Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom Thematic Discussion

29 Pages·2012·0.19 MB·English

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
Thematic Discussion Questions

Love
o What is love? How do you define it?
o Are there different kinds or types of love? If so, what are they, and
how do you differentiate between them?
o Are humans capable of loving unconditionally?

Friendship
o What are some good “rules” of friendship?
o Does age factor into a friendship? Explain why or why not.
o What elevates someone to “best friend” status?

Family
o How do you define “family”?
o What is the “perfect” family? Explain your answer.
o What is the best thing about your family? What is the worst thing
about your family?

Aging
o What is the best thing about aging? What is the worst thing about
aging?
o Why does society seem to have such a fixation on remaining young?
o Does wisdom come with age or experience? Explain your answer.
Forgiveness
o What do you believe about forgiveness?
o Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? “Forgive and
forget.” Explain your answer.
o Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? “Forgive
yourself before you die. Then forgive others.” Explain your answer.

Death
o Do you fear death or dying? Explain why or why not.
o What do you think happens when you die?
o Have you ever had to deal with death? If so, how did you handle the
situation?

Grief
o How and when do you grieve?

Acceptance
o What is acceptance?
Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
What a Character!

Literary Terms to Know
Define the following literary terms.
1. antagonist __________________________________________
2. character __________________________________________
3. characterization __________________________________________
__________________________________________
4. protagonist __________________________________________

Characters to Know
Write a brief description about each of the following characters.
1. Al Axelrad __________________________________________
2. Charlie __________________________________________
3. Charlotte __________________________________________
4. Connie __________________________________________
5. David __________________________________________
6. Eva __________________________________________
7. Janine __________________________________________
8. Lou Gehrig __________________________________________
9. Maurie Stein __________________________________________
10. Mitch Albom __________________________________________
__________________________________________
11. Morrie Schwartz __________________________________________
__________________________________________
12. Peter __________________________________________
13. Rob and Jon __________________________________________
14. Steven Hawking __________________________________________
15. Ted Koppel __________________________________________
16. Ted Turner __________________________________________

Skills Practice
Using complete sentences, respond to the following prompts. Be sure your response
contains part of the prompt.
1. Find an example of direct characterization. Write the text in the space
provided. Identify the character it describes.
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2. Find an example of indirect characterization. Write the text (or part of the
text) in the space provided. Explain how you interpret the author’s
characterization.
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_____________________________________________________________
3. Select one of the characters listed above. Identify the motivation behind
his/her actions.
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Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
The Curriculum—The Syllabus

Vocabulary
Define the following terms.
1. amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
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2. demise
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3. inexplicably
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4. sociology
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5. syllabus
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6. theology
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Study Questions
Using complete sentences, respond to the following prompts. Be sure your response
contains part of the prompt. (Note: You may be able to answer multiple parts of the
prompt in a single sentence.)
1. a) Where does Mitch Albom’s last class with Morrie Schwartz take place?
b) When do they meet, and what is the subject they study?
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_____________________________________________________________
2. Identify at least three of the topics Mitch and Morrie cover.
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3. a) Identify Morrie’s fatal illness. b) Give the date of diagnosis and the
prognosis. c) For what famous person is the disease named?
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4. a) What is the first “loss” Morrie experiences to the disease? b) How do you
think this affects him emotionally? Provide direct textual evidence to support
your answer.
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5. Identify at least two examples of the following rhetorical devices: simile,
metaphor, personification, or rhetorical question. Then, explain why the
author chose to use each example in such a manner.
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
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Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
The Student—The Orientation

Vocabulary
Define the following terms.
1. aphorisms
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2. deferment
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3. gaunt
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4. insatiable
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5. insidious
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6. narcissist
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7. philosophies
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Study Questions
Using complete sentences, respond to the following prompts. Be sure your response
contains part of the prompt. (Note: You may be able to answer multiple parts of the
prompt in a single sentence.)
1. a) How does Mitch’s life change after his uncle dies? b) Why do you think he
makes these changes?
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_____________________________________________________________
2. Describe Morrie’s physical and mental condition the first time Ted Koppel
interviews him.
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3. a) Quote one of Morrie’s aphorisms. b) Explain what you think it means.
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4. During Koppel’s interview, how does Morrie explain his philosophy about
living with a terminal illness?
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5. Compare and contrast Morrie Schwartz to Mitch Albom (the sports writer).
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Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
I Need a Change of Pace

Literary Terms to Know
Define the following literary terms.
1. flashback __________________________________________
2. pacing __________________________________________
3. periodic sentence __________________________________________
__________________________________________
4. style __________________________________________
5. syntax __________________________________________

Skills Practice
Using complete sentences, respond to the following prompts. Be sure your response
contains part of the prompt.
1. The following is an example of a periodic sentence on page fifteen.
“My favorite uncle, my mother’s brother, the man who taught me music,
taught me to drive, teased me about girls, thrown me a football—that one
adult whom I targeted as a child and said, ‘That’s who I want to be when I
grow up’—died of pancreatic cancer at the age of forty-four.”
Explain the significance of the author’s decision to use this type of sentence
at this point in the story.
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
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2. Pages fifteen and sixteen supply the reader with examples of distinctive shifts
by the author in sentence length and complexity, subsets of style. Identify
at least one of these examples by writing the text (or part of the text) in the
space provided. What purpose did the author have for adjusting his style at
this point in the story?
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
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3. Reread the two flashbacks in this section (pages fourteen through thirty-
one). Why did the author include them?
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_____________________________________________________________
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4. Identify at least one use (there are several) of an em dash (—) in this
section (pages fourteen through thirty-one). Write the text (or part of the
text) in the space provided. What purpose did the author have for including
it?
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
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