Life's Greatest Lesson
Morrie Schwartz was an intelligent, interesting senior citizen that touched a lot of people, especially Mitch Albom. Morrie passed on a lot of his knowledge in the last few months of his life, due to amyotrophic lareral sclerosis (ALS). This paper will touch on Morrie's philosophy of life, what he says is important and valuable, and also the struggles and problems of life. I will also compare Morrie's message with other philosophies and also give my opinion about Morrie's theory of human nature and philosophy of life. Morrie's philosophy of life is full of many ideas and to better understand it it's easier to break it down into parts. One of the philosophies was to cherish family and to be more open about your emotions so that you will not regret it when you or a loved one dies. Another one of Morrie's philosophies is to be open to forgiveness the following quote shows how Morrie regrets not forgiving one of his closest friends. " Over the years, I met Norman a few times and he always tried to reconcile, but I didn't accept it. I wasn't satisfied with his explanation. I was prideful. Mitch...a few years ago...he died of cancer. I never got to forgive him" (Albom p. 166). That quote showed how Morrie deeply regrets not forgiving his friend, for something he should have, and how not forgiving him will bother him for the rest of his life. Another part of Morrie's philosophy has to do with culture. The following quote shows how strongly he felt about the way American people should live. "You start making money a god. It is all part of this culture.....The little things I can obey. But the big things- how we think, what we value- those you must choose yourself. You can't let anyone or any society determine ...
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...Morrie would want to help this person, he would want to answer their questions and help them find their answers. He would agree with their need to find their answer and that they always want more, always get the most out of life. To summarize this paper I agree with Morrie and his view of human nature and his philosophy of life. I think you should always value family and friends more than material things. You should also live life to the it's fullest and share your thoughts with others because you never know when you or the other person might not be around anymore. As for adding anything to Morrie's ideas, I don't think I would. Morrie's philosophy would be a good one to live by and the main point to remember would be you never know when the person you care about will be gone. So tell them how you feel about them and share your knowledge with everyone that you can.
Morrie talks about Erikson’s identity against the stage of role confusion of psychosocial development. The book is a result of partially an endeavor to compensate for the guilt of failing to live up to the perceived responsibility or duty towards families and friends and partially an attempt to look for identity within the ambitious and competitive self. Morrie, the main character is living his last days with integrity. He is dealing with his own anticipated death. Having dealt with his uncle’s death, and near-death of his separated brother because of cancer, Mitch utilizes every opportunity to speak to Morrie concerning life’s
Morrie Schwartz, the little old man who fought against ALS, is a heroic person. Showing affection towards others, being an average human being, and fighting for his life against a withering body shows the hero in Morrie. No matter the situation or personal problems, Morrie loved everything that could be loved. He was your normal, everyday man who was seen more spectacular in other’s eyes. Morrie “learned to detach”(page 103) and except his decease, but did not let the death consume his caring nature. Morrie lived a successful life, and was considered a heroic figure until the very
The concept questions if a set of values and beliefs influences the way live or how a collective meaning shapes our social behavior (123, T.S.P 2.0). For example, Morrie tells us it does by explaining his situation of not being able walk, not being able to wipe his behind, and some nights not being able to fall asleep without crying; these things are supposed to seem embarrassing, but his value to accept he is dying and value the life he has now leads him to not be embarrassed. Morrie really made me realize that we don’t have to follow everything society tells us to and that we are our own people and we should do what makes us happy. Additionally, culture as a form of communication was another important concept to Morrie because all he had to give was his insight and his love to teach and communicate with his students. That was the main reason Mitch recorder their conversations because Morrie was willing to give us the experience of death while also showing us how to live. Even though Morrie was dieing on the inside, he was living more then the rest of us. We go day-by-day lost in society following the norms and rules that we see as set for us, while Morrie is living to the end making sure nothing holds him back. Morrie was a gift to us, to truly and honestly give us life’s greatest
Mitch spends every Tuesday with Morrie not knowing when it might be his dear sociology professor’s last. One line of Morrie’s: “People walk around with a meaningless life…This is because they are doing things wrong” (53) pretty much encapsulates the life lessons from Morrie, Mitch describes in his novel, Tuesdays With Morrie. Morrie Schwartz, a beloved sociology professor at Brandeis University, was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), which most people would take as a death sentence. Morrie viewed it differently; he saw it more as an opportunity. This is because he does not follow the so-called “rules” of society. These rules come from the sociological concept of symbolic interaction, the theory that states that an individual’s
With the threatening reality of Morrie’s illness looming overhead, Mitch must learn from him just how necessary it is to live life to the fullest. Mitch was living an empty life, a life lacking fulfillment and love. Morrie explained this in a quote “So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they are busy doing things they think are important. This is because they're chasing the wrong things.” He also explained, “The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.” Morrie helps Mitch lead a life consisting of love and happiness rather then material possessions. Morrie taught Mitch to live with the key ingredients of happiness and gave him understanding about what those ingredients are, and how to make them apart of his life.
