Tuesday with Morrie - Book Report/Review Example

Running head: TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE An Analysis of the book Tuesdays with Morrie in Terms of Death, Dying, and Bereavement (Full English (College) Abstract This paper analyses the book, Tuesday with Morrie. It is all about the meaning of life and the importance of understanding death as a part of life cycle. The aim of this paper is for readers to understand Morrie’s message that “Learning how to die, (its stages, dimensions, and its meaning), is learning how to live. Tuesdays with Morrie Introduction Death is inevitable. It may occur due to old age or after a disease. In this paper, you will learn more about death and learn about life at the same time by reflecting on Mitch Albom’s hit bestseller entitled, “Tuesdays with Morrie.” This book is a masterpiece and it is of great help especially for those who are trying to find meaning in their lives and for those who are trying to live life in their fullest. After Morrie (the teacher) dies, the student (Mitch) learned from his life and from then, it changed him to become a new, better person who would share his message to the world. In Tuesdays with Morrie, Mitch Albom, the author, begins his book with several accounts of death. The reason why he chose to do this frequent repetition of accounts of death was maybe because he was trying to open the minds of many people, the readers of his text, so he could explain the occurrence of death. According to Morrie Shwartz (the teacher of Mitch), death is normal among living things and organisms and especially among human beings. Death, for Morrie, is inevitable as it happens to everyone and so, there is nothing to be afraid of in facing this (Albom. P. 104). The accounts of death included by Albom in the story were very purposeful because it reveals that “death” is a normal state which happens to everyone even if no one wants to believe it. This serves as a call for people to prepare themselves for the perfect day and so, it indirectly suggests people that they stop wasting time in unnecessary and unworthy things in life which are meaningless and give no purpose. The author also maintains the inclusion of such cases of death which are morbid and unimaginable to serve as a guide for reflection and introspection for those who will read it (Albom, p. 81). Mitch Albom put into account the dimensions of death tackled by Morrie through the stages which the latter have experienced; and so he shared his feelings and emotions towards his illness and upcoming death towards Mitch. In the process of dying, Morrie describes eight dimensions which includes the ff.: dependency, pain, indignity, isolation, finality, fate of the body, fear of getting close to people, and symbolic immortality. First, 1.) dependency—Morrie described his situation as the stage where he accepted dependence among people around him when it comes to wiping his ass and carrying him to a comfortable position which he already cannot do by himself; and also, with regard to providing a paycheck for the household--that it’s like returning to the first stage of life when he was a child (Albom, p.49); second, Morrie also describes 2.) pain—Morrie understood that pain is a feeling that one has to experience when dying in order to experience peace; third is 3.) indignity—Morrie explained to Mitch, the reality of losing one’s freedom of enjoying nature and everything around him because of his physical condition that serve as his limitation; fourth, is 4.) isolation, wherein Morrie describes that a person dying must learn how to be isolated or to be “detached” from everything in this world, ranging from one’s own physical body and in external factors such as family or loved one’s and even one’s own possessions; fifth, Morrie tackled on 5.) finality—or the perfect day wherein a dying person must be decided on “where will he be” after death or what is one’s faith with regard to the destination of one’s soul after death; the sixth dimension is 6.) fate of the body—according to Morrie, “What gets born dies,” or what comes from nature, goes back to the nature and if a person dies, the soul of the person returns to its original state and becomes part of the nature. That is why it was easy for him to talk about the perfect day with Mitch. For Morrie, the closer he approaches death, the more he sees his body like a container or shell for keeping a soul; and so, Morrie decided on where to be buried, he told Mitch that he wants his grave on top of the hill and overlooking the pond and that he also liked to be cremated after; seventh, 7.) Morrie explained to Mitch that not all people interprets death as something positive. For some, death is very depressing and the person suffering may feel helplessness that is why some of them resort to face dying by withdrawing or getting away, or avoiding people (especially their loved ones) because of the fear of being rejected and thus may lead their heart to be more broken; and lastly, Morrie emphasized the importance of ‘sense of meaning’ or sense of purpose especially for those who are to die. He claims that a legacy of a person is remembered best not because of possessions or material things, fame, and power one