Tuesdays with Morrie Study Guide – Flashcards
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What did Mitch dream of becoming after college?
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A famous musician (pianist).
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What serious experience changes Mitch's plans for the future and his career?
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His uncle's death from pancreatic cancer.
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What is the audiovisual?
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Ted Koppel's piece on Morrie for Nightline.
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Why does Morrie interview Ted Koppel before agreeing to do the Nightline segment?
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He thought Ted might be too stuck-up.
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When Mitch arrives at Morrie's home for the first time, why doesn't he run to his old professor? Why does he tend to his work?
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Mitch has gotten caught up in the business of life, trying to move his career forward and to make more money. His job is now more important to him than the people in his life.
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What does Morrie mean when he explains that people are more interested in him now that he is dying? Morrie says people want him to tell them what to pack.
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Morrie is slowly dying, so people want to know what dying is like because they are afraid of the unknown.
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How was Mitch swallowed up by the fast pace of society?
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He lost sight of what was important in life and decided to work instead.
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Why do you think Morrie's nickname was Coach?
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Mitch used to call his track coach Coach. Since he likes sports, his track coach was probably his favorite high school teacher, and Morrie became his favorite college teacher. Morrie was his coach in the greatest game - the game of life (thanks Thimme).
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Why does Mitch think about Morrie whenever he thinks of things that are silly and mindless?
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Many people waste their lives on things that do not actually matter to them, while Morrie does not have much time left, so he is using all of the time he has left to the best of his ability, "squeezing out every moment with his loved ones."
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Why does Mitch envy Morrie, a man who is dying?
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He envies the quality of Morrie's limited time, because Morrie is spending the last days of his life surrounded by love, ignoring all of the distractions with which most people get caught up.
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What does Morrie say he gets to be again?
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A baby.
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What day will they meet? Why is this special?
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Tuesday - Most of Mitch's courses with Morrie had been on Tuesday, he had office hours on Tuesday, and he had worked with him on his senior thesis on Tuesdays.
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Explain Morrie's quote "The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in."
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Morrie thinks that a lot of people think they do not deserve love and therefore refuse to give love or to let themselves be loved. Morrie knows that love brings happiness, so he wants people to be more loving to others so others will be more loving to them.
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Who do you think got more out of their Tuesday meetings, Mitch or Morrie? In what ways? How do you think each would answer this question?
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Mitch got more out of the meetings because they taught him how to live his life from then on, while Morrie was dying and was just enjoying helping a friend and having company in his last days. I think both of them would agree that Mitch got more out of the meetings because he learned how to live, when Morrie already knew how to live.
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Explain: "If you accept that you are going to die at any time, then you might not be as ambitious as you are."
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When people are ambitious, they put their work before their family. They think that if they achieve their dreams, then they will have time for their families later. But if they realize that they could die at any time, then they put their families first.
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Why does Morrie appreciate something as small as a window?
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Morrie can no longer go outside whenever he feels like it. Because of this, when he can look out the window, he notices changes in nature that take place outside his window that he would not have noticed if he could just go outside. Morrie appreciates the window more now because it is the only way he can look outside.
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What does it mean to "love each other or perish?"
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Love gives meaning to our lives. When we do not love others, this leads to war and destruction, in which we perish.
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What does Morrie say about emotions?
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When you feel an emotion, do not hold back. Allow yourself to "dive in" and completely experience that emotion. Then, once you know what it is like to feel that emotion, detach yourself from it and go on. Then, when you feel that emotion again, you will know what it is.
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In the assigned reading we learn about Morrie's time working at a mental hospital. What lessons did he learn from this experience? How did they influence his advice to Mitch?
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He learned that humans need affection and compassion and that money does not buy happiness. His experiences influence Mitch because through his lessons, he told him that money did not matter; Mitch should be striving to spend time with the people in his life.
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Morrie said "The truth is part of me is every age." What does he mean by that?
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He means that since he has experienced almost every age, he can relate to all the ages he has been. He also still has interests and likes from each age, so if he wanted he could act like a five-year-old all day.
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What happened to Morrie's father?
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Charlie Schwartz went on a walk after dinner on evening and was accosted by two robbers a few blocks from home. After one of them pulled a gun on him, he threw down his wallet, and ran to a relative's house. He collapsed on the porch and died of a heart attack. Morrie had to identify his body at the morgue and vowed not to die in the same way so none of his family members would be forced to go through the same thing.
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Why does Morrie work on creating his own culture? Give some ideas for Morrie's own culture.
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Morrie thinks that the current culture forces people to become mean and think only about themselves and money. He doesn't mean you should disregard every rule of your community. He obeys the little things, such as wearing clothes and not running red lights, but he thinks that people have to determine the big things, such as how we think and what we value, for themselves. Morrie creates his own culture instead of going somewhere else because every society has its own problems.
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Morrie's last words spoken directly to the camera were, "Love each other or die." Is this what you would expect him to say for his final words to the nation?
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Yes because all along he has been pushing for more love in the world and for people to spend more time with other people and less time caught up in material things and work.
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How does Mitch's use of flashbacks and other literary devices add to the meaning of the story?
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They show how Morrie had been working to change Mitch and make him a more open person the entire time they had known each other, and how Mitch had gotten caught up in work and left some of what Morrie taught him behind. They added depth to the story and let the readers know how impactful Morrie had been on Mitch's life.
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Does this book make Morrie's death a public event? If so, how is it similar to other public deaths we've experienced as a society? How is it different?
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I think the interview makes it more public, but still yeah. It is similar to others because we are informed that a person we don't personally know died. It is different because we know Morrie better than we know other people through the book, so we are more sad when he dies.
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What compliment does Morrie give Mitch at the end of the 12th Tuesday?
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"If I could have had another son, I would have liked it to be you."
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Why does Morrie tell Mitch that "death ends a life, not a relationship?"
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Morrie tells Mitch this to help him cope with his impending death, but he also says this so that after he dies, Mitch will feel like he can continue the relationship by visiting his grave and such.
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Why do you think Morrie's imagined las 24 hours would be an average day?
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The things that are important to Morrie are his family and friends, so he would want to spend his last day with them no matter what. He wants to be able to do normal things like walking outside and dancing because he hasn't been able to move for the last 6 months.
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How do Mitch and Morrie finally say goodbye?
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Mitch kisses Morrie and holds his face next to his longer than normal. He tells Morrie he will be back next Tuesday, even though they both know that is probably not the case. Morrie is satisfied because he has finally made Mitch cry.
