The Classroom
How are Mitch and Morrie's relationships with community different?
Morrie has people calling him all the time, wanting to visit him, a lot of friends. Mitch doesn't really have anyone, he mentions his college friends aren't really friends anymore.
Where did Mitch travel to for the tennis competition, Wimbledon?
London
What does Mitch say had happened to Morrie's legs?
Hint: One of your vocab words
They had atrophied beyond normal clothing size.
What does Mitch do at the beginning of the chapter that shoes he has grown as a person?
He doesn't have a cellphone with him during his drives to Morrie's house. Disconnects from the noise of the world.
What does Mitch take with him, other than food, to Morrie's house? Why?
A Sony tape recorder. Mitch wants to record his conversations with Morrie so he can listen to them and have them later.
What question does Mitch keep asking himself in this chapter?
What happened to me? (Questioning who he is, who he's turned into, what he's done with his life)
What happens with Mitch's job and what does he decide to do after?
They go on strike, he's out of a job for a while. He decides to visit Morrie on Tuesdays.
What does Mitch bring Morrie during their visit? What does that tell you about Mitch?
Food. He cares and wants to give back to Morrie in anyway he can. Wants to connect with him in a way he remembers they did back in college.
What does Morrie say he does when he wakes up in the morning? Does he continue to do this all day?
He mourns what he's lost and the way in which he's dying. No, he says he allows himself a few tears and that's it, he stops.
What does Mitch write on the plane ride home?
A list of all the things he wants to ask/talk to Morrie about
How did Mitch feel in the silence while he and Morrie are eating?
Uncomfortable, embarrassed
What is Mitch realizing about people while he walks around in London?
That Morrie is right. People are walking around with a meaningless life, absorbed into other people lives and not their own.
What is the difference between Mitch and Morrie when it comes to emotions?
Mitch is more reserved, doesn't really show too much emotion or feel comfortable with it. Morrie feels for everyone, even people he doesn't know and is comfortable showing his emotions.
Why does Morrie say he's lucky?
He gets more time to say good-bye because his illness is killing him slowly.
What does Morrie say everyone needs in life?
You need someone to probe you in that direction. A teacher.
How does Morrie feel about death? What does he show Mitch?
He accepts it. He's comfortable with it because he knows its inevitable. He shows Mitch how he's going to die (does the breathing test)
Based on the flashback of this chapter, where Mitch and Morrie are discussing what Mitch wants to get out of college, what is their relationship like?
He feels supported and cared for by Morrie because Morrie believes in his dreams while Mitch's father seems to want different things for him.
After the silence exercise, who does Morrie say "you remind me of someone I knew who also liked to keep things to himself when he was younger."
Of himself (Morrie)
What does Mitch offer to do for Morrie while he's at his house? And how does he feel after he does it?
Lift him out of his wheelchair to his recliner. HE feels he has "to do something" because Morrie's time is running out.
When Mitch says, "I had this vision of me kneeling over at my desk one day, halfway through a story, my editors snatching the copy even as the medics carried my body away," what does he mean? Think about his life choices
He had chosen his career over relationships an human connection and the only people who he was around didn't really care for him. He believes that even if he were dying, these people would still only care about his work and not him as a person.
What is the tension of opposites?
Life is a series of pulls back and forth. You want to do one thing, but you are bound to do something else. Something hurts you, yet you know it shouldn't. You take certain things for granted, even when you know you should never take anything for granted. Like a wrestling match. Love always wins.
How does Morrie say you get meaning into your life?
Devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.
What does Morrie mean when he says "Love is the only rational act?"
He’s expressing a deep philosophical and emotional truth: that in a world full of fear, materialism, and distraction, choosing to love others is the most meaningful and logical decision a person can make.
In the flashback of this chapter, what exercise does Morrie have his class do and what does he say about trust?
He has them do a trust fall exercise. "Sometimes you cannot believe what you see, you have to believe what you feel. And if you are ever going to have other people trust you, you must feel that you can trust them, too-even when you're in the dark. Even when you're falling."
What is the tension of opposites that Mitch mentions in the flashback of this chapter?
Part of me is scared of leaving school. Part of me wants to go desperately.