A key moment refers to a specific time in Morrie's childhood that had an affect on him and influenced his behavior as an adult. In addition to the aforementioned moments already stated, I would focus on these three key moments:
1) The day when Morrie's younger brother contracted polio. Morrie remembers a night when it was raining and they played in it instead of going home. Soon after, his brother contracted polio and was paralyzed. Although the rain was not the cause of his illness, Morrie was too young to know that and blamed himself for making a bad decision that hurt his brother. He carried the guilt and the burden of taking care of his poor family and his disabled brother for the rest of his life. How do you think that affected his relationships with people as an adult? Do you think he is responsible? Do you think...
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he is a caregiver?
2) The day his father showed him the horrible working conditions in the fur factory where he worked. Morrie's father was an unskilled immigrant who had to work long, hard hours in a fur factory. When Morrie was a teenager, his father tried to get him a job there. Morrie was so shocked by the working conditions at the factory that from that day on, he felt compassion for the poor. How do you think this affected his career path? Do you think he would ever have a job that depended on the labor of poor immigrants?
3) The day his father requested that Morrie never speak of his dead mother. His father made this request so that Morrie's younger brother would think that his stepmother was his biological mother. As a result, all Morrie had left of his mother was the telegram announcing her death, which he had to keep hidden. Keeping this a secret from his brother was another burden that he had to carry through his life. How do you think this affected Morrie's communication with others? Do you think he ever lied or kept secrets?
Morrie's childhood helped shape who he was as a grown adult and how he treated others. The lack of sympathy and compassion from the adults in his life led him to make the choice to become a caring adult.
Morrie lost his mother at a very young age. As we read the story, we can see that his mom was the main caregiver in his life and that she was his main source of love and comfort. When she died, Morrie lost that source of love and did not have another adult to turn to.
That leads us to Morrie's father. Morrie's father was a hard working man that cared for his family, but he did not outwardly show his emotions. One might say that Morrie's father was emotionally inept and that this could stem from the loss of his wife.
Eventually, Morrie gained a loving adult in his life when his father remarried. His stepmom helped fill the void left by his mother and is possibly the one that shaped him into the loving and nurturing adult that he later became.
If I were doing this assignment, I would focus on:
1. The death of Morrie's mother. Morrie internalizes his grief because he doesn't know how to share it with others. He is stuck in the denial stage of grieving here. Coping with her death eventually causes Morrie to become a member of a community later in life, namely a member of academia focusing on the social sciences.
2. The rejection of his father. His father would wait until Morrie was asleep before he entered the house. This disturbs Morrie, peaking his interest in psychology and counseling. More, it sparks in Morrie the need for communication and talk as therapy. His father's rejection only causes Morrie to be that much more of a caring and loving father.
3. The arrival of his stepmother. She re-instills a love of compassionate talk in the boy. She is a surrogate mother who teaches Morrie to be a reflective and caring educator. Without her, Morrie might have turned to anger and denial in the grieving process of his mother's death. Instead, he accepts her death and learns to trust another mother.