illustration of author Mitch Albom sitting next to Morrie Schwartz, who is lying in a bed

Tuesdays With Morrie

by Mitch Albom

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Discussion Topic

Fears and dreads in "Tuesdays With Morrie"

Summary:

In "Tuesdays with Morrie," Morrie Schwartz discusses various fears and dreads, including the fear of aging, death, and not having lived a meaningful life. He emphasizes the importance of embracing these fears to find peace and fulfillment. Morrie teaches that confronting and accepting these fears can lead to a more enriched and purposeful life.

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What is Mitch's fear in Tuesdays With Morrie?

Morrie and Mitch discuss many fears during their weekly conversations: the fear of aging, the fear of loneliness, the fear of death. Yet as Morrie's death becomes increasingly imminent, Mitch reveals his own greatest fear: the fear of saying goodbye.

Morrie has been an incredible mentor to Mitch and many others. Mitch has invested an enormous amount of time into visiting his former professor and recording his lessons about life. He cannot imagine the point when their conversations will cease and the world will continue on without Morrie in it. On the fourteenth Tuesday, Mitch learns that Morrie has little time left. ALS has ravaged Morrie's body, and he can barely form words. As usual, Mitch brings his tape recorder into the room with him, yet suddenly he realizes that all of his tapes and recordings will not actually save Morrie. Instead, he must face his fear of having to...

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say goodbye.

Mitch says goodbye through meaningful gestures that are important to Morrie; he holds his hand, kisses him, and tells Morrie that he loves him. Morrie cries, and Mitch blinks back tears; Morrie is visibly surprised because Mitch is a rather stoic person, and he likely feels some satisfaction in contributing to Mitch's particularly emotional response, finally getting his pupil to open up fully.

However, Morrie isn't gone from the world forever; his wisdom lives on because of Mitch's work. Morrie's compassion and kindness continue to influence others, and he continues to gift the world with an incredible perspective on the importance of finding a meaningful purpose in life.

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What does Morrie dread the most in "Tuesdays With Morrie"?

When Morrie is interviewed by Ted Koppel, he is vulnerable and honest about his growing dependency on other people. He can no longer eat or move around his home independently and needs assistance to accomplish seemingly simple tasks. Koppel then asks Morrie what he dreads most about the ravaging effects that ALS is taking on his body.

Morrie pauses; he isn't sure if he can be quite this honest on national television. Koppel assures him that it is okay to say whatever he needs to say.

Morrie looks into the eyes of one of America's most well-known interviewers and admits that the thing he dreads most is that someday soon "someone's gonna have to wipe [his] ass."

Later when Mitch visits Morrie, he explains that not being able to cleanse himself after using the restroom is the "ultimate sign of dependency." He confesses to Mitch that although he still isn't looking forward to that transition, he is trying to learn to enjoy even that part of his life. After all, it is our culture which tells us to be ashamed of having to be dependent on people; since Morrie has ignored cultural standards for most of his life, he doesn't plan to change when he is dying. In the end, he refuses to be ashamed.

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