Ryan Irwin Summer
Reading Assignment Sept. 17, 2012
Tuesdays With Morrie By: Mitch Albom
1.
1) “Morrie had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Lou
Gehrig’s disease, a brutal, unforgiving, illness of the neurological system
There was no cure.” (11)
Mitch Albom does an exceptionally
good job of creating importance in the sentence by using commas and by adding a
new paragraph. This sentence is a very important part of the book where you
learn of Morrie’s disease and it becomes even more emotionally effective by the
effective writing portrayed. The way that he puts a comma after each fact about
ALS puts importance on each point, and it makes you think about the problems
Morrie is going to endure. The way he introduces the most dreadful fact that
there is no cure, is effective writing because he adds the extra space for
suspense.
2) “Instead, He would make death his final project, the
center point of his days.” (14)
In this
quotation Mitch Albom states a very interesting point of how Morrie is not
afraid of death, but that it is a ‘final project’ for him. This is a very
interesting way of viewing death because normally it is seen as dark, and
depressing but here it is portrayed very optimistically. The idea of how Morrie
will see death as his final project and that he will make it the center point
of his days can alter the readers emotions on death. This makes the reader
think about the topic and contrast the view the reader has on the subject, with
the view in the book.
3) “The first wave says,
"You don't understand! We're all going to crash! All of us waves are going
to be nothing! Isn't it terrible?"
The second wave says,
"No, you don't understand. You're not a wave, you're part of the
ocean."” (163)
This quotation shows a very simplistic way of the meaning
of life. This quote is very powerful and can alter the reader’s emotions on the
topic of dying. Mitch Albom writes a very interesting philosophical way of
viewing death as if it is like a wave crashing and that it is not a big deal.
It is a very powerful comparison because it says that we have been getting
closer and closer to death each day, but it doesn’t matter, because we are all
just part of the world, and this is the way it was meant to be.
2. Morrie was a very wise
old man that had Lou Gehrig’s disease, a terminal illness in the neurological
system. He was a professor of sociology at Brandeis University and people would
go to him for advice. He had a very tough childhood and when he was is diagnosed,
he began to think of some philosophical questions; “Shouldn’t the world stop?
Don’t they know what has happened to me? Now what?” (12). He decided that he
would not die the way most people do; “He would make death his final
project, the center point of his days” (14). Morrie was inspiring to other
people and he did not want to give up on life once he learned he was dying; “He
would not wither. He would not be ashamed of dying” (12). Morrie’s advice to
other people was very deep and full of wisdom; “The truth is . . . once you learn how to die, you learn how to
live” (76). Everybody loved Morrie and it grieved his loved ones deeply when he
died.
3.
Dear Mitch Albom, Monday,
September 17, 2012
Your book Tuesdays With Morrie was very interesting.
I really liked the wisdom and advice from Morrie and the book was very well
written. It was a very emotional book and some parts left me astonished.
Morrie’s power with words is amazing and it can change your opinions and view
instantly. It amazes me how he would have come up with this advice. I guess
when you come around to dying you really do break things down and focus on the
important things in life. My favourite part of the book was the story about the
waves and how they are not waves, but they are only part of the ocean. This gave
me a very comforting view on death and that death is meant to be for us all.
Morrie sounded like an amazing man, and it was sad to read of his death. Thank
you for the amazing book, and thank you Morrie for the wisdom.
Sincerely,
Ryan Irwin
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