Adversity In Tuesdays With Morrie And Night

“Everyone is handed adversity in life. No one’s journey is easy. It’s how they handle it that makes people unique.” This is a quote by Kevin Conroy. When applied to the novels Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom and Night by Elie Wiesel, it is easy to see the truth in Conroy’s words. The characters in each book react to their own adversity in ways the are both similar and different from the reactions of the characters in the other. For example, the adversity affects their religion and outlook on life in different ways, but, in both books, the value and importance of family is reinforced by the struggles they face. In Tuesdays with Morrie, Morrie Schwartz is suffering from ALS. In most cases, someone who receives the news of their certain

Unlike Morrie, who knows he is going to die, Elie Wiesel has to live in a constant state of anxiety, worry, and fear because he doesn’t know if he will survive and realizes that his life can end in the blink of an eye. Unlike like Morrie, who finds solace in a hodgepodge of religions, Elie, who was a very religious boy before the camp, turns his back on his religion when he is faced with adversity, cruelty, and suffering. He says that the camp opened his eyes to the fact the he is “alone, terribly alone in a world without God” (Wiesel 68). He feels almost as if all hope is lost. Given the situation, Elie’s outlook on life is not nearly as positive as Morrie’s. Like Morrie, though, Elie finds comfort in his father, the only family he has left. His father is what motivates him to keep fight and to stay alive when so many have already given up and succumbed to death. In fact, after his father’s death, he feels like nothing else is worth caring about (Wiesel 113). In way of religion, outlook on life, and the importance of family, there are many differences and similarities between the characters of Tuesdays with Morrie and Night. However, the most important fact is that neither one ever really gave up or gave in to the struggles the faced. By continuing to fight, they became adversity’s