The Novel Tuesdays with Morrie - Essay Example

Death and Dying in Tuesdays with Morrie Death Dying in Tuesdays with Morrie Introduction The novel Tuesdays with Morrie is anchored around the grief, and losses experienced by the two main characters- Morrie Schwartz and MitchAlbom. The introductory chapter of the novel gives a description of Mitch Albom (the protagonist) who currently is a sports columnist recounting the experiences with his once favorite college professor (Morrie Schwartz) 16 years ago. Mitch recalls having taken all the sociology courses that were being taught by Morrie. In this recap, readers notice that at the end of college, Mitch promised Morrie that he would always keep in touch, a promise that never came to be for up to sixteen years later. One evening while watching a television interview “Nightline”, Mitch comes to realize the existence of his once favorite lecturer who happens to be the interviewee. It is from this point that Mitch, who stays in Michigan, contacts Morrie, who stays in Massachusetts and promises to pay him a visit. Right from their first meeting after a long period, Morrie and Mitch found an opportunity to talk much about life. It is during this discussion when Mitch realizes that Morrie had forfeited his favorite hobby, dancing, after contacting ALS. From this point, Mitch is seen as coming to learn more about his life. Mitch notices that maybe he has placed his priorities in the wrong order. Mitch eventually regrets a lot for his failure to contact Morrie for all that period of time. in addition, Mitch is hit hard with the fact that he will not be able to have Morrie around his life now- Morrie will die of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Mitch then promises to pay Morrie a visit every Tuesday to learn more about life, hence the title, Tuesdays with Morrie (Albom, 2010). Based on the activities around the main characters, a reader can easily grasp a lot from the novel Tuesdays with Morrie. Primarily, the main theme pursued by the author is socialization. That is, how social contacts influence people’s lives. In addition, many readers understand how careers and shortcomings in life, such as diseases (in this case cancer and ALS) may deteriorate relationships between people. The writer uses the main characters Mitch and Morrie to convey his message to the readers. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) ALS is a neurological disease, which affects the brain and the spinal cord by killing neurons and eventually damaging the functionality of the brain. The ALS is a killer disease that at its advanced stages leads to the death of the patient. A lot of discussions and research works have been carried out in trying to understand better ALS as up to date, not even one research has come up with concrete solutions to the effects of ALS. However, researchers have described ALS from how it affects the body. In the novel, it is noted that ALS terminates the functioning of the brain and the spinal cord by infecting and killing the motor neurons, which are responsible for relaying information from the muscles to the brain. The termination of flow of impulses from the muscles to the brains leads to weakening of the patient, the patient may be paralyzed completely and eventually die. The following discussion describes some other details of ALS (Britton, Cleary, & Miller, 2013). The Incidence This entails the epidemiology of the disease ALS. Epidemiologic studies that researchers have carried out on ALS have aided in a better understanding of the disease. In carrying out the study, various variables are put into consideration. These variables include age, geographical consideration, patterns of occurrence, and the frequency of those occurrences. Studies today show that the incidences of ALS are evenly distributed worldwide, and two cases in a population of 100,000 are recorded annually. The age group that is most affected by ALS is those within the ages 55 to 65 years of age. It is important to note that the cases of ALS increase with increase in decades; notably, most cases occur between the second decade and the third decade (Britton, Cleary, & Miller, 2013). Pathophysiology ALS is mainly a neurological disease. Pathological manifestations of ALS can be described from the effect that the disease has on the motor neurons. It is biological that the motor neurons act as the messenger between different body organs and the central nervous system (CNS). The ALS causes the damage to the motor neurons and in the latter stages killing the neurons. When the body is denied enough motor neurons, the result is always the drastic weakening of the body muscles, which are responsible for the functioning of the vital body organs such as the heart. Resultantly, the patients becomes insensitive, paralyzed, and eventually die (Britton, Cleary, & Miller, 2013). Course Every individual reacts differently to the effects of ALS. It is therefore important to note that there are no standard symptoms manifested by all the patients affected by ALS. However, researchers are continually coming up with some common characteristics manifested by most patients who bear the ALS