![]() ![]() When Mitch first contacts him, he is very reluctant to rekindle their relationship so he leaves a brief message that he is doing just fine and does not need anyone else's help and he reminds Mitch that he does not want to talk about his illness. He hasn't asked for help from his family since his high school graduation, and has no intention of doing so as an adult. Peter is a man who feels that he must prove himself and his independence to his family so he doesn't want their help. Much like Mitch, Peter protects himself with a thick veneer of toughness. He does not want help from Mitch or any other member of his family because he has too much pride to accept it. Though he seeks for help, he continually refuses to accept help from his family, especially from Mitch, as he has, for the most part, estranged himself from them after his departure from the United States. Peter: Peter is Mitch's younger brother who is unfortunately suffering from pancreatic cancer, and goes to various European cities to seek treatment. Only Morrie is able to get through the toughness that has grown around Mitch's heart, and he therefore is able to successfully get to Mitch and make him the man he has always wanted to be. Morrie helps Mitch change his own life so that he can become more like his professor and his mentor, who has encouraged him to be the best person he can be since his college days. He looks up to Morrie and see in him, the man he wants to be. As he watches Morrie die, he realizes that, like his professor, he wants to die knowing that he has lived his life to the fullest of its ability. With every time that he travels to visit Morrie and listen to his lessons, his view of what he has missed and what he must change in his life becomes more clear. He wants a chance at self-redemption and a chance to reassess his priorities so that he can create a fulfilling life for himself, enriched with people and activities that give him meaning and purpose. It is only when he rekindles his relationship with Morrie that he begins to see who he is and what he wants to do with his life. He has therefore become greedy and has chose wealth and success over love and happiness. Mitch Albom: Mitch is a good man who gave up his dreams of becoming a musician to attain material wealth and professional success. ![]() He gets through all of this and ends up becoming the greatest role model anyone could ever ask for. Having has always lived as an independent man therefore it is difficult for him to rely on others when he is faced with this disease. Morrie is the perfect role model for this because he chooses to react against popular cultural norms in his acceptance of his imminent death. ![]() He tells him to just go with his personal, ethical system of values instead. In telling Mitch stories of his life experiences and personal beliefs, he teaches him to reject the things endorsed by popular culture. He sees that Mitch has surrendered his sense of self to the beliefs of popular culture, and urges him to reclaim the kind, caring young man he once was while in college. He is able to reach Mitch and get him through his hard surface filled with professionalism and greed. Morrie has an unmistakable knack for reaching through to the human essence of every individual he befriends. Morrie uses Mitch coming back into his life as a way in which he can give his wisdom on a more personal level rather than a larger audience. He knows that his time is running out so he shares his wisdom on "The Meaning of Life" with the world before he dies. The disease destroys his body, but, ironically, leaves his mind intact. Morrie Schwartz: Morrie has spent most of his life as a professor of sociology at Brandeis University, a position he has fallen into only "by default." He is an excellent teacher, and only retires when he gets ALS and begins to loose control of his body. ![]()
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