Summary

In Tuesdays With Morrie, the book shows a bond between a teacher and student that is more like the bond between a father and a son.  This story shows how a person who is focused on society and popular celebrities, can find himself and focus on his impact on society.  Even though the teacher faces death and the student is lost within his own life, they both learn from each other.  Albom learns life lessons that he will keep forever and he understands the importance of life and how you should never talk it for granted.  They talk about regrets, marriage, and the world.  These were all experiances that Morrie had to share with Mitch so he could learn from them.  Morrie showed Albom how to focus on the important things in your life.  Mitch uses these meetings to finally become closer to the ones he loves like his brother who is battling an illness as well.  Morrie watches his life fade and learns that he has to be dependent on others as well as not participate in his favorite activities like dancing and swimming.  Morrie kept on teaching as he battled the illness and Albom kept coming to his house on Tuesdays to hear his stories.  Albom shares his story with us because it shows how a life can be impacted by one very important person.  Mitch learns from Morrie's life and is taught that it is never too late to live your life.  Mitch, who was struggling in the beginning to find what was important, learns that even those who are about to die have made mistakes.  He finds what is important through stories about Morrie's life and family.  Mitch also learns about death and dying as he sees it through his old professor. 

To read or not to read......

I would definately recommend this book to AP readers.  This book is a great example of how someone can live their life and go through all kinds of good and bad, ups and downs.  This shows the bond between a teacher and a student and how they helped each other get through a difficult time in their lives.

Best Chapter or Section

I think the best section of the book would be the first parts before it actually goes into detail on the Tuesdays.  This sets up the scene of the book and makes it more interesting to read.  Readers get information about how and why the book was written as well as information on the characters in the book and how their lives were before they met for Tuesdays.  The first sections about the classroom and the student and professor really let readers feel the tone of the story and mentally prepare them for the conversations and what will eventually happen between these two people.

Tone on page 48

Mitch had walked into his professor's house, he seems happy and enthusiastic showing his love for his teacher.  He also had brought him food so he was even more excited about the meeting between the two.  Albom writes this page in a happy tone because he enjoyed his visits with his teacher.

10 Important Events

1. Morrie and Mitch meet at college graduation
2. Morrie diagnosed with ALS
3. Mitch's Uncle dies
4. Morrie can no longer swim at the YMCA without help and has stopped dancing
5. Mitch sees Morrie on television
6. Mitch goes to Morrie's house for the first time
7.Morrie talks to Mitch about life
8.Morrie is moved to his bedroom
9. Morrie Dies
10. Mitch has a conversation with Morrie in his head

1. Mitch promises to keep in touch with his favorite professor but after 16 years it hadn't happened.
2. Mitch realizes that his life will be cut short and he will not have an easy death.
3. Mitch looked up to his favorite Uncle who used to play football with him and tease him.  This was the first time he encountered true loss because of death.
4. Morrie realizes that his life is moving fast and he will not be able to do all of the things he used to.  Morrie also realizes that he is going to need to be dependent on others to help him.
5. Mitch was flipping through the television channels and noticed his professor.  This leads to the meeting between the two and the whole reason for the story.
6. Mitch went to Morrie's house and had to delay the meeting because he recieved a phone call.  This led to regret in the future about not seeing Morrie.
7. Morrie talked to Mitch about life and the fact that Albom is constantly worried about what is happening in society instead of worrying about his own life and how he impacts society.
8. Schwartz is moved into his bedroom as the final days of his life take place.  This leads to Morrie realizing that his life is almost over and he shares these days with Albom.
9.Morrie dies after battling the disease and Mitch has to face death again.  Morrie was like a father to Mitch and taught him some of the most important lessons about the world.
10.  Mitch has a conversation with Schwartz inside his head.  This shows how important Morrie was and how much he influenced his life.

Where?

In Tuesdays With Morrie, there are two important and specific places mentioned in the book.  The most important places would have to be inside Morrie Schwartz's home.  This is where all of the discussions on Tuesdays take place.  Without this setting, Mitch and Morrie might have not had such personal conversations and the story would have not been the same.  Everyone is comfortable in their own home and can easily be themselves and tune out the outside world.  In Morrie's study, there is a plant that also dies at the same time that Schwartz is battling the disease which creates a symbol within the story.  In his study, Mitch can also learn more about Morrie and the people to visit and help take care of him.  The second important place would be inside his home again, but this time, in Morrie's bedroom during the final days of his life.  In the book Morrie says, "When you're in bed, you're dead."  which only leads to the forshadowing of the fact that Schwartz did not have much time left to live.  These two places were very important to the book and the story Albom shared with the world.

