashback Morrie reveals for the second time that his mother had passed away, but instead this time he goes into detail. Morrie was only 8 years of age when he lost his mother. He was actually the one to break the news to his family. Morrie’s emotional state about his mother’s death was a tragic one. Albom reveals that during Morries mother’s sickness, Morrie pretended that his mother wasn’t actually sick, and how Morrie thought that that would make her sickness go away. As the months had progressed Morrie had withered and Mitch began to become more involved because he wanted to hold onto what little that he could of his dear professor. On the last day of Mitch and Morries weekly meetings Morrie was finally ready to say good-bye and had ended the thesis. During the time of Morries death Mitch had came to the realization that Morrie waited and passed on a Tuesday, which was the day both got to share their most intimate thoughts with one another. This paper will out line the journey of both men and how they grew through this journey. Who Do you think got more out of their Tuesday meetings ? Mitch or Morrie? In what way? How do you think each would answer the question? In this selection I feel that Mitch got more out of their Tuesday meetings. Towards the end of this novel Mitch comes to the realization that â€Å"it is never too late in life†. (Albom , 1997, p. 146) Through his talks with Morrie he came to realize that family is the most important aspect of life because that is all you have at the end of the day. Morrie talks to Mitch about how we becomes so entranced with having an abundance of friends, but in the end the only friends that are there are our loved ones. They are the ones who come to help in the time of need, they will be the only ones there to hold your head or wipe your bottom. Morrie talks about a dear old friend and how forgiveness is an important aspect of life. During a time of need Morrie though his friend would comfort him and be there for his ill wife. Although Morries friend did not come to his or his wife’s aid he felt remorse for sometime. Later Morrie goes on to tell Mitch how awful he felt when he had found out that his beloved friend had passed away from cancer. This story opened Mitches eyes. Later in the novel the reader sees Mitches’ attempt to rekindle his distant relationship with his on brother who was battling cancer in Europe. Mitch took Morries lessons to heart, although in the moment Mitch may not have seen it the same as Morrie, he came to realize that this man on his death bed had the power to see the beauty in all and that life had no meaning without the sheer surrender to loving others and not giving into what society tells us we need to be happy. In asking Mitch or Morrie who was able to get more out of the Tuesday meetings, both would say the other. Mitch would say that Morrie was able to acquire more form the meetings because it gave him a sense of purpose as opposed to just withering away in his bed and simply just dieing. These meetings gave Morrie something to look forward to because that was his passion to impart knowledge on others. Through Morries journey he found to appreciate the smaller things in life. In the novel Morrie explains to Mitch that now that he is dieing he felt closer to people. (Albom , 1997, p. 44) Morrie evaluated his position and would engage Mitch in asking â€Å"death was an equalizer, the thing that made strangers feel for one another†? Albom , 1997, p. 44) Through out the journey Morrie became more self away about his physical state but till the last day embraced his position in a positive way. Had this question been asked to Morrie, he would have probably stated that Mitch got the most out of the Tuesday meetings. Although Mitch had different views than Morrie he was able to appreciate Morr ies wisdom. At the end the reader can see that Mitch took these meetings too heart. For example, during a discussion on family Morrie talked to Mitch about how important family was in a time of need because there would be no one else to help you. Morrie tells Mitch that we grow up in a â€Å" Culture that doesn’t encourage one to think about such things till you die. Were so wrapped up with egotistical things. † (Albom , 1997, p. 55) This really hits home with Mitch because before the strike at his job he was completely consumed with it. He did this so he wouldn’t have to deal with reality. In this end of these meetings Mitch comes to realize what Morrie had been talking about the whole time. Mitch, although unsuccessful at first, tried reaching out to his ill brother who wanted nothing to do with him. The talks with Morrie really gave Mitch the strength to understand his brother’s position. In the end Mitch tried a different approach by telling his brother that it was okay to be distant but would like to hear from his only brother and be able to hold him near as long as possible in the present not just after he dies. (Albom , 1997, p. 146) Mitch learned to appreciate the now and that â€Å"its never too late in life†. (Albom , 1997, p. 146) As he visits with Morrie continued, Mitch explored some other cultures and religions and how each views death. Discuss these and others that you’ve studied. Throughout Mitches journey with Morrie he came to explore other religions and how they viewed death. The first religion Mitch talks about was a North America Artic tribe. He talks bout how they believe â€Å"That all things on earth have a soul that exists in a miniature form of the body that holds it, so a deer has a tiny deer inside it and when that deer dies the tiny form lives on†. (Albom , 1997, p. 89) It is almost like a spirit, this was also something that Morrie stressed that even when he was gone Mitch would still be able to hear Morries’ sprit speaking to him. The second religion Mitch came to explore was a tribe in the South American rainforest. This tribe was called Desana, they saw â€Å"The world as a fixed quantity of energy that flows between all creatures. Therefore every breath must engender a death†. (Albom , 1997, p. 108) Although Morrie doesn’t really touch on births coming out of the death it still gave Mitch a sense of hope that something good could come out of something such as death. In my life journey I have explored several religions and have come to the realization that if you’re a good person then good things will come to you. There is not necessarily a notion of an after life or â€Å"heaven and hell† parse. In my journey through Catholicism and Christianity there is this belief to follow the bible and the commandments, interim one will be judged