MORRIE’S VIEW OF LIFE BASED ON BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY
AS REFLECTED IN MITCH ALBOM’S TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE
A THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education
By
Leonardo Herlangga. S Student Number: 011214150
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA
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MORRIE’S VIEW OF LIFE BASED ON BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY
AS REFLECTED IN MITCH ALBOM’S TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE
A THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education
By
Leonardo Herlangga. S Student Number: 011214150
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA
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ABSTRACT
Suksmaditya, Leonardo Herlangga. 2009. Morrie’s View of Life Based on Buddhist Philosophy as Reflected in Mitch Albom’s Tuesdays with Morrie.
Yogyakarta: English Language Education Study Program, Faculty of Teachers Training and Education, Sanata Dharma University.
This thesis discusses Mitch Alboms’s novel Tuesdays with Morrie. In this novel, Morrie, is the main character who was interested in following Buddhist philosophy he was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), a brutal, deadly and unforgiving disease of the neurological system. Morrie shared and talked to people about life and death in the remaining time of his life.
There are two problems related to the topic of the thesis: (1) How is Morrie’s described in the novel (2) What is Morrie”s view of life based on Buddhist philosophy as reflected in the novel.
There are two kinds of sources used in the study. The primary source is obtained from the novel Tuesdays with Morrie, and the secondary sources are obtained from books on literature and books on Buddhism. I also quote some literary criticisms to support this study.
I employ the theory of characterization to answer the first problem. The second problem is answered by using references on Buddhist philosophy and also employing the theory of characterization. In this study I use history of idea approach to relate Morrie’s view of life and Buddhist philosophy.
Based on the analysis, I make some conclusions. First, Morrie is a wise, loving and forgiving man who teaches people how to view life. He has a good personality and live his life based on love, acceptance, and human goodness, in a way that uphold ethical values. Second, his view of life and his way of being is influenced by Buddhist teaching and philosophy, it is reflected in his speech and his way of thinking. He has some relationship with some other character. The people who are close to him are: Mitch his former college student, his wife Charlotte, his two sons Rob and Jon, and Ted Koppel.
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ABSTRAK
Suksmaditya, Leonardo Herlangga. 2009. Morrie’s View of Life Based on Buddhist Philosophy as Reflected in Mitch Albom’s Tuesdays with Morrie.
Yogyakarta: Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Skripsi ini membahas tentang novel karangan Mitch Albom yang berjudul Tuesdays with Morrie. Di dalam novel ini, Morrie, tokoh utama yang tertarik menganut filosofi Budha di diagnosa mengidap ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), sebuah penyakit mematikan yang menyerang kerja sistem syaraf. Morrie berbagi dan berdiskusi dengan beberapa orang tentang kehidupan dan kematian diwaktu sisa hidupnya.
Ada dua butir permasalahan yang terkait dengan topik skripsi ini, yaitu: (1) Bagaimanakah Morrie digambarkan di dalam novel ini dan (2) Bagaimanakah pandangan Morrie terhadap kehidupan dilihat melalui filosofi Budha.
Ada dua macam sumber yang digunakan di dalam penelitian ini. Sumber yang utama diperoleh dari novel Tuesdays with Morrie, dan sumber pendukung didapatkan dari buku-buku tentang kesusasteraan dan buku-buku tentang ajaran Budha. Saya juga mengutip beberapa kritik-kritik kesusasteraan untuk mendukung penelitian ini.
Saya menggunakan teori karakter untuk menjawab permasalahan pertama. Permasalahan kedua dijawab menggunakan referensi filosofi Budha dan juga menggunakan teori karakter. Pada penelitian ini saya menggunakan pendekatan sejarah buah pikiran untuk mengaitkan pandangan hidup Morrie dengan filosofi Budha.
Berdasarkan analisis tersebut, saya menyimpulkan beberapa hal. Pertama, Morrie adalah seorang yang bijak, penyayang dan pemaaf yang mengajarkan orang bagaimana cara memandang kehidupan. Ia memiliki kepribadian yang baik dan menjalani hidupnya berdasar pada cinta, kepasrahan, kebaikan dan menjujung tinggi nilai kebenaran. Kedua, pandangan hidup Morrie dan cara ia menjalaninya banyak dipengaruhi ajaran dan filosofi Budha yang tergambar dalam perkataan dan pola pikirnya. Morrie berhubungan dekat dengan orang disekitarnya. Orang-orang terdekatnya adalah: mantan muridnya saat diperkuliahan Mitch, Charlotte istrinya, kedua anaknya Jon dan Rob dan Ted Koppel.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, I would like to express my greatest gratitude to God Almighty for Thy love and guidance during my life especially the hard times in doing this thesis. He makes my life so beautiful and meaningful. He always gives me a wonderful surprises and blessings.