had but one is remembered because the person was able to give something useful and interesting for other people. We could draw from Morrie’s accounts of realization that death is coming when it was first known to him that he was suffering from ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) or Lou Gehrig’s which is brutal and fatal disease of neurological system, that Kubler Ross’ five stages of dying are normal for dying persons: 1.) denial and isolation—is the stage where Morrie explains to Mitch that his brother Peter may be suffering from this denial of his illness since the latter was accustomed to being strong and illness-free. 2.) anger—is the second stage of dying which explains Peter’s probable reaction towards having been diagnosed with cancer; and 3.) bargaining—this stage was shown when Morrie decides on being useful and live a life with purpose by living fully his remaining days on earth in a way that he shares his knowledge to the youth and those who need his principles as guidelines for their lives; 4.) depression--the next stage in dying in which a person accepts death’s certainty and this is described in the part where Morrie gives less talks and accepts few visitors in his crib but spends most of the time with Mitch for the completion of their final thesis and expresses his grief to his friend; and lastly, 5.) acceptance—“the end of the dying struggle” or the stage which describes Morrie’s openness to attain sense of peace and achieve the acceptance of one’s fate (Albom, p. 107). The story of Morrie’s life sets a good life fully-lived and a good death as well. He was able to experience such because he embraced death without having to avoid suffering and self-pity. Moreover, Morrie follows his own principles and set of standards in life (instead of following the many), which helped him adapt to the next chapter of his life which is about to come to an end. He accepted his fate with dignity, self-composure, and that made him stress-free in facing death. In some cultures however, certain reactions to death vary. The death of a dying person or a person with a loved one dying usually undergoes the following emotions or state of mind: 1) shock and denial—the feeling when Morrie was first diagnosed with ALS; 2) volatile reactions—the fluctuating feeling of being depressed and being okay again 3) guilt—when Mitch blames himself for the illness of his brother; 4) loss and loneliness—when Morrie gradually loss his strength to move, 5) relief and re-establishment—when Morrie finds a useful way to share what’s left of him on his remaining life, 6) religion—on how Morrie sees afterlife, and 7) problems of uncertainty—the problem mostly faced by people in the process of dying. Meaning of Death Varies Culturally The process of dying is unpredictable and people have no control of it. Morrie suggests that those who are living should value their lives and prolong it by all means. (He simply enjoys the simple joys of nature and love God the more because of its beauty). Morrie continues that life should not be taken for granted and wasted by being a victim of the dictations of culture. Perhaps culture victimizes people by telling what to buy and what to become. Morrie’s theory about culture is that it breeds people’s insecurity and discontentment by influencing them on unnecessary things. According to Morrie, an individual should be strong in order to decide between letting oneself be consumed by consumerism or vanity (due to culture) or to stay simple and live a happy life. He suggests to people that they create their own subculture if their culture makes them unhappy so that they won’t be lost. In brief, the secret to be happy is to surround yourself with loving and caring souls and not with material things which are only substitutes for deprivations. Thus, theory about culture affects to individual’s perception of the process of dying (Albom, p.35). Meaning of Death for Morrie For Morrie, “death” or dying does not mean being “useless” or the state of “helplessness” as for those majority of people who experience the process of dying; but ironic as it may seem, he referred to death as something which he is proud of and he equates it in his feeling of being “lucky.” For the reason that not everyone is so lucky to have time to say “goodbye,” Morrie considers himself lucky because of this privilege to have more time to suggest the living people what they could do while they still have time. He agreed that death is “one thing to be sad over” but “living unhappily is something else.” Morrie explains that it was normal to mourn for what was lost but it should not be for too long because no one gains from excessive self-pity (Albom, p. 57). The Fear: Reaction in the Process of Dying Death causes fear among those individuals who are dying—it is normal. Just like him, people who face the process of dying experience anxiety and fear and most often ask themselves: “What if today was my last day on earth?” or “What shall I do in my remaining time?” When faced with his own morality, Morrie also expressed a great fear about the process of dying. He feels dreadful about what he could not do when he is not able to use several parts of his body like his hands, his mouth (for eating), his voice (for speaking) which are all essential parts of himself which he uses to share and to give. However, in the end of the story he revealed that his greatest fear about the process of dying is the part when you have to say “goodbye (Albom, p.168).” On Guilt and Anger: Other Reactions to the Process of Dying Mitch expressed guilt and anger over his brother at the same time. The ambivalence or the uncertainty of what he should do because of Peter’s (his brother) avoidance draws Mitch to express his suppressed love and affection for his brother in way that he blames himself for his brother’s illness and that he somewhat tend to be angry at Peter for not letting him “in” when all he want is to reach out and stay beside his brother out of deep concern and love—especially at this time when Peter needs to be taken care of because of his cancer but the latter prefers to fight with the illness alone (Albom, p.178). The Curriculum: On Experiencing Good Death The subject of “the curriculum” in this book is an integral part of experiencing what we call, a “good death” as far as what Morrie underwent and therefore, it serves as a good example for many. Since the subject was The Meaning of Life, the professor was able to deliver the course in an experiential manner and the life that Morrie shared was indeed a life where we (not only Mitch) could learn. The professor and the student were able to cover topics like love, work, community, family, aging, forgiveness, and the last one, death. And the learning continues even up to the professor’s last breath. It is a good death for the professor’s part (Morrie) because he was able to fulfill his destiny and mission of sharing what he learned from life as a teacher and he was able to direct the life of his student to where it should be: in the course of truth. All the topics that Morrie taught about life (the subject of the curriculum) are necessary for a good death because he was able to live his life in the fullest despite of his weak condition and even he appears helpless due to his illness that is killing him softly, he was able to give himself up to last part of his life where he could offer nothing more but his wisdom, knowledge, and love. Indeed, Morrie was able to experience a good death for he was able to leave a symbolic immortality among the loved ones he left when he died who remembered him for his legacy of giving wisdom and loving nature. Because of his trainings in life, or his previous experience (inclusive of his bad and sad memories in his childhood), Morrie was molded to have a strong will, optimistic attitude, and a good soul—a very sensible man who lives life in the fullest and shares whatever he can offer to the world. Morrie was an efficient and an effective teacher who serves as a very substantial “soup” for everyone’s soul. He was able to change lives and move every reader because of the life experience he shared to many. He came out to be a very loving and wise man inspite of his situation: poverty, sad experience in chidhood, and miniscule body. Morrie was a small man but blessed with a big heart and enriched brain which he used to share and to give knowledge in humanity and to inspire his student (Mitch) and all the people all over the world to change within and then change the world. Refelction on Tuesdays with Morrie This book, Tuesdays With Morrie was very helpful for it increased my understanding on death and dying. It made me understand life and understand death more and in a different, positive perspective. It lessens the fear I used to feel when talking about the subject of death. It made me accept the reality that death is inevitable and I should die too but I should never prolong the anxiety of fear when entertaining the idea. Thus, I recommend this book to young adults, and for persons in the early, middle, and late adulthood. Further, the most important lesson I have learned from Morrie which I could apply in my life right now is that when he said this quote: “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 to your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to the community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.” For me the mentioned quote was the highlight of the entire message of Morrie. He gives the reason to common problems among human then he suggested solutions to gain sense of meaning (Albom, p. 43). Conclusion Trying to open the minds of many people, Morrie Shwartz explained death with the help of Mitch (his beloved student) as they work on their final thesis entitled, ‘Tuesdays with Morrie.’ Through the text, Morrie suggests people that they stop wasting time in unnecessary and unworthy things in life which are meaningless and purposeless. The inclusions of such cases of death which are unimaginable serve as a guide for reflection and introspection for those who will read it. Morrie considers himself lucky because of this privilege to have more time to insinuate to those who are still living--what they should do while they still have time. He agreed that death is “one thing to be sad over” but “living unhappily is something else.” References Albom, M., (1997). Tuesdays with morrie (pp. 35-178). Random House Inc, NY: Anchor Books. Read More