Book report--Tuesdays with Morrie

Book Report

Class & Number: 1817

Name: Jiwon Lee
Title: Tuesdays with Morrie
Author: Mitch Albom
Publisher & Year: Anchor books, 1997
Vocabularies

Slant: to slope or to make something slope in a particular direction or at particular angle
Withering: Look or remark is very critical, and is intended to make someone feel ashamed or stupid
Succumb: To not be able to fight an attack, an illness, a temptation
Prominent: Very noticeable or is an important part of something else
Shrivel: becomes dryer and smaller, often with lines in its surface, as a result of losing the water it contains

Reflection

I was absolutely touched by the time I finished reading this book. Although I have never seen the face of Professor Morrie, I could just imagine how great and humble he was through his words. In the constant pursuit of happiness, people live everyday fighting and arguing with each other. Very ironic, isn’t it? We want the joy of life so bad, bad enough to ignore others’ happiness and only care about our own.

In this book, Morrie tells us one very important tip to ultimate happiness: you should always put other people first before you and that you should harmonize with the people you meet. This goal, I think, seems to be very simple and yet very difficult to achieve. Before reading this book, I had been thinking, “what is the standard of living a ‘good life’?” And I think Morrie is the perfect answer for my question. Morrie always thought about others but he had his own strong faiths as well. He also had his own way of dealing with his upcoming death. He was calmly prepared for his death to arrive; it is incredibly hard for human beings not to be afraid of their death and take death as a joy. Many people think that the death is the end of our lives and I thought the same way too. However, in this book, Morrie suggests that death is just a part of life cycle. He also once did not want to die and struggle to fight his disease, but soon enough, he realized and started to deal with the reality. How many people in this world would be able to do that?

This book taught me the greatest lessons I wouldn’t be able to learn in school or any other places. Morrie suggested clear and yet honest reasons why love should be prioritized in our daily lives. After fighting and struggling to get what you want, the superficial things, such as money and reputation, what is left in your hands when you die? If I don’t start to build serious and honest relationships with people around me, I will have no one by the time I end this life. As many people say, you cannot grab the money and the reputation to your grave. If I don’t care for others and think only for my own, and who will be there in the end, recognizing my values and missing my presence? After reading this book, I started to think that there is something more beyond the simplicity of living a ‘good life’.

I cannot guarantee that one day I will become Morrie, but from now on, I will try to at least mimic what Morrie had done in order to live a good life. I will remember that invaluable lessons Morrie had taught to Mitch for the rest of my life. Although the disease had taken away Morrie’s life, death isn’t all. Millions of people who have read this book will still remember his presence deep in their mind.