Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Tuesdays with Morrie, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Teaching and Learning
Death
Culture and Religion
Movement and Change
Love, Family, and Community
Summary
Analysis
On Friday, Koppel and his crew return to Morrie’s house for a final Nightline interview. Prior to the interview, Koppel called Morrie several times to make sure Morrie could handle the interview, and said that if Morrie didn’t want to do the interview, he’d come and say goodbye anyway. This makes Morrie very happy, and Mitch as the narrator remarks that Morrie coaxed compassion out of the television industry.
Koppel has seemingly completed a similar transformation to Mitch. He's become more compassionate with Morrie, and although there's still the implication that he's using Morrie for drama, it's obvious that Koppel has also developed a deeper relationship with and a great deal of respect for Morrie.
Themes
The interview takes place in Morrie’s study, where Morrie is now confined to his chair. Koppel squeezes in alongside the bookcase and kisses Morrie before he sits down. Before the camera starts, Koppel asks Morrie how bad the disease has gotten. Morrie weakly lifts his hand in answer.
The kiss further supports how much Koppel has changed for the better. We see just how bad Morrie's mobility has gotten—he can no longer comfortably sit in the living room, and he can barely lift his hands.
Themes
As the cameras roll, Koppel asks Morrie if he’s more afraid now. Morrie isn’t, he says—he’s less afraid, and is taking more time now to listen to music and look out his office window and is reading the newspaper less. Koppel and Morrie discuss Stephen Hawking, who suffers from ALS and speaks through a computer synthesizer. Morrie says he finds this admirable, but tells Koppel that when he can no longer be responsive to other people, he’ll know it’s time to say goodbye. Near the end of the interview, Koppel asks if Morrie had anything to say to his millions of viewers. Morrie says to be compassionate and take responsibility for each other. He adds his favorite quote, “love each other or die.”
Morrie succinctly ties together the tenets of his personal philosophy for the final interview. The way he views Stephen Hawking underscores just how important being able to respond and relate to others without mechanical assistance is to him. It shows just how much he relies on movement to communicate, both in terms of body language and simply the movement required to truly speak. Morrie's final quoting of Auden emphasizes just how important this idea is to Morrie.
Themes
The interview has officially ended, but the camera is still rolling. Koppel tells Morrie he did a good job, and Morrie replies that the disease will get his body but not his spirit. Looking up to the ceiling, Morrie says that he’s bargaining with God, askingif he gets to be one of the angels. It’s the first time that Morrie admits talking to God.
As Morrie draws closer to death, religion is becoming more important to him as a way of dealing with his fate.
Themes
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