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
Mitchfinds that he enjoys his visits with Morrie, and begins to take some of Morrie's wisdom to heart. Mitch stops carrying a cell phone around with him and doesn't work in the car to and from the airport. The strike in Detroit is getting worse and becoming physically violent as both sides dig in. Mitch enjoys the kindness he experiences at Morrie's.
Mitch is finally making changes to his culture and way of living. His former newspaper work culture has become toxic, which makes the sense of community he experiences with Morrie seem even more positive in comparison.
Themes
Mitch arrives at Morrie's house with bags of foodafter stopping on his drive from the airport at a market that Morrie likes. Morrie is becoming more and more confined to his chair in his office, and now has a bell to ring when he needs help. His body is supported by various foam blocks and pillows.
The gift of food is a small way for Mitch to actively participate in Morrie's community, especially as Morrie becomes more and more dependent on others to go through his day.
Themes
When asked about it,Morrie tells Mitch that he does feel sorry for himself, but he only allows himself a few minutes in the morning to mourn before he turns to remember all the good in his life and all the people who are still coming to visit. Mitch muses about how useful that strategy could be for the many people who spend their days feeling sorry for themselves. Morrie says that although the disease is doing horrible things to his body, he is lucky because he gets lots of time to say goodbye to people.
Mitch is willing to voice the value of Morrie's outlook by applying it to other people, although not yet fully to himself. Morrie further denotes his priorities and selflessness with his comment about getting time to say goodbye in exchange for losing control of his body—he valuesrelationships, and thus others, over himself.
Themes
When Morrie takes a break to use the bathroom, Mitch picks up a newspaper and reads articles detailing several horrific deaths. When Morrie returns, Mitch offers to lift him back into his recliner. As he lifts his professor, Mitch sees that the disease has turned Morrie’s body into dead weight, and that realization shocks Mitch.
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In 1978, Mitch is taking a course with Morrie, which Mitchdeems "the touchy-feely course." Mitch recounts a trust fall exercise during the class. All of the students struggle with it, until one girl closes her eyes and truly allows herself to fall. Her partner catches her at the last minute. Morrie steps in to translate what just occurred, and tells the class that by closing her eyes, she was able to believe what she felt rather than what she saw, therefore fully trusting her partner to catch her. He adds that trust, to be real, has to be there even in the dark, while falling.
The idea of complete, blind trust will come up repeatedly.Introducing it in this way, in a controlled classroom setting,allows us to see Mitch's ambivalence and Morrie's wholehearted belief in blind trust.This also further develops the comparison between Mitch as closed and cautious and Morrie as open, trusting, and loving.
Themes
