Characters
Mitch Albom
A picture of Mitch Albom
Mitch is the narrator of the book. After giving up his dream occupation as a musician, he desires material wealth and financial success. Mitch lives a fast paced life as a newspaper journalist and often finds himself consumed with his work. He attended Brandeis University in Boston, Massachusetts where he met his favorite professor, Morrie Schwartz. On the day of his graduation, he promised Morrie that they will continue to stay in touch. However, since the graduation, they have not seen each other. While watching ABC’s “Nightline,” Mitch recognizes Morrie in the show. They meet and continue to visit each other every Tuesday. Because of Morrie’s debilitating disease, he shares with Mitch his philosophies of life. Mitch takes what Morrie says to heart and begins living life the way Morrie advised. Although Morrie died, Mitch "talks" to him and describes the conversations as extremely natural and real.
Morrie Schwartz
A picture of Morrie Schwartz
The novel is centered on Morrie Schwartz. He is a passionate dancer, former sociology professor of Brandeis University, and favorite teacher of Mitch Albom. Later on, Morrie is diagnosed with the debilitating disease, ALS. Because of his disease, he is forced to stay home. He uses his time writing about his philosophies on notepads. A friend of Morrie, inspired by his writing, refers him to Ted Koppel. Ted interviews Morrie three times for the “ABC's Nightline” show and eventually features him on the show. Mitch happened to be watching the episode on the television and phones Morrie for a meeting. Ever since then, they meet every Tuesday to continue learning about sociology and Morrie’s opinions on the meaning of life. In the novel, Morrie’s childhood is told and we learn that he was deprived of affection. Because of this, Morrie enjoys “being a baby” as he is constantly needed to be physically cared for. He rejects popular culture and favors his self-created values to dictate his life.
Peter
Peter is Mitch Albom’s younger brother. He contracted pancreatic cancer and lives in Spain to receive treatment. He refuses any help from his family and scarcely contacts them to keep his distance. In the end of the novel, Mitch writes to Peter and surprisingly, he writes back. They continue to write letters to each other and are starting to allow each other back into their lives.