I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my major sponsor, Ibu Veronica Triprihatmini, S.Pd, M.Hum., M.A. for her guidance, encouragement, understanding, and advice from the beginning until the end of this thesis writing.
I also express my gratitude to all lecturers at Sanata Dharma University who have taught and given me valuable and great knowledge. I also would like to thank to the secretary staff for helping me in the administration and the librarian for helping me in searching the references.
I am sincerely grateful to my beloved parents Bapak Ferdinandus Suharsono (t) and Ibu Maria Francisca Susantari, for their endless love
patience, tolerance, endurance and for their prayer for my success. I also thank my only brother, Don Bosco Laksma Budya Wardhana and wife and to Yosephine Kristi Yulianingrum for the love, support, a new life, a new spirit, new destiny and destination that laid rainbow on my past, present and future step.
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life. I am honored to have such great friends. Being with these guys for years is a priceless experience. My gratitude goes to all of my friends at Sanata Dharma University, especially 2001 students of PBI, with whom I have got through the good and bad times during my study.
I address my acknowledgement to all my friends in Brojowikalpo 1A: Ghowez, Bebe, Ikke, Martha, Vita, Yusta, Dicta, Patrice, Hana, Neti,Thomas Djorghi. I would also thank to the Gondz Community members: Katro Katz_Onde, Ekhi, Anton, Reza, Yoga, Dicky, and Dj Rey_no Karno. I thank them for encouraging me to keep trying and never give up. It is great to spend time with them.
Last but not least, I would like to thank those whose names are not mentioned here for their support and prayer so that I could finish this thesis. May God bless them all.
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LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI ... v
ABSTRACT ... vi
CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 2.1 Review of Related Theories .………. 8
2.3 Theoretical Framework ……….. 23
xi 4.1 Analysis on Morrie’s Character...…...……….. 28
4.1.1 Tough ………. 29
4.1.2 Wise ………... 30
4.1.3 Loving ……… 34
4.1.4 Forgiving ……… 38
4.2 Analysis on Morrie’s View of Life Based on Buddhist Philosophy … 38 4.2.1 Analysis on Morrie’s View of Life Based on Four Noble Truth. 39 4.2.2 Analysis on Morrie’s View of Life Based on Noble Eightfold Path….….……… 42
CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 5.1 Conclusions ……….. 48
5.2 Suggestions ……….. 49
5.2.1 Suggestions to Future Researchers …….……… 49
5.2.2 Suggestions on Teaching Reading using Tuesdays with Morrie . 50 REFERENCES ……….……….……. 52
APPENDICES ………..……….………. 54
Appendix 1. Summary of the Novel ……….……… 55
Appendix 2. Biography of Mitch Albom ……….………. 56
Appendix 3. Mitch Albom’s Work ……….……….. 59
Appendix 4. Lesson Plan for Teaching Reading ………….……….. 60
Appendix 5. Implementation for Teaching Reading ……….……… 62
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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
This chapter is divided into four parts. The first part is the background of study. This part discusses the topic of the study and why it is chosen. The Second part is the aim of the study. The aim of the study states the purpose of the whole study and this is obtained by answering the questions in the problem formulation as the guidance. The third part is the problem formulation. In the problem formulation there are three questions dealing with the topic. The last part is the benefit of the study it discuss the benefits of the study in the teaching-learning process.
1.1Background of the study
thoughts, feelings and attitude towards life, so a work of literature contain immense knowledge that can make people feel that they had experienced a thing although actually they had never been, they only read, hear or see a work of literature, but not like math and science that mainly based on fact, literature largely based upon analysis and interpretation. There are no definite answers in literature, except the factual information about an author's life and the basic information about setting and characterization. The rest is a highly subjective reading of what an author has written; every person brings a different set of values and a different background to the reading, so as result, no two people see the piece of literature exactly the same.
A novel is an art product that tells a story about the world. De Laar said that: “A novel is a work of art in so far as it introduces us into a living world; in some respects resembling the world we live in, but with an individuality of its own (163).” In a novel, a portrait of life is commonly seen, an image similar to the life we live, but with its own portrayal.
comes loaded with the possibility of his last breath. Referring to the topic I want to analyze Morrie’s character and his view of life based on Buddhist philosophy.
There are two main characters in this novel. First is Mitch Albom who is also the author of the novel. He is Morrie’s student back in college. The second character is Morrie Schwartz an old Sociology professor who got ALS. He has a unique personality which includes his way to cope with life.
