Yerry reviews Tuesday with Morrie

Yerry Yeh
English (R)
Mrs. Pouslon
March 15, 2010
Tuesday with Morrie
The book, Tuesday with Morrie, by Mitch Albom is a book based on two major themes: life and love. The main character, Morrie, is a professor who discovered a deadly illness a while before reuniting with Mitch. Mitch, who used to be Morrrie’s student back in college, is prepared to learn the life’s greatest lesson once again from his old professor.
Morrie is a likeable character because of his positive thoughts and his caring for others. Does Morrie “wither up and disappear, or does he(do I)make the best of my time left”? (10) Morrie chose the way that no one else would experience through. “Study me in my slow and patient demise. Watch what happens to me. Learn with me”, said Morrie, and so he chose to tell everyone else what it is like to die slowly. (10) Morrie made up his mind fast after knowing his fatal disease. When a television show interviewed Morrie, he decided that he shouldn’t pretend any corner about his life, so he showed up in his night wears and medical equipments. He didn’t try to make himself look like he was exhausted or sick. He acted normal just like how he always did. Such behavior proves that Morrie is such a wise and matured man who reminds people about the difference between being shameful and studying biology of human body.
Mitch wasn’t a trusted or liked character in the beginning. He promised to stay in touch with Morrie when he was graduated from his college; however, he didn’t do so. He also “told her (Janine) – and himself – that we would start a family, something she wanted very much. But that day never came.” (17) Instead, Mitch “buried himself in accomplishments, he believed he could control things.” (17) Mitch is obsessed with achievements which lead to his life’s boredom until he saw Morrie, being interviewed, on the television. Mitch made a contact with Morrie and since then, Mitch visit Morrie every Tuesday. Through one of the Tuesdays, Mitch learned a quote that changed rest of his life, “Let it (love) come in. We think we don’t deserve love, we think if we let it in we’ll become too soft. But a wise man named Levine said it right. He said, ‘Love is the only rational act.’” (52) Since then, Mitch has become a believable character. The rest of the Tuesdays seemed more lively and happy. Mitch has become more excited when Tuesday comes. When Morrie died in the end of the book, Mitch didn’t weep for him, instead, his heart is filled with courage and ready to face rest of his life without Morrie’s guidance.
The major conflict in the book is “Facing Death”. It is easy to say how calm you would be to face death, but when it really comes, you wouldn’t admit what you said before. The book points out the conflict in the first ten pages of the book to keep reader stimulate thoughts on this topic, and then explain how Morrie faces his situation through the thirteen Tuesdays under Mitch’s escort.
This book is recommended to readers at all age and either gender; Since every person is “dying” every minute, it is appropriate for everyone to learn how Mitch has changed through the story and why Morrie’s attitude is valuable to be learned. I like Tuesday with Morie, because I can learn what capacity of courage is required when you know you will die someday soon. This book gives the audience a good chance to think through what he/she would do if they would die shortly.