Key Facts
full title ·
Tuesdays With Morrie: An Old Man, A young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson
author · Mitch Albom
type of work · non-fiction
genre · Autobiographical documentary
language · English
time and place written · Detroit, Michigan, mid-1990's
date of first publication · 1997
publisher · Doubleday
narrator · Mitch Albom
point of view · The narrator speaks in the first person for the majority of the novel, with the exception of a few passages in which he had not been present. With the exception of these passages, the narrator provides a subjective view of all other characters introduced.
tone · Mitch's narration uses very basic language, as most of the book is composed of dialogue between him and Morrie, word-for word conversations he has transcribed after having tape recorded them prior to Morrie's death. Mitch's attitude towards Morrie is nothing less than sweet and adoring.
tense · Frequently shifts in tense from present to past; description of past events is relayed through a series of flash backs interspersed throughout present tense narrations.
setting (time) · Early-mid 1990#213;s
setting (place) · West Newton, Massachusetts
protagonist · Mitch Albom (and/or Morrie Schwartz)
major conflict · Morrie grapples to accept his impending death from ALS and is visited each Tuesday by his former star student, Mitch, who has become disillusioned by the popular culture.
rising action · Mitch grows increasingly unhappy with his occupation as a journalist and sees Morrie featured on "Nightline" one night as he is watching television.
climax · Morrie is visited by Mitch for what will be the last time, and finally, after years of trying, gets Mitch to cry openly.
falling action · Mitch attends Morrie's funeral and conducts a conversation with him in his head as he had promised he would, even after his death.
themes · The rejection of popular cultural mores in favor of self-created values; Love or perish; Acceptance through detachment
motifs · Food; Reincarnation and renewal; The media
symbols · Pink hibiscus plant; Morrie's bed; Waves on the ocean
foreshadowing · One of Morrie's last aphorisms is, "When you're in bed, you're dead." On what will be his last visit to with Morrie, Mitch knows that death is fast- approaching, as Morrie has, after a long battle with ALS, moved from his study to the confines of his bed. Days later, Morrie dies in his bed.