in judgment day and either ascend into heaven or hell. This almost gives me the sense of fear, there are certain things you cannot do, some simply as not marking your body or the repercussion is a place of forever chattering of teeth and eternal burning in a lake of fire. These two religions have the basic principals of one another but I don’t necessarily agree that people will go to these places, it is almost as if they are metaphors because inevitable we all become dust. This is where spirituality comes into play like Mitch had outlined in the novel with the North American Artic tribe where they believed the sprit lived on after death. There is some similarity to Christianity and Catholicism. Another religion that I have come across is one predominately derive from Hinduism and the reincarnation cycle of life. In some Hindu religions there is this belief in Karma. Karma can be defined as ones actions defining their fate. (Webster, 2004, p. 397) There is this belief that when one dies pending on the things they have done in their lives they will come back to earth in a different position perhaps one of status perhaps not. For example, if a woman comes back to earth as a male then she has done very well in her former life because she had obtained the ultimate status in life. The patriarchal system is thus reinforced in this belief. I can remember a time in my life where I had been introduced to a subset of Hinduism called Sant Mat, which too believes in reincarnation and karma. (Sant Mat Meditation on Inner Light and Sound Sant Baljit Singh) The underlying theme in this religion is that there is a sprit that continues to live even after death has come upon us. We hear about religion all day and every day, it is in the media and plastered all over our American culture it almost seems inescapable. In the end we all turn to dust and through the novel Tuesdays with Morrie, Morrie gives Mitch a sense hat death is not a bad thing. Through Mitches’ journey in exploring other religions he finds that death can be a positive because inevitably the sprit is what lives on. This becomes evident to Mitch when Morrie tell him to still come and visit his grave and continue the conversations. In the conclusion Mitch admits that during the funeral he could hear Morrie and that made all the difference to Mitch. Discuss I ntersectionality in relation to both Mitch and Morrie. The author in terms of Intersectionality was highly privileged. To being he was a heterosexual, white, male, who had worked in the entertainment industry. He was married to his wife Jeanine, and would constantly work until his company went on strike. Although in the novel Morrie talks about how money is worthless because it doe not give you a sense of meaning, this was a form of privilege for Mitch because he was able to continually fly out to see Morrie in his last days. Another privilege of Mitches’ was that he was an able body. He was able to get up and feed and clothe him self and even go to the bathroom, which he later found that he was taking it for granted. In some ways Mitch was unprivileged because he had lost his job at the time, and he was younger than Morrie. As for Morrie he too was a privileged heterosexual male, who has two sons and was a college professor. In this book Morrie talks about the sixties where he would aid the students in protest, this was a form of privilege to be able to stand up and speak out without sever repercussions. As for Morrie being unprivileged, he was a withering older man. His illness rendered him unable to fulfill basic necessities on his own such as going to the restroom or feeding himself. Although this is a form of non-privilege Morrie discusses how he saw this as privilege because he had returned to a state where he was basically being pampered as a young child. He goes on to tell Mitch that he is lucky because he had become a child again which is something that people often wish about. (Albom , 1997, p. 90-94) Your overall reaction to the book. As you read the book identify your feelings, thoughts, and connections you made along the way. At the beginning of this book I adamantly was bored because the author talked about his life in the moment and how it was beginning to come rashing down. It just made me think well okay we all have those problems. I could somewhat identify with the character in being so wrapped up in work just to escape reality. In his seemingly down spiral I felt his pain, loosing a job is never easy having to come to terms with your lively hood being swept from underneath you. As the novel progressed I became more enticed and did not want to put t he book down. In the first audiovisual, when Morrie was introduced it was a great story to an amazing man, although I was unable to recognize this till the very end of the story. Morrie talked about his disease and how he had come to terms with death. Upon Mitch finishing his long lost favorite professor it made me think about the people in my life that I have lost touched with and I began to wonder what it would be like to have one more sit down with them. I was inspired my Mitches encounters with Morrie, and how Morrie viewed his current physical state. The one thing that stood out to me the most was during one of the Tuesday meetings where Mitch asks Morrie about regret. Morrie enlighten Mitch that he has had no regrets and does not wish to be young again. Morrie states that if one stays twenty-two then he will forever be that ignorant the more you grow the more you come to understand. (Albom , 1997, p. 92) He later goes on to discuss that when people regret a certain age and wish they could go back to it they have not found meaning in their lives. They are still searching for something to make them whole. Morrie felt in his age that he had found the meaning of life and was ready to take on death. This was powerful to me because we all too often see many people fearing death and are apologetic and forgiving in their time last days. To see this man so positive and embracing of death was powerful. In conclusion I was overcome by tears when Morrie passed away for one reason, as soon as Mitch realized the day Morrie had passed it was almost like the trumpets had sounded and Mitch finally got it. Morrie passed on a Tuesday and had though back and knew Morrie had waited because he had found the meetings to be meaningful in his time of death. This was an amazing, inspiring story and I hope to share with many others in the future because it gave me a sense that death is not to be feared but to be embraced and as Mitch learned that â€Å"It is never too late†.