VIP in Tuesdays With Morrie

There are two main characters in Mitch Albom's book, one would be the teacher Morrie Schwartz, and the other would be Mitch Albom himself.  Morrie Schwartz loved to dance and was a very active person.  He went to the YMCA to swim and was very energetic.  He was a happy person and never let anything stop him from living his life to the fullest even though he was diagnosed with ALS.  He continued to teach, inspire, and have others look up to him as a true example of a leader.  The other character would be Mitch Albom.  Albom ended up writing for the Detroit Free Press and married a girl named Janine after seven years of dating.  He wrote the book and was a former student of Mr. Schwartz.  When Morrie was diagnosed with the disease, Albom would go to his house on Tuesdays and discuss everything from life to death.  They talked about love, family, and emotions.  These discussions between these two characters impact their lives and cause them to truely be the main characters.  If it weren't for these encounters, the book would have never been written and there would be no story about Albom and Schwartz.

Why is it called Tuesdays With Morrie?

Tuesdays With Morrie recieved its title because of the name itself.  Once Albom had found out his old college professor had ALS, he spent Tuesdays with him talking about life and the events that occured in his professor's life.  This led to the title and every Tuesday had a new topic from the world, to regrets, and even culture.  These experiances led Albom to chose this title and the meaning behind it relates to the overall affect that the professor, Morrie Schwartz, had on Mitch Albom.

Mitch Albom

Throughout his life, Mitch Albom has come to be known as an author, journalist, screenwriter, playwright, radio and television broadcaster, and musician.  He was born in Passaic, New Jersey and was the middle of three children.  He is invloved with five charities and just last year, he was awarded the Red Smith Award for lifetime achievement by the Associated Press Sports Editors.  Mitch Albom began to write books after he ran into one of his old college professors who had ALS, a deadly disease that weakens your muscles and can paralyze that person, eventually leading to death.  This encounter led to his first book, Tuesdays With Morrie.

Complete Biography

"Tuesdays with Morrie"

Albom, Mitch. Tuesdays with Morrie. Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc. New York, NY.
 1997.

Why I picked Tuesdays With Morrie, by Mitch Albom.

When I looked at the list of possible book choices for AP Lang,  I immediately recognized Tuesdays With Morrie, by Mitch Albom.  My family loves his books and talk about them all of the time so I thought that I could finally figure out why they loved this book so much.  I loved the teacher to student senario as well.  I love books that I start reading and cannot put down so as soon as I read the first couple pages, I was immediately attatched to the book and wanted to read more. 

Post #2

In the National Writing project, I picked Cj Omololu's "Why I Write." I liked this writing because she writes about how she did not intend to be a writer but ended up writing children's books for her kids and that led to writing more and more.  I really liked how she wrote about high school and how she never liked writing.  It shows readers that you can develop into a better writer even if you dislike it in school.  She writes all of the time now and completely changed her idea on the concept of writing with this example: "I don't allow myself to skip a day no matter what (this includes soccer tournaments, anniversaries, and even Thanksgiving) because once you don't open your file one day, it's much easier to not open it the next day and the next." (Omololu)  I could really connect to her story and I found it interesting to read.

You can find the complete article on the link below:
http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/3679

Post #1

While reading the three texts that were assigned this week, I felt a connection with "Why I Write," by Terry Tempest Williams.  Everyone writes for different reasons and this writing shows a person's opinion.  It also shows many literary elements that go along with writing.  Even though it repeats, "I write," a lot, you can still understand the meaning behind the writing and the context the author is trying to get across to the reader.

In George Orwell's "Why I Write," I do not feel as deep of a connection because I have not shared some of the same things that have happened in his past.  Even though I did write when I was little, I never intended to pursue a career in it.  Orwell knew exactally what he wanted to do and he kept writing all throughout his life.  I understood what he wrote and thought his story was very interesting, but I did not feel as much of a connection as I had earlier with the other reading.

Lastly, in "And then I read," I could really relate it to today's world.  Many kids drop out of high school because of the economy and do not go to college.  I think all children deserve to pursue their dreams and get a chance and becoming who they want to be without money getting in the way.  I was glad when I read that he eventually got to go to college and get a higher education.  I personally like the life stories and writings about the things that people go throught and the mistakes they might have made.  They all help me grow as a person and influence my decisions about school and the future.