infection. Most notably, patients infected by ALS tend to limb weaknesses, which is followed bulbar symptoms that is an improper functionality of other body organs such as the tongue. Generally, studies describe the weaknesses in organs as caused by the weakening of the body muscles (Britton, Cleary, & Miller, 2013). Prognosis Scientists have not come up with convincing facts on what might be the prognosis of ALS. In 1993, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) argued that mutations in human genes might be the major cause of ALS. However, this study by NINDS does not explain why not everybody can contract ALS. In addition, the study does not give clarity on how gene mutations could eventually lead to infections in the motor neurons of humans. To date, ALS can be considered one of the most stubborn medical conditions by researchers. ALS still has no standard diagnosis in the medical labs to date. Should people sit and watch as patients die? The nursing fraternity has come up with various diagnostic measures that can be carried out on patients suffering from ALS. ALS patients primarily have been diagnosed with injuries that are associated with weaknesses and degeneration of body muscles. To tame the situation, patients have always been encouraged to carry on with a light, but effective physical exercises. Moreover, continuation of day-to-day routines by patients has proven effective for toning down ALS related injuries (Britton, Cleary, & Miller, 2013). Spirituality Over time, the term spirituality has been associated with religion. Today, however, studies reveal that spirituality and religion are two very different but complimentary concepts. Spirituality can be defined as the belief that an individual comes to developing based on the experiences and activities that such individuals have gone through. Spirituality is a description of how people learn and change from the experiences that they encounter (Gilbert, 2001). The novel Tuesdays with Morrie entirely embraces a spiritual tone. A keen study of the novel clearly highlights the actions of characters as those that have spiritual influence. One can as well notice that the manifestations of spirituality are not shown by what the characters speak but rather the acts that those characters are involved in throughout the novel. In the novel, Mitch shows connection with spirituality when he recounts the last time he was in church. From this flashback, it is put into the reader’s mind that religion has formed some of the experiences and actions of the main character. The character represented by Reb is a clear definition of how religion and spirituality compliments each other. The novel highlights how Reb is a diehard drug dealer whose experiences conversion to become a religious leader. Morrie views life very differently from the viewpoints of many people- Mitch inclusive. The experience with ALS has fully converted the personality of Morrie from once a charming individual to a dull person. Here one can say that the experience with ALS has changed the spirit of Morrie. Moreover, Mitch after the 14 meetings with Morrie comes to identify who he really is. The meetings come to change the perception of Mitch on how he viewed life hence. From the meetings, the readers mind and spirituality is tested and challenged from the experiences of the protagonist. Mitch and Morrie as well come to evident spirituality by the belief that they possessed in each other. During graduation, Morrie comes out crying while bidding Mitch goodbye. Mitch feels as bad about the separation with Morrie. The beliefs of both brings the two main characters back together, thereby showing the strength that spirituality can have about relationships. Caring Caring can be described as the ability and willingness of one individual to show a hand of kindness to another individual by assisting such an individual who might not be in a position to assist them (Gilbert, 2001). Like spirituality, caring has been shown on the characters through actions. The novel Tuesdays with Morrie is an emotional novel providing a perfect platform to the reader on the meaning of caring and what people actually do when they care. The following discussions highlight the manifestation of “caring” in the novel. It is the role of the teacher to take care of their students and to fully develop those students into the beings they would have wished for. Mitch is a big personality today, thanks to the care he got from Morrie. Every reader views Mitch as a product of hard work and care from Morrie. Mitch generally is a caring character. In the midst of a busy schedule, Mitch squeezes his time to be visiting Morrie and just to see how well Morrie is doing. In further demonstration of caring, Mitch’s wife Jenine comes out as one caring character. Even though Jenine is in dire need of having a family and settling down, a subject that Mitch does not understand, Jenine keeps her marriage to Mitch. Jenine cares for his wellbeing in his trips and ready to provide Mitch with whatever he might lack. Moreover, apart from caring about his students, Morrie also cares about himself and his health. Morrie enjoys dancing, which keeps him fit