A child called it

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Tyler Fujiwara

September 4, 2002

Pd. 4/English

Theme connection

In life, we must all ask the question as to whether or not we have love in our lives.  It is of great importance that we analyze the way we live and determine if love is ubiquitous within us.  Throughout the stories of Tuesday’s with Morrie and A child called it, we are given a thematic concept that true happiness is only attained through the love and caring of others, as well as that of yourself.  This connecting theme from both novels is exemplified through Morrie’s teachings and relationships, Dave’s abusive and torturing home-life, and Mitch’s lessons on how to find and hone the value of love.  First, I will expand on how Morrie’s love is expressed and gained through significant life lessons and his emotional relationships with his friends and family.

Morrie Schwartz was a fun-loving old man, who in Tuesday’s with Morrie, seemed to be just 10 years old.  His love for dancing made him the jubilant character he was portrayed to be.  In the story, love seemed to be an underlying concept that was recurrent in many of his teachings to Mitch.  Morrie was one who was never ashamed of showing emotions.  The recurrent hugs and kisses that he gave to Mitch were sincere forms of gratitude, which ultimately began from his childhood, since he was deprived of sentiment.   Morrie’s past forever changed his outlook on life, as he spread his message of loving one another.  Morrie’s most important saying was, “The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others…. and creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.”  Morrie lived by this quote, as he loved to spend time walking and conversing with friends.  He also started the Greenhouse project, which gave the poor health benefits.  He gained happiness from these types of things.  The Greenhouse project is mainly a selfless-good deed that helps others with their health problems.  The act of assisting people will provide Morrie with personal fulfillment and in turn, bring about true happiness.  Through all of this, I feel the most important part about Morrie’s life was the fact that he found contentment in his life while being on the verge of death.  “I concentrate on all the good things still in my life.  On people who are coming to see me.”  This quote shows how one must learn to love themselves.  People have to sometimes be satisfied with their lives, no matter how bad it may seem.  In Morrie’s case, he is facing the ultimate distress, which is death.  However, instead of wasting away his final weeks, he makes it a celebration.  After learning how love is the center of Morrie’s life, I will contrast this idea by explaining how Dave Pelzer was left without any love whatsoever.                    

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In A child called it, we see what life is like if love is not present within our lives.  Dave was forced to live a traumatic childhood, divested of any form of love, and replaced with violence and hate.  Dave’s situation was a horrible life to deal with in the sense that he had no one for moral or emotional support.  He says, “I had no one to talk to or play with.  I felt all alone.”  He could not count on any family members or peers to get him through this ordeal.  His isolation from society was a big ...

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