Tuesday’s with Morrie: An Old Man, A Young Man, and Life’s Greatest Lesson

Multiple Choice and Long Answer questions create ideal opportunities for whole-book review, unit exam, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. Why does Morrie wish so much to make his death the subject of study?

A) He wants to do one last thing for science before he passes away.

B) He thinks that it will keep him alive longer.

C) He wants to show his family that he will be okay.

D) He hopes to feel useful and to show others how to enjoy life, even at its end.

2. How does Mitch’s reaction to his uncle’s death from cancer compare to his reaction to Morrie’s death?

A) When his uncle passes away, Mitch becomes absorbed in a culture of competition. When Morrie dies, Mitch thinks about the relationships he has and how he can give back.

B) When his uncle passes away, Mitch becomes kinder and more generous, just as he does after Morrie’s death.

C) When his uncle passes away, Mitch becomes lost, and Morrie’s death brings him back to his path toward becoming a musician.

D) When his uncle passes away, Mitch becomes self-absorbed and alienates all of his family members. When Morrie passes away, he reconnects with them.

3. Why does Morrie allow Ted Koppel to keep interviewing him?

A) He wants the attention.

B) He wants his legacy to go on.

C) He wants to challenge himself one more time.

D) He wants people to see the effects of ALS.

4. At Wimbledon, how are Morrie’s lessons already beginning to manifest in Mitch’s life?

A) Mitch begins to notice how much he spends so that he can appear important.

B) Mitch begins to notice the obsession with celebrities and gossip, and it bothers him.

C) Mitch begins to notice that he isn’t who he used to be.

D) Mitch begins to notice that he is unsatisfied with his life.

5. Why does Morrie choose to accept his dependency on those around him?

A) It’s what he knows will make his wife happy.

B) It allows him to avoid feeing pity for himself.

C) It would make him sad otherwise and this allows him to feel like an infant again.

D) It allows him to do one more thing for others by not giving them a hassle.

6. What is implied by the fact that Morrie tells Albom that he reminds him of himself right after having students sit in silence, a situation in which Mitch is perfectly comfortable?

A) It implies that Morrie was once content to keep his feelings to himself.

B) It implies that Morrie and Mitch had a similar upbringing.

C) It implies that Morrie and Mitch would later become great friends.

D) It implies that Mitch was once in touch with his feelings.

7. How do Albom’s visits to Morrie contrast with his life at home?

A) Mitch’s visits always leave him feeling sad and regretful while he feels fulfilled by his work.

B) Mitch’s visits inform Mitch’s work and so they are in balance.

C) Mitch’s visits take him away from the chaos of a strike at the newspaper where he works, and so he enjoys Morrie’s kindness and hospitality.

D) Mitch’s visits are his only breaks from work.

8. Why might his mother’s death be on Morrie’s mind throughout his final days?

A) She also suffered from a chronic illness.

B) She taught him to be brave when he was afraid.

C) She reassured him that he would live a long life.

D) She was the first person to tell him to become a teacher.

9. Why does Morrie feel like a retired football player when September rolls around?

A) He is doing so many interviews he feels like a celebrity.

B) He isn’t teaching when he normally would be.

C) He is now teaching others how to be teachers.

D) He has to stop playing in his recreational summer league.

10. What might Mitch’s visits symbolize, especially after Morrie’s wife tells him that Morrie hasn’t been eating much?

A) Forgiveness

B) Patience

C) Regret

D) Nourishment

11. What do all of the examples from Morrie’s past students imply about him as a teacher?

A) Students were in awe of Morrie’s scholarly work.

B) Students were afraid of Morrie, even though they knew he was kind.

C) Students were very struck by Morrie’s care for them.

D) Students never stopped visiting Morrie.

12. Why does Morrie insist on always being moved to his chair?

A) He doesn’t want to feel confined to his bed.

B) He wants to appear well.

C) He doesn’t want Mitch to see his bedroom.

D) He wants to ignore what’s happening to him.

13. Which of the following values “always wins” according to Morrie? (Chapter 6)

A) Courage

B) Kindness

C) Happiness

D) Love

14. According to Morrie, what has the disease taken from him and what has he kept from it?

A) It has taken his strength, but not his intellect.

B) It has taken his body, but not his spirit.

C) It has taken his body, but not his family.

D) It has taken his arms, but not his brain.

15. Why are Mitch’s tears after hugging Morrie goodbye significant?

A) They show that he is more open with his feelings.

B) They show that he has changed his mind about Morrie.

C) They show how much he regrets not keeping in touch.

D) They show that he doesn’t know what to do next.

Long-Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. Why does Morrie read the newspaper and what might it suggest that he stops?

2. What are some of the ways that Morrie affects more people than just Mitch? What does this suggest about Morrie’s legacy?

3. One of the major themes of this book is Death as a Lesson. How do you see that theme in the way that the way that the book is structured and the ways that Mitch thinks about and reflects on his life?