Character+Analysis+Essay

Rationale:

I chose to do a character analysis essay because it will give me a chance to highlight both the good and not so good qualities on Morrie, although I don’t think that Morrie has any bad qualities. This analysis is a way for me to show what I have learned in a traditional way that has been used for a long time.

Mitch Albom wrote a story of the heart that shows a young man who got the chance to discover life though the death of his friend. This book talks about many things that touch many people’s hearts. Tuesdays with Morrie has fourteen main themes to it, each main theme was taught on a Tuesday, some of the main themes that this book talks about are the world, feeling sorry for yourself, regrets, death, family, emotion, forgiveness, and good-byes. The first Tuesday Morrie and Mitch talk about the world, this subject comes up while they are sitting in Morrie’s study and Mitch spots a stack of newspapers sitting in the corner. When Morrie sees Mitch staring at the stack of papers he says “’Do you think that’s strange? Do you think because I’m dying, I shouldn’t care what happens in this world?(P.50)’” In some ways Morrie has a point, he should keep up with the world that is around him even though he isn’t able to go out and see it for himself he should at least be able to know what is going on. “’The most important thing we do is learn how to give out love’...’We think we don’t deserve love we think that if we let it in we’ll become too soft.’…’Love is the only rational act’ (p.52). Morrie believes that it is important for you to love even if you think it’s not the best think, he believes that it’s important that you let someone love you just as it is important that you show them love as well. On the second Tuesday Morrie and Mitch talk about feeling sorry for yourself. “’Sometimes, in the mornings, that’s when I mourn. I feel around my body, I move my fingers and my hands­­—whatever I can still move—and I morn what I’ve lost…But then I stop mourning. (p.58-57) Feeling sorry for yourself is ok when its only occasionally and not all the time you need time to mourn yes, but you also need to go out and enjoy your life while you still have one, because it won’t always be there. “’ I give myself a good cry if I need it. But then I concentrate on all the good things still in my life.’ (p.57)” Morrie shows that it is ok to cry but after you cry you also need to realize that you have good things in your life as well as those things that you mourn about. On the third Tuesday Morrie and Mitch talk about regrets, regrets about choices they made regrets about what they have done with their life, just regrets in general. When Mitch brought up the subject of regret to Morrie Morrie’s reply was, “’the culture doesn’t encourage you to think about such things until you’re about to die. We’re so wrapped up with egotistical things…’” the way that most people do things in this country you don’t realize that you will most likely regret what you have done until you are about to die and have time to reflect on it. On the fourth Tuesday Morrie and Mitch talk about death. “’Everyone knows they’re going to die, but nobody believes it. (p.81)’” Even though you know you cant live forever but you always want to try to outlive everyone else. ‘” the truth is that once you learn to die, you learn how to live.’” In order to live your life to the fullest you have to know what it’s like to be on the verge of death. On the fifth Tuesday Morrie and Mitch talk about family and how important it is to have family around in your time of need. “’ If you don’t have the support and love and caring and concern that you get from a family, you don’t have much at all. (p.91) ’” family will give you so much that you need and they will help you get by when you can’t manage it on your own. Family is the main source of help most people go to when they are in need. On the sixth Tuesday Mitch and Morrie talk about emotions and how they play a role in what everyone goes through. Morrie talks to Mitch about what it’s like for Morrie about what ALS has done to him and for him. They discuss what Morrie could be doing if he wasn’t stuck sitting because the disease has paralyzed him. When Mitch realizes that Morrie is unable to eat the food that he brings but he doesn’t say anything he realizes that he does it out of the kindness of his heart so he doesn’t hurt Mitch’s feelings. On the twelfth Tuesday Mitch and Morrie talk about forgiveness, they talk about why you have to forgive someone and why it’s important that someone forgives you. “’Forgive yourself before you die.(p.164)’” Morrie believed that it was important that you forgive yourself so that you can move on. If you don’t move on and forgive yourself then when you die you will die with regret. On the fourteenth and final Tuesday Morrie and Mitch say good-bye. Morrie knows that this will be his last Tuesday he understands that he doesn’t have much longer and he wants to get the chance to say good-bye to his best friend Mitch. When they have their final moment they know it will be there last and they enjoy it and keep in the pleasure as much as they can. In short Mitch and Morrie had many life lessons together that Mitch will probably listen to forever. These lessons were a good way for Morrie to spend time with Mitch as he reached his last days. Morrie was glad that he got to spend his last few months with one of his dear friends and former college student that he taught.