Tuesdays with Morrie is a short narrative dealing with the last few months of an amazing man’s life, Morrie Schwartz. Mitch Ablom, the author, has written this novel documenting his experience of spending every Tuesday, during his last few months, with Morrie.
It is a sad yet inspiring chronicle concerning the great relationship built between the two men, Morrie Schwartz and Mitchell Ablom. From the beginning, as the novel opens, Mitch Ablom writes as if he were speaking to the reader. By using this first person point of view, Ablom is able to connect, and communicate, easily with any that picks up this book. In addition, Ablom is also able to become close and almost personal with the reader. With this type of narrative, where one is documenting an entire day spent with another, it is necessary for the author to write in this fashion in order to convey his message clearly. Ablom does not, however, write the entire novel in first person.
In instances where Ablom is describing the memories of Morrie, he uses a third person point of view in which Morrie engages in a dialogue. Using the first person point of view, and toggling back and forth with a third person point of view, Ablom’s style is effective in presenting his thoughts and ideas. As Ablom is “talking” to his reader, he also displays his thoughts. Many of these thoughts set the tone of the novel by providing an image of exactly what he is thinking. “It cracks me up.
The whole time I know him, I have two overwhelming desires: to hug him and to give him a napkin. (p. 31)” Without these thoughts shown to the reader, one cannot understand how much love Mitch Ablom has for his teacher, Morrie. The relationship between the two is an everlasting one that will last forever. The entire narrative is in a very quick pace.
Many different things contribute to this. First of all, being the obvious, the plot and story of this novel is engrossing and absorbing. Secondly, the structure and way in which the book was written contributes to its fast pace. The novel is broken up into short chapters. A novel that contains short chapters always seems to move in a quick tempo. However, although there are many chapters, there are no breaks in which the reader can get lost in.
The novel is extremely fluid and continuous. In addition to the short chapters, there are many flashbacks written among chapters concerning the time Ablom was in college and Morrie was his professor. “By the start of my senior year, I have taken so many sociology classes, I am only a few credits shy of a degree. Morrie suggests I try an honors thesis. (p. 67)” However, not all the flashbacks deal with the time Mitch was in college.
Others deal with issues such as childhood experiences or even philosophical viewpoints. Ablom does not leave out a single grain of detail. Everyday spent with Morrie is described in great detail. Every trip Ablom takes is described in great detail. Every memory Morrie has to share is described in detail.
Since Ablom is a reporter and columnist, many references are made to his career in this novel. When Ablom is making a trip to a sporting event, he describes the area to a point where the reader can visualize it too. Also, specific names are used to name news anchors, programs, and events. In addition, the graphic detail of Morrie’s ailment was described thoroughly and was often difficult to read. However, the novel is not written so the story is drowned in detail. Only enough is added so the reader can clearly imagine the event being described or memory being illustrated.
Although many philosophical points and scholarly issues have been touched in Tuesdays with Morrie, the novel did not use excessive amounts of pedantic vocabulary or jargon. Instead, since much of the novel was conversation, the vocabulary was not difficult to follow. This adds to the quick pace and can actually make the novel more interesting to read. The tone of this entire novel is sad and melancholy. Since this novel deals with the last months of Morrie .
