-
First Day of Class
Mitch has his first day of class with Morrie. He says, "I hope that one day you will think of me as your friend." -
Graduation
Mitch graduated from Brandeis University and makes a promise that he and Morrie would stay in touch. He failed to keep it. -
Diagnosed
Morrie is diagnoased with ALS. His doctors told him and his wife that he had at most two years to live. Morrie knew it was less. -
Nightline
Morrie debuts on a television showed called Nightline where he is interviewed. Mitch is at his home in Detroit and recognizes his old professor. -
The First Tuesday
Morrie and Mitch talk about the world. Morrie states that the most important thing to learn in life is how to give out of love, and how to let it come in. -
The Second Tuesday
Morrie and Mitch discuss feeling sorry for yourself. Morrie reveals, "Mitch, I don't allow myself any more self-pity than that. A little each morning, a few tears, and that's all." -
The Third Tuesday
Mitch brings a tape recorder so he may unknowingly capture Morrie's memory after he dies. He asks his old professor if he has any regrets when he found out he was dying. The professor responds with a lesson about modern day culture, "The culture doesn't encourage you to think about such things until you are about to die." -
The Fourth Tuesday
The pair talks about death. They say that everyone knows they are going to die, but not all actually believe it. Mitch asks how can anyone be prepared to die. Morrie responds with, "Do what the Buddhists do. Every day, have a little bird on your shoulder and asks, 'Is today the day? Am I ready? Am I doing all I need to do? Am I being the person I want to be?' " -
The Fifth Tuesday
The duo talks about family. Professor Morrie believes that love within family is surpremely important. "Love each other or perish." -
The Sixth Tuesday
Mitch and Morrie talk about emotions. "But by throwing yourself into these emotions, by allowing yourself to dive in, all the way, over your hea even, you experience them fully and compoletely. You know what pain is. You know what grief is. And only then you can say, 'All right. I have experienced that emotion. I recognize that emotion. Now I need to detach from that emotion for a moment.' " -
The Seventh Tuesday
Fear of aging is the topic up for discussion. Morrie tells Mitch that he embraces aging. "It's very simple. As you grow, you learn more. If you stayed at twenty-two, you'd always be as ignorant as you were at twenty-two. Aging is not just decay, you know. It's growth. It's more than the negative that you're going to die, it's also the positive that you understand you are going to die, that that you live a better life because of it." -
The Eighth Tuesday
They talk about money this Tuesday. A music group gave Morrie a private performance and it moved him to tears. A newspaper article leads to the discussion of money. "Money is not a substitute for tenderness, and power is not a substitute for tenderness. I can tell you, as I'm sitting here dying, when you most need it, neither money nor power willk givr you the feeling youre loojiung for, no matter how much of them you have." -
The Ninth Tuesday
They talk about how love can extend after death. Someone asked Morrie the question of if he ever worries people will ever forget him after he dies. Mitch asks him if he does worry in which Morrie replies, "I don't think I will be. I've got so many people who have been involved with me in close, intimate ways. And love is how you stay alive, even after you are gone." -
The Tenth Tuesday
They talk about marriage. Morrie is having a bad day and wants to schedule for next Tuesday. Morrie meets Mitch's wife and when they visit she sings the elder man a song. Mitch asked Morrie why this generation has so many problems with commitment. He states that one of the biggest values is your belief in the importance of your marriage. He quoted his favorite poem again, "Love each other or perish." -
The Eleventh Tuesday
They talk about culture. Morrie explains how people tend to only be mean when they feel threatened and then you only look out for yourself. "The problem, Mitch, is that we don't believe we are as much aluike as we are. Whites and blacks, Catholics and Protestents, men and women. If we saw each other as more alike, we might be very eager to join in one big human family in this world, and to care about that familky the way we care about our own." -
The Twelfth Tuesday
The pair talks about forgiveness. It had been a couple days since they did a recent interview on Nightline. Morrie expresses his regret of never forgiving a friend who died of cancer. "Forgive yourself. Forgive others. Don't wait, Mitch. Not everyone gets the time I'm getting. Not everyone is as lucky." -
The Thirteenth Tuesday
Morrie and Mitch talk about the perfect day. He jokes with a Rabbi about being cremated and to not overcook him. Morrie tells Mitch about a night with a bad coughing spell where he felt as if he was going to die and was at peace with it. "Thats what we're all looking for. A certain peace with the idea of dying. If we know, in the end, that we can ultimately have that peace with dying, then we can finally do the really hard thing." -
Morrie Dies
Morrie passes away alone on a Saturday morning. His various family members are in the kitchen drinking coffee. Mitch honors Morries request to talk to him on Tuesday at his grave. -
Written Response
The main theme in this book is what one can learn about life through death. After Mitch learns from Nightline that his old professor is dying he regrets not keeping his promise about staying in touch. He ends up visiting his professor every Tuesday and learns more about life and the values you should have. Every Tuesday Morrie has a new lesson for Mitch. Morrie says on the second Tuesday that he only allows himself a few tears each morning during a lesson about feeling sorry for yourself. -
Written Response cont.
Each lesson provides Mitch with knowledge about life through someone who is dying. It is wisdom that will be carried with him throughout his life and throughout many other individuals whom have read this memoir.
