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CHAPTER TWO – The Syllabus

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After the graduation ceremony, Albom introduced his parents to Professor Morrie. What gift did Albom give to Morrie on this occasion and why does the author suggest that he did this?

Albom gave Morrie a tan briefcase with his initialsengraved on the front. Albom gave this gift to Morrie because, just as he didn’t want to forget his professor, he didn’t want Morrie to forget him.

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Every Wednesday, Morrie would visit a church in Harvard Square to attend an event. What event was this and why did he enjoy going?

Every Wednesday, Morrie would attend a church in Harvard Square to take part in an event called ‘Dance Free’. Morrie would attend this event alone and dance wildly to whatever music they happened to be playing that week. He enjoyed attending ‘Dance Free’ so much because dance was one of Morrie’s great passions.

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Morrie was married to a kind and gentle woman. What was her name?

Morrie’s wife was called Charlotte Schwartz.

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Unfortunately Morrie had to stop attending the classes at the church when he began to become ill. In his sixties he began to have trouble breathing and by the age of seventy he was having difficulty walking and even standing. After a number of tests, what disease was Morrie diagnosed with?

In August, 1994, Morrie was diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

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This disease proved to be extremely debilitating and it quickly prevented or hampered activities which Morrie took for granted. One such activity was driving. Describe the last occasion that Morrie attempted to drive himself.

The last time Morrie attempted to drive a car he found that he barely had the strength necessary to press the brake and bring the car to a halt. After this, Morrie never tried to drive a car again.

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Another activity which his disease impacted upon was swimming. Before he became ill, Morrie would visit his local YMCA to use their pool but soon he found himself too weak to even get unchanged. As a consequence Morrie was forced to hire a care worker. What was the name of Morrie’s care worker and what was his relationship to the university.

Morrie’s care worker was a Theology student named Tony.

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Morrie taught his final college class at the end of 1994. At the start of the first lesson he told his students that he had been teaching this subject for twenty years but that there was a risk attached to taking the class which hadn’t been there before. What was this risk?

Morrie explained that this year there was a chance that the class would not be completed if the professor did not live to see the end of the semester.

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ALS is an incredibly debilitating disease. Describe what impact it tends to have on a patient?

The disease tends to work its way from the bottom up. First it impacts upon your legs leaving a patient unable to stand, next you lose control of your trunk muscles and finally a patient is left abe to do little more than blink and breath.

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What did Morrie mean when he decided that he would be a ‘human textbook’?

Morrie was faced with a decision between withering away or making the most of whatever time he has left. He decided on the latter. He therefore decided to make himself into a research project and study his own final days by recording his own demise.

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After some time, Morrie began to urinate into a large beaker. Why was this?

Morrie began to urinate into a beaker the day that it became too difficult and tiring to make the journey down the hall way to the bathroom from his bed.

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Early in 1995, Morrie attended the funeral of a college from University. He found the experience an extremely depressing experience. Why was this and what did he decide to do as a consequence?

Morrie found the funeral depressing because, despite, many people gathering to say kind things about the deceased, the dead man would never hear them. As a consequence, Morrie decided that he would hold his own ‘living funeral’ in which he invited his friends and family to gather at his house and pay their tributes -whilst he was alive and listening on.