Figurative Language In Mitch Albom's Tuesdays With Morrie

People say that you die twice. The first time is when your body dies and the second is the last time that someone mentions your name. Morrie Schwartz, a sociology professor at Brandeis University knew this. From the second he heard the startling news that he was going to die to his last breaths, he strived to make a positive impact on the people around him. He chose to inspire and affect people positively during his last days on the world. Morrie Schwartz’s name still lives on because of the book Tuesdays With Morrie. The author of the book is Mitch Albom, a former student of Morrie. Mitch, like many of the people who knew Morrie, was deeply touched by him throughout his life. Tuesdays With Morrie was about how the student and professor were

“‘Every day, have a little bird on your shoulder that asks, ‘Is today the day? Am I ready? Am I doing all I need to do? Am I being the person I want to be?’ (24).” The author uses a metaphor of a bird sitting on your shoulder to show how death could happen any day. It shows how if you live like you were dying, you would be a better person. If people accept that they could die, they would learn how to live better. It builds the theme that you learn most about living through

“So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they’re busy doing things they think are important. This is because they’re chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning (43).” Morrie emphasizes how people do not realize that they are putting time into things that won’t even matter later on. He tells Morrie to spend time doing things that truly matter. Morrie is having all of these realizations because as he is accepting that he will die, he is also learning how to live and is passing on this valuable knowledge to Mitch. “Accept what you are able to do and what you are not able to do (18).” Morrie comes to the conclusion as he is slowly wilting away that he can not fight it. He learns that in life you need to just accept what you are able to do and what you are not able to do. This constructs the theme that you learn most about living through death. Although Morrie is being put through a slow suffering as he dies, he remains positive and has the ability to absorb all of the life lessons that you acquire through