The document discusses the novel Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom. It follows Mitch as he reconnects with his former professor Morrie Schwartz, who is dying of ALS. Morrie teaches Mitch about what is truly important in life as his time draws to a close. The document also discusses how the novel and a textbook both address aging and facing one's mortality. It provides an example of how Morrie initially reacted with shock and denial to his diagnosis, but later accepted his condition, as outlined in Elizabeth Kübler-Ross' five stages of grief.

1. Tuesdays With Morrie
Morrie's Message If you only had a few months left to live due to a disease how would you choose
to live? Would you let it take control of you and wither away, or would you make the most out of
your final days by doing all you could? In the novel Tuesdays with Morrie, Mitch Albom gains a
new understanding of life's greatest lessons through his dying professor's, Morrie Schwartz, eyes.
This book helped open my eyes as well and realize what is truly important in your life and the things
you should make a priority. Between our textbook, Social Gerontology, and the novel, Tuesday's
with Morrie, they both touched a lot of important key points of aging and what a person is
ultimately faced with as they are nearing their death. The top three...show more content...
Every day a person experiences different emotions. The key to experiencing emotions is how one
chooses to handle them and how they display themselves. In our textbook it mentions Elizabeth
Kubler– Ross' process of dying and this deals with the emotions people are faced with when it
comes to dying and how they cope with them. Ross's first stage is shock and denial and in the
novel Morrie displays shock and denial when the doctor initially told him he has Lou Gehrig's
disease. "My old professor, meanwhile, was stunned by the normalcy of the day around him.
Shouldn't the world stop? Don't they know what has happened to me?" (Albom, 8) As Morrie faces
each of the five stages he finally reaches the last one which is acceptance and adjustment. He
explains to Mitch the process of detaching oneself and all the emotions one will face. "If you hold
back on the emotions– if you don't allow yourself to go all the way through them– you can never get
to being detached, you're too busy being afraid..." "But by throwing yourself into these emotions,
by allowing yourself to dive in, all the way, over your head even, you experience them fully and
completely. You know what pain is. You know what love is. You know what grief is. And only then
can you say, 'All right, I have experienced that emotion. I recognize that emotion. Now I need to
detach from that emotion for a moment" (Albom,
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2. Tuesdays with Morrie Essay
At first glance, the movie, Tuesdays With Morrie, appeared to be a movie about an ex–student
learning a final lesson about life from his dying ex–professor. But, as the movie progressed, I felt it
was actually a movie about two dying men. Morrie, the old professor, was in the final stages of ALS
and physically dying. Mitch, the former student was a commitment–phobic living an unfulfilled life
and spiritually dying. Spiritual death is reversible, so Mitch tried to gain some of the wisdom and
learn some of the lessons that Morrie had already learned in his happily fulfilled life. On the other
hand, physical death is irreversible and Morrie realized that his time was growing short. He had
concerns, such as becoming increasingly dependent on...show more content...
In fact, his job was his main priority. Maybe he was afraid to face his fears and kept his mind off of
them by absorbing himself in work. But, Morrie made Mitch face those fears, taught him that love
was the most important and powerful force in life and without it, we're nothing. Mitch ultimately
realized that his priorities were backwards and sought more meaning in his life. He learned to take
time for others, especially Janie, and show affection. Love and commitment no longer scared him
and he was able to savage his relationship. Morrie essentially saved Mitch's relationship with Janine
and made him realize that there was more to life than just work.
Mitch helped improve Morrie's final days because he was very ill and required physical and
emotional help. Physically, he was unable to do things like move, dress himself or even cough. He
feared loosing his independence. But, Mitch, his wife and his caretakers relieved those fears. They
helped him with his physical and emotional needs. He was constantly surrounded by people, who
loved and cared for him. In a way, he was able to live the life he had through Mitch.
Everyone needs someone to talk to and Morrie was no exception. Conversations with Mitch forced
him to think about some of the adversities in his own life such as his strained relationship with his
father. Morrie's father had been a cold, distant man who easily detached himself from people. His
detachment was evident when he
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