Tuesdays with Morrie tells about Morrie Schwartz, Mitch Albom's former university professor in Brandeis University. He was diagnosed with ALS, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis; it is a deadly, brutal disease that strikes the deceased neurological system. Mitch and Morrie shared a relationship more like between father and son than teacher and student. They were so close back then, but they were separated as Mitch graduated.
Sixteen years after his graduation from Brandeis, Mitch is feeling frustrated with the life he had chosen to live. One night when Mitch scribbling the TV channel he sees Ted Koppel interview with his mentor on Nightline, he takes the initiative to reconnect with his long lost friend.
this world is temporary. Morrie stresses that one must accept death and aging, because both are inevitable, and live a life stand on love, acceptance, and human goodness, in a way that uphold ethical values.
They continuously met every Tuesdays until Morrie had passed away after the fourteenth meeting. Mitch records his discussions with Morrie on tape so that he may compile notes to write a book, Tuesdays with Morrie, a project which he refers to as his thesis.
1.2 Objective of the Study
The objective of the study is to find out Morrie’s view of life based on Buddhist philosophy. By doing this study I want to analyze Morrie’s character and the influence of Buddhist philosophies in Morrie’s view of life as seen in Morrie himself as the main character of Mitch Albom’s Tuesdays with Morrie.
1.3 Problem Formulation
In this thesis, I formulate three problems: 1. How is Morrie described in the novel?
2. What is Morrie”s view of life based on Buddhist philosophy as reflected in the novel?
1.4 Benefit of the Study
more enjoyed and understood more. We can also learn how Morrie give contribution to one another, even on the brink of death. We can also learn from Morrie’s sincerity and his compassion for life and for love in order to enjoy life to the fullest.
The novel implicitly imply the teaching-learning process as seen in Morrie and Mitch’s meetings every Tuesday and their relationship as student and lecturer as if they were back in college can give us example of a good teaching learning process. We also learn to give a sharp analysis because literature is not simply a black or white situation; instead, there are many gray areas.
1.5 Definition of Terms
In order to avoid misunderstanding, there are several words needs to define.
Death
Webster's New World, Medical Dictionary, 3rd Edition (35) defines death as:
1. The end of life. The cessation of life. (These common definitions of death ultimately depend upon the definition of life, upon which there is no consensus.) 2. The permanent cessation of all vital bodily functions. (This definition depends upon the definition of "vital bodily functions.") See: Vital bodily functions. 3. The common law standard for determining death is the cessation of all vital functions, traditionally demonstrated by "an absence of spontaneous respiratory and cardiac functions."
Philosophy
Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 5th edition (867) defined philosophy as: “1. (a) the search for knowledge and understanding of the nature and meaning of the universe and of human life. (b) a particular set or system of belief resulting from the search for knowledge”. In this study philosophy is defined as a set of beliefs treated as an attitude guidance principle toward life.
Buddhism
According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism), Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices considered by most to be a religion and is based on the teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as "The Buddha" (the Awakened One), who was born in what is today Nepal. He lived and taught in the northeastern region of the Indian subcontinent and most likely died around 400 BC. Acoording to Kandy, Buddha or enlightened one, Knower or awakened one is the honorific name given to the Indian wise. Gotama, who discovered and proclaimed to the world the Law of Deliverance, known to the West by the name of Buddhism. He was born in the 6th century B.C, at Kapilavatthu, as the son of the king who ruled the Sakya country, a principality situated in the border area of modern Nepal. His persona1 name was Siddhattha, and his clan name Gotama
tireless preaching and finally he died in the age of 80. This law of deliverance is now called Buddhism. In the study Buddhist philosophies will be used to define and analyze Morrie’s view of life.
Detachment
Detachment, according to the Buddhist’s Tipitaka, Sutta Pitaka, Samyutta Nikaya, Sagatha Vagga, Devaputta-samyutta, Uttara Sutta in the book The Word of The Buddha detachment is defined for the drop of the world's bait and look for peace (24).
Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 5th edition (316) defines detachment as: “1. (a) the state of being not influenced by other people. (b) a lack of emotion.2. a group of soldiers, ships, etc sent away from a larger group, esp to do special duties”.
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CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
This chapter discusses the related literature and the theoretical framework. The first part is review of related literature, in this part I will discuss some theories, sources that are used in writing this thesis. The theories that support my analysis are: theory of character and characterization and the Buddhist Philosophies on life. I use philosophical and history of idea for the approach. In the second part, this chapter provides theoretical framework to explain how the theories and reviews are applied in the study.
