Tuesdays With Morrie: An old man, a young man, and lifes greatest lesson

Tuesdays With Morrie examines the interactions and phenomena between the human experience of living and dying. A theme of personal transcendence appears for both characters: Morrie and Albom. This transformation is experienced by both characters through Morrie's deteriorating health. Morrie shows us the value of retaining dignity in the face of death; that love is the most valuable thing we can offer to each other. For readers, this allows a casual avenue for learning about the dying process; learning "that not all stories end happily with a person going into remission and thus avoiding death. Rather, dying and death are natural processes and need to be acknowledged for what they are—natural events." The role that culture plays in the development of happiness within our lives is also examined within the novel. Morrie remarks that we often see ourselves as dissimilar to each other, rather than similar. He goes on to promote the value of investing in people rather than material objects.