Essay On Tuesdays With Morrie

A World of Dualities American society is one of dualities, where everything is prefered to simply be black & white. In the memoir Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom, the concept of the proverbial “tension of opposites” is explored. Mitch Albom’s “tension of opposites” is a situation where a difficult choice needs to be made, and, until that choice is made, it is impossible to continue. A tension of opposites occures several times in the passage, none of which correlate with each other. When Mitch first experiences tension of opposites, it affects a pivotal decision that would change his life forever, one way or another. Years later after a session with Morrie, Mitch decides to tackle some of the less specific everyday occurences of tension of opposites, and realizes that sometimes there are no right answers. Morrie too is experiencing his own
As Mitch gives Morrie his honors thesis for a sociology degree, he is racked with fear.
“With work like this, we may have to get you back here for grad school.” Yeah, right, I say. I snicker, but the idea is momentarily appealing. Part of me is scared of leaving school. Part of me wants to go desperately. Tension of opposites. (pg. 4)
Mitch is proud of his achievement, but is incredibly apprehensive when faced with the question of how he will spend his life. He presents a sharp contrast between the two options by begining both of them with the phrase “Part of me”. And by simply stating “Tension of opposites” by itself, Mitch presents it as a powerful idea. It quickly becomes apparent that if Mitch remains indifferent, he will have the choice made for him, and either way what ensues won’t be good. After a session with Morrie, Mitch looks into the subject of self-help and encounters more mundane instances of tension of opposites, only to surmise that there are no objectively correct