In the novel A Lesson Before Dying, Grant and Jefferson are black men in the era of a racist society; but they have struggles with a greater dilemma, obligation and commitment. They have obligations to their families and to the town they are part of. They lived in a town were everybody knew everybody else and took care of each other. "Living and teaching on a plantation, you got to know the occupants of every house, and you knew who was home and who was not.... I could look at the smoke rising from each chimney or I could look at the rusted tin roof of each house, and I could tell the lives that went on in each one of them." [pp. 37-38] Just by Grant’s words you can tell that that is a community that is very devoted to each other.
One of the quotes, “learn how to die and you learn to live”, is when Morrie realizes near the end of his life that his perspective of the world changed as his window in life grew smaller (Albom, 1997, p. 82). His view of life transformed into appreciating simple interactions with the people he loved and cherishing the moments of leaving behind a legacy when he accepted death. To me, this quote means to revel in the moment, treasure the present, live memorably, appreciate the people who mean the most to you, and to live life to the fullest. Another quote, “aging is not decay but growth”, is what Morrie was finally able to translate in the final chapters of his life (Albom, 1997, p. 118). Morrie felt a sense of fulfillment of his years in life and savors the time he has remaining as death looms closer. He feels that growing old is not tied in with a negative context of falling apart physically, but about the positive aspects of growing emotionally and spiritually. From my perspective, this quote signifies that the person you are at the end of life is an accumulation of all the years compressed together, continuing to flourish with the knowledge of life’s experiences. Only with personal experiences come wisdom and
Life is short and it is up to you to make the most out of it. The most important lesson that everyone should follow and apply to everyday life is “never give up”. In the novel, “A Lesson Before Dying” by Ernest J. Gaines, the important lesson can be shown in the characters Jefferson, Miss Emma and Grant Wiggins.
This paragraph has Morrie teaching on how to accept death and how it’s as important as living. Morrie is afraid of his inevitable death but he knows he has to accept it because it will come and there is also something about death that makes Morrie feel bad for other people like the when he is watching the news and sees people that are across
“Love each other or perish”. This quote sums up all of Morrie’s views and beliefs on the topic of marriage and love. This statement says a lot and I feel that young adults can learn a very big lesson from this short quote. Love and marriage are very important because we all need someone to love and to love back, if we don’t we are going to live a very lonely and unhappy life. There is a set of “rules” that Morrie stated in this book that I feel young adults could learn a lot from.
The student, Mitch Albom, (also the author) decides to fulfill the promise he had made to Morrie after graduation, of keeping in contact. He catches a flight to Massachusetts on a Tuesday and does this for the next several Tuesdays till the death of Morrie. On those Tuesdays, classes were being held, not in the all too familiar classrooms of the college, but in the intimate setting of Morrie’s home. They would write their final thesis paper on “The Meaning of Life.” The paper was to include but not be limited to the following topics: Death, Fear, Aging, Greed, Marriage, Family, Society, Forgiveness, and A Meaningful Life. Every Tuesday when Mitch would arrive he could see the brutal deterring of Morrie’s small disease infested body. Yet the spirit of this small dying man was bigger than life itself. This confused Mitch, but as the story progresses Mitch begins to comprehend why this man with only months to live is still so filled with life.
Since I was young until now, I have learned a lot of life’s lessons. And some I go by, and some I use once and then get rid of them. But there are ones that I keep for a short time, and keep for a long time, because you never know when they will come in handy.
Morrie’s messages about life in this book were not solely directed fro Mitch; they are meant for anyone who is willing to take the time to listen. For me, there is not only one thing I learned from Morrie. I learned that I should not take life for granted because you never know when it will be over. Even though I have heard it many times I never really believed that what the media says is not necessarily true, until I read this book. Finally, I learned that love and compassion, not only for others, but also for oneself are essential in living a happy life. It does not matter if someone is rich, or if they are poor for that matter. The truth is that as long as you lived your life as best you could, you learned from your mistakes, and you are happy with yourself, then you lead a fulfilling life.
Tuesdays With Morrie is a heart-touching story of a retired Brandeis University sociology professor, Morrie Schwartz, teaching some of life’s greatest lessons to a former student, Mitch Albom, the author. Mitch, on his graduation from Brandeis University had promised to keep in touch with his favorite professor, Morrie Schwartz. But he never did until Morrie was dying. Morrie was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS); a severe debilitating disease which had no medication indicated for its management at the time. Mitch’s reconnection with Morrie after sixteen years of lost contact gave Morrie an opportunity to teach on “the meaning of life” from personal experience. They met every Tuesday at Morrie’s home for fourteen weeks and discussed several subjects such as forgiveness, family, emotions, marriage, money, fear of aging, death and so on. These messages will go on to affect Mitch and many others including mine.
It took roughly twenty seconds to walk from the house across the street, two to unlock the door, and another eight to turn the lights on and walk to my parent’s bedroom in our microscopic home. Therefore, we know it takes about thirty seconds for your whole life to change; to see things that cannot be unseen and to learn things that take years of waking up in cold sweats before finding any relief. No, this is not a story of my repeated childhood trauma nor of the damage it dealt - my biggest lesson in life came in the aftermath. My mom taught me how to sweep it under the rug.