2.1. Review of Related Theory
In this theoretical study, I will explain some theories that are related to my thesis. These theories are important to support my analysis on Mitch Albom’s work, they are: theory of character and characterization, History of idea approach and Buddhist philosophies on life.
2.1.1 Theory of Character and Characterization
understanding of the character in it. Hugh states that a character is “a complicated term that includes the moral constitution of the human personality, the presence of moral uprightness, and the presence of creatures that is seen like a real human being. The person is described not as an individualized personality but as an example of some vice or virtue of type (81).” From the statement we can conclude that character in the novel is a picture of a real person, with many resemblances in personality.
When we analyze a character it means that we should be interested in complex people. We are interested to know what indicates them. Story line and events will produce change in character, and complex people who act from a combination of motives and emotions are likely to experience the most marked changes.
in order to bring out into the open crucial elements of the nature or unpleasant situation of those main characters. “Another group of secondary characters acts within the shadow of the main characters, reduplicating, in different ways, the experiences that engross the novel’s principal figures (97).” When a secondary character experiences the same emotional states as a main character, or participates in a situation that parallels that of the main character, then the secondary character functions as an analogue.
Henkle states, “Characters functioning analogically often point up facets of aspects of the action of the main characters. The minor characters, being generally less complex, or less intense, and drawn in shallower relief, present what is often only one side of the experience (97).” The main characters are not limited while the secondary is, they must be more complicated than secondary and a lot more complex and interesting.
There are many ways to analyze a character in a novel. Murphy (161) explains that a character can be seen through:
1. Personal description
The author can describe a character’s appearance and clothes. A character’s character can be recognized from his/her appearance and clothes.
2. Character as seen by another
3. Speech
Whenever a person speaks, whenever he is in conversation with another, whenever he makes opinion, in a novel. He is giving us some clue to his character.
4. Past life
The past life can give us a clue to events that have helped to shape a person’s character. This can be done by the author’s direct comment, through the person’s thoughts.
5. Conversation of others
People talk about other people and the things. People’s talking about other people and the things they say often give a clue to the character of the person spoken about.
6. Reactions
A characters show his/her personality by letting us know how that person reacts to various situations and events.
7. Direct comment
The author’s comment on a character explicitly gives us a clue about the character’s personality.
8. Thoughts
9. Mannerism
The character’s behavior and act towards something shows his/her personality.
Holman (82) states that there are three fundamental methods of characterization:
1. The explicit presentation by the author of the character through direct exposition, either in an introductory block or more often piecemeal throughout the work, illustrated by action;
2. The presentation of the character in action, with little or no explicit comment by the author, in the expectation that the reader will be able to deduce the attributes of the actor from the actions;
3. The representation from within a character, without comment on the character by the author, of the impact of actions and emotions on the character’s inner self, with the expectation that the reader will come to a clear understanding of the attributes of the character.
2.1.2 Theory of Critical Approaches
According to Rohrberger (6) that there are several approaches to literary works. They are Formalist approach, Biographical approach, Sociocultural-historical approach, Mythopoeic approach, and Psychological approach.
harmonious involvement of all the parts to the whole and with pointing out how meaning is derived from structure. In other words, this approach does not need any reference from other resources like, sociological, biographical, and historical information.
The second approach is the Biographical Approach. This approach proposes the idea that the only way to understand literature is by asserting the necessity and appreciation of ideas and personality of the author. We must know the author’s life to understand his writings.
The next approach is Sociocultural-Historical Approach. It is an approach that examines the work of art in reference to the civilization. Then the attitude and the actions of specific group of people become the subject matter. This approach insists that the only way to locate the real work is in reference to the civilization that produced it.
Mythopoeic Approach is the fourth approach. This approach tries to discover certain universality and recurrent patterns of human thoughts in the works of art which are believed to have expression in the works.
The last approach is Psychological Approach. Psychological Approach Critics that involve the effort to locate and demonstrate certain recurrent patterns of human psychology in the works of art.
The History of idea approach
recorder of history of idea or philosophy as Eagleton said ” literature can be treated as a documentation in the history of ideas and philosophy, for literary history parallel and reflects intellectual history (111)”. According to Eagleton in recent decade, American scholar study this ideas and calling their method ” history of idea” which view more broadly than the one that developed and advocated by A.O.Lovejoy. Lovejoy has brilliantly demonstrated this approach pursuing the idea through all model of thought: philosophy in `the strict sense, scientific thought, theology and specifically literature, but he limits the study only to the great thinker. ” He further distinguishes that the history of philosophy studies the great system, while history of idea traces unit ideas (111).” ”history of idea is simply a specific approach to the general history of thought, using literature only as a document and illustration (111),” so it is kind of one sided study unit ideas to the exclusion of systems and neglecting the study of those coherent wholes, a specific work of art. From (http: //en. wikipedia.org /wiki /History of ideas) history of ideas is a field of research that deals with the expression, preservation, and change of human ideas over time. The history of ideas is a sister-discipline to, or a particular approach within, intellectual history. Work in the history of ideas may involve interdisciplinary research in the history of philosophy, the history of science, or the history of literature.
