1). “Ted,” he said, “when all this started, I asked myself, ‘Am I going to withdraw from the world, like most people do, or am I going to live?’ I decided I'm going to live- or at least try to live- the way I want, with dignity, with courage, with humor, with composure.” (Albom)
Response: This quote is a testament to Morrie’s willingness to carry on; to continue trying. It is well-known that the mouth says what the brain tells it. So, what I take from this quote is that even though Morrie was horribly disabled by his disease and was nearing death, he still relied on himself to carry on with his life. Although physically he was weakened and had to depend on others to help him, however, he still had a much stronger heart, mind and soul. Morrie was mostly relying on these things. Although he was not the same physically and that certainly changed things, but Morrie was still himself mentally. Everybody has to die someday, but Morrie left this world with exceptional knowledge and wisdom that he had also shared with others. We all have a strong and weak side. This shows that our strong side can support our weak side and encourage it not to give up, to continue trying. These sides can coexist in balance and survive together. Eventually, our strong side should give us the strength to let go of our weak side. Thus, through this quote, Morrie indirectly ends up teaching us a lesson about internal and self-dependence.
2). “If you don't have the support and love and caring and concern that you get from a family, you don't have much at all.” (Albom)
Response: I think that this quote means that a person is bound to feel empty inside and his or her life is bound to feel incomplete without all the things that most people get from a family. This makes it apparent that it is important to have same a partner in some form or the other to share life with. For instance, parents learn to bond and love, and learn about being responsible from their children. Morrie believed that if he had been alone, if he did not have his loving wife and sons, he would have a harder time enduring his disease. It is good to have people you know will never leave and will stay with you till the very end. Morrie too had his family, who stayed with him till the very end. The only reason his two songs were not there with him during the last months of his life was because he himself insisted that they went on with their lives. Mitch later on wonders if he would be able to bear the emptiness if he were nearing death, and did not have his family and children with him. I think such an emptiness would be unbearable, not just for Mitch, but for just about anyone.
3). “It's not contagious, you know. Death is as natural as life. It’s part of the deal we make.” (Albom)
Response: Morrie states a very obvious fact in this quote, that both death and life are very natural occurrences. The cycle of life and death is never ending. With every death that occurs, another birth occurs as well. Eventually, that person who was born also reaches, yet another is born, and so this cycle keeps on going. Even animals and plants go through this continuous cycle. When Morrie says that death is “a part of the deal we make” (Albom), what he probably means is that every human being makes a deal with God when they are born. We make a deal that some day we will willingly leave this world and join Him. We make a deal that He can take our life at any time since He is the one who gave us that life. Then, perhaps death is also a gift, just as life is.
Works Cited
Albom, M. (2002). Tuesdays with morrie: An old man, a young man, and life's greatest lesson. New York: Broadway Books.
