CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS
This chapter will answer the problems that have been proposed already in the previous chapter. There are two problems that need to be analyzed. The first
problem is what the characteristics of the character, Morrie Schwartz, are presented in Mitch Albom’s Tuesdays with Morrie. The second is how the
character, Morrie Schwartz, reveals his self-actualization.
A. The Characteristics of Morrie Schwartzs
Physically, Morrie has funny characteristics that can make people smile when see him at the first time. Generally, he is just the same with other people,
but his size of body, his teeth, his ears, and his nose that can make people laugh. However, he likes everything in his body, especially because it can make people
feel happy by smiling at him and once again, he will not be angry. He is a small man who takes small steps, as if a strong wind could, at any
time, whisk him up into the clouds. He has sparkling blue-green eyes, thinning silver hair that spills onto his forehead, big ears, a triangular nose,
and tufts of graying eyebrows Albom, 1997: 3.
Morrie is a kind of person that likes to smile too. When someone meets him and talks to him and then what is been talked about makes him smile, it is like when
he is talking about jokes. It means that when he smiles or even laughs, he always does that things with all of his heart and he will never be hypocrite.
Although his teeth are crooked and his lower ones are slanted back-as if someone has punched them in-when he smiles it’s as if you’d just told him
the first joke on earth Albom, 1997: 3-4
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Morrie likes to dance. He usually dances in a church in Harvard Square every Wednesday night for something called “Dance Free”. People who see him
do not realize that he is not an ordinary people. Morrie is only considered as an old person who entertains those people. Many people who come to that church
and watch him do not know his amazing skills besides dancing. No one in that church knows that Morrie Schwartz is a professor in Brandeis University in the
city of Waltham, Massachusetts. No one there knew he was a prominent doctor of sociology, with years of
experience as a college professor and several well-respected books. They just thought he was some old nut Albom, 1997: 5-6.
Those are characteristics of Morrie Schwartz physically. When
characteristics of Morrie Schwartz are analyzed by applying Murphy’s theory, the writer can find that Morrie Schwartz’s characteristics are open-minded, helpful,
strong, attentive, compassionate, patient, and wise. But it was also becoming clear to me-through his courage, his humor, his
patience, and his openness-that Morrie was looking at life from some very different place than anyone else I knew Albom, 1997: 63.
Those are the characteristics that are inside of Morrie and he is also a kind of person that can see and receive this life different from other people. Different here
means that Morrie can receive something bad positively. It is not like other people that cannot accept something bad in their life. Many people only can accept
something good and that what makes Morrie different from other people. One of the characteristics of Morrie is an open-minded person. He is
always open to everything. He can understand many differences and receive that those differences are exist in his life. He uses all differences in this world to
enrich his knowledge and capability. The differences here for instance religions and philosophies. Morrie never considers that one religion has higher or lower
value than the other religions. He regards all religions has the same value, only the way of teaching is different. As it is known in this world that many people with
different religions always think that their own religion is the one that can be accepted although they know that there are so many religions in this world which
are impossible to be vanished. However, it does not happen to Morrie. He is also open to different philosophies and often applies them to his life.
Morrie borrowed freely from all religions. He was born Jewish, but became an agnostic when he was a teenager, partly because of all that had
happened to him as a child. He enjoyed some of the philosophies of Buddhism and Christianity, and he still felt at home, culturally, in Judaism
Albom, 1997: 81-82. From the quotation above, it is known that he applies philosophy of
Buddhism, philosophy of Christianity, and philosophy of Judaism in his life. He understands those philosophies are different, but by combining each other, he may
get balance in facing his life. Culturally, he is a Jewish, but he still can accept philosophy of Christianity. In the contrary, the fact is that this situation rarely
happens for common people. It is impossible for common people to think about or even to apply that situation in their life. That is why Morrie is different from
common people and it is extraordinary that he has such a think like that. The next characteristic of Morrie Schwartz is helpful. He helps people by
sharing or giving his experiences in his life. He tells people about his life in order to give inspiration or something useful. He does not want it to be late because he
will feel disappointed if it is too late. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
“Mitch,” he continued, softly now, “you don’t understand. I want to tell you about my life. I want to tell you before I can’t tell you anymore.” His
voice dropped to a whisper. “I want someone to hear my story. Will you? Albom, 1997: 63”
He really likes to help people, especially when they fail in this life. He thinks that helping people in such condition is the right choice in order to make them does
not feel hopeless. He tries to bring their spirit back by sharing his experiences in facing this life so that they will not keep thinking about failures. He makes effort
to recovery hopeless people because he thinks that life is not worthy if it is faced with hopelessness.
“I give myself a good cry if I need it. But then I concentrate on all the good things still in my life. On the people who are coming to see me. On
the stories I’m going to hear Albom, 1997: 57”
He shows that if a human being feels sad because he or she fails in this life and then crying, it is a normal thing to do, even he does cry. However, he is not only
stuck on that sadness and he is not hopeless. He wants to show people that feeling sadness for long time is not good. It is better to make effort to do something
which is useful or maybe to think about something which is considered as a good thing in this life. Morrie gives an example in order to bring the spirit back; it is by
remembering that a human being is always needed by other human beings. Morrie helps hopeless people by sharing his own experiences. For
example, he thinks about people who will come to visit him; it means that Morrie will feel happy because of their visit and may be, those people will get something
value from him when he shares his experience. In other words, Morrie shows that human being needs each other so there is no need to be hopeless because of the
failure. That is one of his ways to help people to get better life. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
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