31 Furthermore, Morrie adds that because of this culture, everyone seems in a hurry.
They run all the time looking for the next car, the next house, and the next job Albom 136.
The value of progress has also driven Mitch in his occupational world in terms of reaching more and more material things.
I jotted some of the things Morrie was saying on a yellow pad. I did this mostly because I didn‟t want him to see my eyes, to know what I was
thinking that I had been, for much of my life since graduation, pursuing these very things he had been railing against
– bigger toys, nicer house. Because I worked among rich and famous athletes, I convinced myself that
my needs were realistic, my greed inconsequential compared to theirs Albom 127.
Mitch has already been moved by drives in his working world since graduation. According to Henry 13-14, drives exist in occupational world. Goals in
many jobs have to be achieved through achievement, competition, profit, mobility or even a higher standard of living. The drives have influenced Mitch to convince
himself that it is normal to have bigger toys and a nicer house because he works among rich and famous athletes.
In conclusion, American people share the value of progress, which may lead them to have the drives of expansiveness. It moves American people to have a view
that owning things more and more is a good thing. Furthermore, this value makes people not know what really important for them are and makes them trapped in a
confusing situation over what they want and what they need.
3. Value of Individual Success
The value of individual success means that an individual is entitled to be successful in any field he takes part Fichter 309. In the story, Mitch is described as a
successful person in journalistic field. He is a columnist in Detroit Free Press.
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32 Besides, he writes books about sports, conducts radio shows, and gives opinions
about sports programs on television. Hence, he is able to buy a house and cars. Also, Mitch is able to invest in stocks and has a portfolio Albom 16.
On one of Tuesday meetings, Morrie and Mitch read a newspaper which writes “I DON‟T WANT MY TOMBSTONE TO READ „I NEVER OWNED A
NETWORK‟”. These words are from Ted Turner, a founder of CNN who fails in having CBS network and feels upset Albom 123. Furthermore, this value seems to
have an impact in emerging a sense of being threatened if someone loses his job which means a losing of individual success.
“People are only mean when they‟re threatened,” he said later that day, “and that‟s what our culture does. That‟s what our economy does. Even people who
have jobs in our economy are threatened, because they worry about losing them. And when you get threatened, you start looking out only for yourself.
You start making money a god. It is all part of thi
s culture.” Albom 154 From the evidence above, American people share the value of individual
success in their society. This value is very important to them and may cause disappointment
if it is not achieved. In the story, a value of individual success may cause people to be egoistic because they look out only for themselves and so this
makes them vicious to other people to reach their individual success.
4. Value on Working
According to Fichter 309, working can determine a man‟s worth through his function to society. Mitch, as well as American people, has a high value on working.
He is a sport writer when he is in New York and works hard like a workaholic. When he moves to Detroit, he works at Detroit Free Press as a columnist. Besides, he also
conducts radio shows and gives opinion on athletes and sports programs on television Albom 16.
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33 Mitch works very fast like a fifth gear and he also works on a deadline. He
says, “I was cranked to a fifth gear, and everything I did, I did on deadline” Albom
16. When he gets married with Janine, he tells her that one day they will start building a real family but that never happens because Mitch is too busy to realize that
Albom 17. To Mitch, working is something he can control of. Besides, he feels that working is sensible and responsive Albom 97. In his working life, Mitch buries
himself in accomplishments because according to him, he could control things with accomplishments. Thus, he feels happy through accomplishments Albom 17.
Fichter 309 says that from working, we can obtain material comfort, leisure, and success. The convenience that working brings about makes people work
ambitiously and may neglect other aspects of their lives, such as death. In one of the interviews that Mitch carries on with Morrie about death, Morrie tells him that most
of people walk around as if sleepwalking and thus, do not live to the fullest. Morrie says,
“…. most of us all walk around as if we‟re sleepwalking. We really don‟t experience the world fully, because we‟re half-asleep, doing things we automatically
think we have to do ” Albom 83. Here, Morrie tells that the impact of getting busy
of doing things, such as working, is that we cannot experience things that make us happy and satisfied in our lives. Furthermore, because of his activities, Mitch has
ignored his promise to his wife, Janine, to build a family Albom 17. Based on proofs presented above, American people are described to have a
high value on working which makes them busy, walk around as if sleepwalking, put other aspects in their lives aside, and thus do not live the lives to the fullest.
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34
5. Value of Freedom for the Individual