until that point he could not just strain his muscles more. Finally, Morrie’s wife who is a busy college lecture as well shows caring for her husband. She (Eva) attends to the sick Morrie even with her busy schedule. At one point, she is seen contemplating quitting her job to give care to Morrie. Grief and Loss Among the many themes pursued by the novel Tuesdays with Morrie, grief and loss are some of the very clear themes evident. Grief is the description of how an individual responds to a direct or indirect loss in their lives. A loss on the other hand is the unwilling physical or psychological separation with something or somebody. There are many reasons why people lose other people or things precious to their lives. In the novel, theme of grief and loss is shown in many instances. In most cases, the reaction to losses is considered very critical in psychology than the losses themselves. In the novel, diseases and careers are portrayed as the central factors to lack experience of the characters. At the age of eight, Morrie is faced with the death of his mother. As a result of the death, Morrie comes out a psychologically tortured individual. Morrie deals with the loss of his mother by gaining a passion for books. He (Morrie) gets to read a lot, which in turn lets him forget the bad memories. At the end of the novel, Mitch deals with the loss of Morrie by extracting the positives that he got to associating with Morrie. To Mitch, the best way to deal with the death of Morrie is by seeing the positive lessons he acquired during their short meetings. Summary and Reflection Reading the novel Tuesdays with Morrie has changed my view of the profession of nursing. The novel literally runs from a happy mood to a very sad mood full of losses. As an individual, I have learnt that many things are important in life, but the most important thing in life is learning, which we only achieve through associations with others. The life lessons we learn all the time, eventually define who we really are. Reading the novel, which has a very sad mood in some parts made me feel empathetic towards the characters that are suffering terminal illnesses. For example, Morrie is compelled to give up his hobbies and profession because of the debilitating effect of ALS. For many years, he battles with the diseases until his death. In addition, peter, Mitch’s brother is also battling with cancer. In an era whereby many cancers lack any permanent cure, peter exhibits a high level of depression. This is because he does not want to discuss his condition with anyone. As a nurse, I am moved by the suffering of the sick characters. Evidently, they needed quality health care and relevant support that would help them cope with their situations in a positive manner. Mitch and Charlotte serve as good example as dedicated caregivers who offer Morrie the kind of support he needs in managing his condition. Their examples are inspiring to me as a person. In addition, they have a lot of significance to me as a nursing student. They serves as reminders of the nobility of the nursing profession. The suffering of the people moves me as a nurse to be more committed to deliver quality health care to all the patients in an effort to eliminate their suffering. A close analysis of the novel reveals that it can have a positive impact on the nursing practice. This is because nurses have a critical role of delivering health care and giving patients support until their death. This book exemplifies the role of nursing in an outstanding way. There are caregivers mentioned in the novel, who commit themselves to caring for their ailing family members. This example can be emulated in the nursing practice. Charlotte is an example of a caregiver who has to balance between her career and providing care to her husband. Her situation is a reflection of the level of stress a caregiver faces. I have never viewed the nursing profession differently. Many people, me included, always believe in taking nursing courses in order to make money. Nursing is the only profession that looks into the wellbeing of humanity. Characteristics such as caring and spirituality as described and illustrated from the reading are very critical to the profession of nursing. Conclusion The novel Tuesdays with Morrie is an intriguing read that would touch the emotions of almost everybody. Not only do the events in this novel apply to nursing, but to humanity as a whole. By reading this novel, people will learn more about life as well as learning about themselves. The flow of events in the reading brings back reality to life, which has long been lost. With the theme of socialization and suffering at the center of the happenings in the novel, there has never been a better way to understand life. Reference Albom, M. (2010). Tuesdays with Morrie: An old man, a young man, and lifes greatest lesson. Sydney: ReadHowYouWant. Britton, D., Cleary, S., & Miller, R. (2013). What is ALS and What is the Philosophy of Care?. Perspectives on Swallowing & Swallowing Disorders (Dysphagia), 22(1), 4-11 Gilbert, R. B. (2001). Health care & spirituality: Listening, assessing, caring. Amityville, N.Y: Baywood Pub. Co. Read More