Plot Summary
Conflict
The major conflict in "Tuesdays with Morrie" is Morrie versus ALS, the second, more minor one, is Mitch versus himself. Morrie must accept his illness and the fact that he is going to die from ALS. In the meantime, Mitch, his former college student, visits him every Tuesday. Mitch has become very distracted with his fast-paced life and constant strive for materialistic possessions. He struggles to find meaning with his life and to change the person he has become in the sixteen years since he had last seen Morrie.
Protagonist
Morrie is the protagonist in "Tuesdays with Morrie"; almost everything revolves around him in this novel. Morrie is a loving, compassionate and accepting older man who is losing his life to the disease, ALS. He teaches Mitch how to live successfully.
Antagonist
Morrie's disease, ALS, is the antagonist. This is the disease that Morrie is suffering from throughout the novel. The disease is gradually taking over Morrie, it limits him to his chair in the study, then prevents him from eating solid foods and moving around without help. Eventually, the disease takes over him completely and he is bed ridden, and it does finally take his life.
Exposition
The exposition takes place in the first four chapters of the book. The first chapter, "The Curriculum", tells us that there will be a class taught on the meaning of life and that it was the last course the old professor would teach, leading us to believe that he dies in the end. The second chapter, "The Syllabus", gives us background information on Morrie Schwartz. We learn about ALS, a deadly disease that will eventually kill Morrie, who is also the teacher. Chapter three gives information on the student, Mitch Albom, and how he lives for money and success. “The Audiovisual” is the final chapter in the exposition in which Albom describes how he first heard of Morrie's sickness on a television show entitled the "Nightline".
Rising Action
The rising action begins as soon as Mitch sees the "Nightline". he has had no contact with Morrie for 16 years. Mitch begins to visit Morrie every Tuesday, noticing how Morrie is getting worse every time. The action rises throughout the novel with each new lesson as we see Mitch struggle with his life and Morrie struggle with his coming death.
Climax
The climactic point is not reached until Mitch and Morrie's last visit. Morrie is in such a horrible state that he is stuck in his bed and can barely breathe. Throughout the novel, Morrie's goal was to make Mitch cry. After all this time, Mitch starts to cry when he realizes that this is the last time he will be able to speak with Morrie.
Falling Action
The action begins to fall when we can predict Morrie's death. Morrie dies on a Saturday, only four days after their last visit. Mitch goes to Morrie's funeral.
Denouement (Resolution)
At the end of the novel, when Mitch is at Morrie’s funeral, he remembered Morrie telling him to talk to him, so Mitch tried talking with Morrie and was surprised at how natural was. Mitch will probably continue to find these conversations with Morrie helpful. He has a new perspective on life now, and Mitch also tries contacting his sick brother in Spain. For the first time, Mitch tells his brother how much he wants to be closer and how much he loves him. By the end of their conversation, we can tell that Mitch and his brother are going to stay in touch.