And the teaching continues
...ished the setting, tone, and the tense of the novel; Obviously the setting was during the mid 1990s in Massachusetts, at Morrie’s house. However the tone was not as easy to notice, because, Albom keeps going back and forth between his life now and his life before. This makes it difficult to read, because he just changes scenes without informing the reader. Mitch's narration uses very basic language, as most of the book is composed of dialogue between him and Morrie, word-for word conversations he has transcribed after having tape recorded them prior to Morrie's death. However, he frequently shifts in tense from present to past; description of past events is relayed through a series of flash backs interspersed throughout present tense narrations. Establishing setting, tone and tense earlier on in the novel helps the reader gain a better understanding of the novel. Not only does Albom write about Morrie’s life, but he also refers to examples in his life as well. This helps the reader to see the connection, and to better understand the situation. For example, when Morrie, and he decided to talk about family, Mitch felt the need to connect with his family in memories. For example, Morrie tells Mitch that he remembers his family, whom he saw at his graduation 16 years ago, however at this point Mitch remembered his brother whom he has not seen for years. Mitch’s brother was diagnosed with pancreas cancer, and chose to fight it alone without the aid of his family, “The bad news was, my brother did not want me around-not me, nor anyone in the family” (96). Mitch felt guilty for what his brother was going through, yet, angry for not letting him support and motivate him. After thinking about his brother, Mitch has a flashback of his brother and him sledding, and how entertaining that used to be. Mitch then comes to the conclusion that one of the many reasons why he is drawn to Morrie is because Morrie lets him his brother would not; Morrie shares lessons with Mitch that teach him plenty, and he gives him advice that no one else can provide. Albom, like many other authors, uses foreshadowing and symbols to simplify the meaning of certain effects. For example, Albom uses foreshadowing near the beginning of the novel to predict Morrie’s death. He uses Morrie’s favorite aphorism, “When you’re in bed, you’re dead” to show how Morrie will end up dying in his bed just as the aphorism suggests. Albom, moreover uses symbols to signify Morrie and his disease. For example, he uses the pink hibiscus plant so that as Morrie's body deteriorates, so does the condition of the hibiscus plant. The plant's pink petals wither and fall as Morrie grows increasingly dependent on his aides and on oxygen. As his death approaches, so does the death of the plant. It is continually used as a metaphor for Morrie's life. In addition, he uses, waves on the ocean in which Morrie describes a story he had heard about a small wave seeing the waves ahead of him crash on the shore, disappearing into nothingness. He is suddenly overtaken with fear upon the realization that he too will soon 'crash on the shore' and, die as the wave fears he will. This wave, however places his fear in another wave who comforts him with the news that he will not crash and die, but will instead return to become a small part of the larger ocean. This small wave is symbolic of Morrie, as he too is on the verge of crashing into an imaginary shore, a symbolic personification of his death. Like the wave, Morrie is comforted by the knowledge that he will soon return to something larger in the afterlife. Those symbols demonstrate how Morrie’s fear of death is always overcome by his awareness that he will always live in the hearts of those who loved him. Nonetheless, Morrie, and Mitch come to the conclusion that a person not only needs family to survive, but friends as well. Throughout the novel, Albom illustrates how Morrie needed Mitch just as much as did Mitch need Morrie. Morrie’s need for Mitch is illustrated every time Mitch would go to visit, Morrie would always be overwhelmed by excitement, “…he’ll be happy to see you, I’m sure… he’ll fell better when he knows you’re here” (100). Morrie’s feeling that someone is near him at all times, and cares enough to show up every week shows Mitch’s dedication to Morrie, and the kind of friendship they have. On the other hand, Mitch’s dependency upon Morrie is like that of a son to a parent; Mitch feels that Morrie is more like a father to him, yet, a great friend who always has a solution for every circumstance. Morrie’s final words to Mitch were, “My… dear friend…” (183). Morrie’s death had a great impact on Mitch, nonet...