Nightline Discussion Questions

TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE SUMMARY, REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Ruben Colon
Baker College

TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE SUMMARY

The “Nightline” show arranged a second interview with Morrie Schwartz. During this dialogue, Ted Koppel asked Morrie about his fear of dying and Morrie expresses his fear of losing his ability to move his hands and talk. He described how he didn’t really care about not being able to eat. He pointed out how he has a friend who is losing his capability of hearing. Morrie goes into how he receives letters from people who have been interested in his condition. Morrie starts to speak about one particular letter. It was from a lady who lost a parent when she was an adolescent and how she attended a group, which provided therapy for people who went through the same situation. Morrie then breaks down crying during the interview and conveys how when his mother died when he was a child, he wishes he would have had a group assisted people like they did for her. The reason why he said that is
because he was so lonely when his mother died. During a flashback Morrie reveals for the second time that his mother had passed away, but instead this time he goes into detail. Morrie was only 8 years of age when he lost his mother. He was actually the one to break the news to his family. Morrie’s emotional state about his mother’s death was a tragic one. Albom reveals that during Morries mother’s sickness, Morrie pretended that his mother wasn’t actually sick, and how Morrie thought that that would make her sickness go away. In this same flashback (add a comma) we also realize that Morrie’s brother suffered from polio. In this recollection we saw how much Morrie suffered emotionally, how he had prayed frequently at a synagogue. One more occurrence in this memory about Morrie is how a step-mother comes into his life. She always made Morrie happy; she encourages him and was very diligent in how successful Morrie had to be with his grades. In this same flashback it is revealed that one day Morrie’s father takes him to work. Morrie hated it and felt like he was trapped. He vows never to work at any place that would exploit or abuse a person. Morrie and Mitch start to talk about dying. Morrie tells Mitch that if he is ready to accept death is coming, then he would be able to enjoy life more. The story goes on to describe how Morrie along with family gather to read letters from people who are inspired by him. Albom and Morrie meet again for the fifth Tuesday in which they start by discussing family and how important it is to have one. Morrie states how family will always be by your side when you need them, that they will be there to the end. In the next segment, Albom’s family is being discussed; he also described one of the reasons why he works so hard.
He feared that cancer would kill him like it did his uncle. Mitch then goes onto explains how surprised he was when his younger brother actually caught cancer. In Morrie’s eyes, his younger brother was more of a laid back person, his brother studied abroad in Europe and didn’t take it as serious as Mitch did. You could feel some sort of irony in the author’s recollection of that situation. You can see that Mitch regretted how bad he treated his brother as kids. Despite the lack of communication with his brother, Mitch and his family always tried to keep in constant contact with him. They never really received any response from him for months at a time. When Mitch would try to call his brother all he would receive would be an answering machine response that would drive Mitch deeper into his work. I feel it just made Mitch more of a
workhorse.
Reflection/Discussion Questions I feel the way Albom’s relationship with Morrie is changing is one that is actually changing their relationship with not only each other. Albom(2007) reveals “ I noticed that he quivered now when he moved his hands. His glasses hung around his neck, and when he lifted them to his eyes, they slid around his temples, as if he were trying to put them on someone else in the dark. I reached over to help guide them onto his ears. “Thank you,” Morrie whispered. He smiled when my hand brushed up against his head. The slightest human contact was immediate joy”. I believe that they are getting closer with every moment they spend together. It seems as if Abom’s point of view about life has changed in the book so far, I feel as if he now has found a reason to slow down in life, as they discuss family issues on the fifth Tuesday Albom admits (add a comma) “ Raising a family was one of those issues in my little list”. He also goes on to say, “Yet when I looked at Morrie, I wondered if I were in his shoes , about to die, and I had no family, no children, would the emptiness be unbearable?” (Albom, 2007, p.92). In my point of view I feel as if Albom’s point of view about his family and life are changing. In my response as to what I’ve read so far, is that I really like the way Morrie and Mitch are getting closer. By sharing more details about each others life and feelings, they are getting a better understanding of how they both have dealt with death in their past. I also feel as if Morrie and Mitch have a one of a kind relationship, and even though Morrie will pass away, he is going to be one of the biggest figures in Mitch’s life.

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REFERENCE

Albom, M. (2007). tuesdays with Morrie. New York, NY: Broadway Books.