Tuesdays with Morrie

by

Mitch Albom

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Tuesdays with Morrie makes teaching easy.
Dance Symbol Icon

Morrie's love of dance is directly tied to his conception of freedom. Dance is a way for him to gain freedom from a culture he doesn't find useful, as when Mitch describes him at the Harvard Square dance nights on Wednesdays. In the group of mostly students, Morrie would dance to whatever music was playing without a care in the world for how he looked. As Morrie's health and his ability for movement decline through his battle with ALS, Mitch describes his hand movements and his thoughts in terms of dance. Dance in this way represents emotional and intellectual freedom. Morrie never loses his capacity to feel emotions or engage in intellectual inquiry, and those capacities become the way in which Morrie finds freedom when physical dance is no longer available to him.

Dance Quotes in Tuesdays with Morrie

The Tuesdays with Morrie quotes below all refer to the symbol of Dance. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Teaching and Learning Theme Icon
).
The Tenth Tuesday Quotes

As my wife's loving voice filled the room, a crescent smile appeared on his face. And while his body was stiff as a sandbag, you could almost see him dancing inside it.

Related Characters: Mitch Albom (speaker), Morrie Schwartz, Janine
Related Symbols: Dance
Page Number: 146
Explanation and Analysis:
The Thirteenth Tuesday Quotes

Then I'd go for a walk, in a garden with some trees, watch their colors, watch the birds, take in the nature that I haven't seen in so long now.
In the evening, we'd all go together to a restaurant with some great pasta, maybe some duck—I love duck—and then we'd dance the rest of the night. I'd dance with all the wonderful dance partners out there, until I was exhausted.

Related Characters: Morrie Schwartz (speaker), Mitch Albom
Related Symbols: Food, The Natural World and Morrie's Hibiscus, Dance
Page Number: 176
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Tuesdays with Morrie LitChart as a printable PDF.
Tuesdays with Morrie PDF

Dance Symbol Timeline in Tuesdays with Morrie

The timeline below shows where the symbol Dance appears in Tuesdays with Morrie. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
The Syllabus
Death Theme Icon
Culture and Religion Theme Icon
Movement and Change Theme Icon
...he knows that something bad is coming before that, when he has to give up dancing. The text moves backwards in time to describe how Morrie always loved to dance, to... (full context)
Death Theme Icon
Movement and Change Theme Icon
Love, Family, and Community Theme Icon
Morrie develops athsma in his sixties, which forces him to stop dancing. One day while on a walk along the river, he begins choking and is rushed... (full context)
Taking Attendance
Culture and Religion Theme Icon
...with new ideas, starting community service projects, and until he was confined to a wheelchair, dancing. Mitch knows that Morrie believes that finding meaning in life is accomplished by becoming part... (full context)
The Seventh Tuesday: We Talk About the Fear of Aging
Teaching and Learning Theme Icon
Death Theme Icon
Culture and Religion Theme Icon
Movement and Change Theme Icon
...people. Morrie admits he does, but mostly for the fact that they can move and dance, and he practices detachment to deal with the envy. Morrie coughs, and Mitch asks if... (full context)
The Tenth Tuesday: We Talk About Marriage
Teaching and Learning Theme Icon
Movement and Change Theme Icon
Love, Family, and Community Theme Icon
...sing. Mitch notes that despite the stiffness of Morrie’s body, he can almost see Morrie dancing inside to Janine’s song. When she finishes, Morrie is brought to tears. (full context)
The Thirteenth Tuesday: We Talk About the Perfect Day
Teaching and Learning Theme Icon
Death Theme Icon
Culture and Religion Theme Icon
Movement and Change Theme Icon
Love, Family, and Community Theme Icon
...in the evening they'd go to a restaurant with good pasta and duck, and he'd dance with everyone, and then he'd go to sleep. Mitch finds this so simple and average,... (full context)
Conclusion
Teaching and Learning Theme Icon
Death Theme Icon
Movement and Change Theme Icon
Love, Family, and Community Theme Icon
...get on a plane and visit Morrie, before Morrie gets ALS and can no longer dance. Mitch says he knows he can't do this, but if Morrie taught him anything, it's... (full context)