Tom Griffith
Ethics English
Amy Pham
Melinda, Morrie
and the Struggle to Survive
The devastating experiences Morrie and Melinda endure change the way they view the world. In the novel, Tuesday's with Morrie, by Mitch Albom, and Speak, by Laurie Anderson, two characters go through separate, but severe experiences. These life changing events put them through terrible hardships that most people would never have to come face to face with. In their struggle to survive, Melinda and Morrie improve their lives and those of the people around them.
While Morrie fights the social norms around falling to a terrible disease, he teaches Mitch about the value of life. Instead of adhering to the cultural norm of despair and sorrow at the affects of the disease, Morrie decides to accept that he is dying, and make the best of it. He becomes an inspirational influence to anyone and everyone that interacts with him. His final goal in life is to continue his teachings for his favorite student, Mitch. Morrie gives Mitch all of his wisdom on the 'meaning of life'. Mitch comes to realize what a mistake his life has been. His entire career is filled with greed, corruption, and pointless work. As a sports writer for a Michigan newspaper, Mitch has begun to lose sight of Morrie's teachings during his stay at Brandeis University. When the two reunite, Morrie improves Mitch's life significantly by giving him a deeper appreciation of the world. Mitch sits and watches Morrie love every second he lives, while an awful disease slowly takes his life away. Morrie's appreciation for living is something that Mitch looks up to and admires. “The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in”(Albom 52). Morrie explains to Mitch that love is his superior method of communicating, and that through love you can touch anyone. With love, people can be embraced with a better understanding. Throughout the book, Mitch learns that love is the only thing he needs to be happy, and not the materialistic things he had once perceived to be 'happiness'.
