Thursday, April 5, 2012

Question 11

There was only one shortcoming of this book: it's length. I wish the book was longer because I really enjoyed it. I'm not sure how the author could have made the book longer, maybe add more details about Mitch Albom and Morrie's college experiences. To add to the length of this book the author could have described more events that happened in Morrie's life that shaped him.

Question 10

Morrie's perspective on life is praiseworthy. His viewpoints on life challenge yours and make you think-they made me think differently. I think that the messages you get from this book are praiseworthy.

Question 9

The theme of this book is life. Living your life for you. Morrie talks about acceptance through detachment, love, the media, and self created values. Morrie believes detachment is to accept stressful situations by removing yourself from stressful situations. By doing this you gain a different perspective of what's going on. Love. Love is aspect of life, more so, a state of mind. Throughout the book Morrie would reference this quote "love each or die". He believes that people need to feel fulfilled. "You can't substitute material things for love", pg. 125. This means that nothing can take the place of love. The media tries to dedicate what people want and who they become. The media influence's people. This is when people should steer away from the media, and do what they want and what is the best for them. Self created values come from staying away from the media. The media tries to make people believe certain things are what they're 'looking for' like a new car, etc. Self created values satisfy people's need to feel fulfilled.

Question 8

The last book I read was "Team of Rivals", by Doris Kearns Goodwin. This was a biography about Abraham Lincoln and his quest to become the president. It was a fantastic book, as was "Tuesdays with Morrie", by Mitch Albom. These books are both similar because you become familiar with the main character, and the main characters' are real. You learn more from "Tuesdays with Morrie", because you can apply some of Morrie's teachings with Albom to everyday life. You can incorporate Morrie's perspective on life into yours-it will make you think differently. They are both equally good books. "Team of Rivals", is a lot longer than the other book. For a simple read someone should read "Tuesdays with Morrie".

Question 7

Three major incidents that happened in the book are: when Mitch Albom sees the interview of Morrie with Ted Kroppel, when Morrie talks about Albom's little brother, and when Morrie dies. One night Albom was flipping through tv channels and he saw an interview of Morrie. This interview made Albom get back in touch with Morrie. If he didn't see this, the book would've never happened. After a few Tuesdays, they talked about family. Morrie brought up Albom's little brother-which he hadn't talked to for quite some time because his little brother didn't want to feel pitied because he had cancer. So, Albom didn't try to talk to his brother. After this Tuesday, though, he started talking to his brother again because of Morrie. Without Morrie, Albom and his brother could not have started talking again. When Morrie dies this concludes the book. It was expected but not wanted. By the end of the book Albom's views on life change because of Morrie.

Question 6

The most important element is the dialogue. Everything else isn't as important because it doesn't stand out. The majority of this book takes place in Morrie's house, so nothing unorthodox happens. The dialogue determines the mood, if Morrie and Mitch Albom are talking about death or Morrie's crippling disease the mood will be sad. Some of the events also contribute to the mood-but not as much as the dialogue aspect of the book. Some events that depict Morrie's loss of independence is shown in different events; when he has other people position his head for him because he is too weak.

Question 5

The 'prevailing' mood is somber. The mood changes throughout the book, though. At times it is lighthearted and positive reflecting Morrie's personality. The prevailing mood is somber or solemn because we know from the very first page Morrie is going to die. Which this is not positive-but Morrie makes light of his foretold death, and the memories that Morrie and Mitch Albom shared contribute to a more positive mood.