2.1.3 Buddhist Philosophies of life
concerning life is The Four Noble Truth, it explains the essence of Buddhism view of life (5):
2.1.3.1 The Four Noble Truths
According to Fraser in the Pali Tipitaka, the Four Noble Truths were the first teaching of Gautama Buddha after attaining Nirvana. They are sometimes considered as containing the essence of the Buddha's teachings of life:
1. Life is or leads to suffering/uneasiness (dukkha) in one way or another. 2. (Samudya) is the origin of (dukkha) Suffering, is caused by craving
(tanha) or attachments to worldly pleasures of all kinds. This is often expressed as a deluded clinging to a certain sense of existence, to selfhood, or to the things or phenomena that we consider the cause of happiness or unhappiness.
3. (Nirodha)is the cessation of (Dukkha), suffering ends when craving ends, when one is freed from desire. This is achieved by eliminating all delusion, thereby reaching a liberated state of Enlightenment (bodhi); 4. (Magga) is the way leading to cessation of (Dukkha). Reaching this
liberated state is achieved by following the path laid out by the Buddha(16)
second noble truth teaches that the pain of life is caused by “tanha” our cravings, our attachments, our selfish, and greedy after pleasure and avoiding pain. The third noble truth says a complete release from attachment or detach from dukkha is possible, a liberation from pain and rebirth. The fourth noble truth tells how to attain this liberation.
Life and death was considered by the Buddha as a cycle that was an effect of craving and attachment. Mullin said The Buddhist conception of this cycle not only relates to the birth and death of entities, but also relates to every moment of a being's life. "Each moment's consciousness is said to be a product of the fading out and re-arising of a previous moment's consciousness. The present mind is thus a unit born from the death of the last moment's mind (18)."
Early Buddhism was concerned with the problem of all types of suffering, especially the suffering caused by aging and death. According to Buddhism, the root of all types of suffering, including grief and fear of death, was the desire for unchangeableness in a world in which all things were continually changing. Human beings themselves were seen as examples of constant change, part of a field of causes and effects which formed the world.
wisdom and non-attachment and so breaks the links in the cycle of birth and death.
2.1.3.2 The Noble Eightfold Path
Burtt (19) describes the way to the end of suffering, as it was laid out by Siddhartha Gautama is by following The Noble Eightfold Path. It is a practical guideline to ethical and mental development with the goal of freeing the individual from attachments and fantasies; and it finally leads to understanding the truth about all things. Together with the Four Noble Truths it constitutes the gist of Buddhism. The Noble Eightfold Paths are as follows:
The first is Right View. It is the beginning and the end of the path, it simply means to see and to understand things as they really are and to realize the Four Noble Truth. As such, right view is the cognitive aspect of wisdom. It means to see things through, to grasp the impermanent and imperfect nature of worldly objects and ideas, and to understand the law of karma and karmic conditioning. Right view is not necessarily an intellectual capacity, just as wisdom is not just a matter of intelligence. Instead, right view is attained, sustained, and enhanced through all capacities of mind. It begins with the intuitive insight that all beings are subject to suffering and it ends with complete understanding of the true nature of all things. Since our view of the world forms our thoughts and our actions, right view yields right thoughts and right actions.
mental energy that controls our actions. Right intention can be described best as commitment to ethical and mental self-improvement. ”Buddha distinguishes three types of right intentions: 1. the intention of renunciation, which means resistance to the pull of desire, 2. the intention of good will, meaning resistance to feelings of anger and aversion, and 3. the intention of harmlessness, meaning not to think or act cruelly, violently, or aggressively, and to develop compassion(24).”
The next path is Right Speech. The importance of speech in the context of Buddhist ethics is obvious: words can break or save lives, make enemies or friends, start war or create peace. ”Buddha explained right speech as follows: 1. to abstain from false speech, especially not to tell deliberate lies and not to speak deceitfully, 2. to abstain from slanderous speech and not to use words maliciously against others, 3. to abstain from harsh words that offend or hurt others, and 4. to abstain from idle chatter that lacks purpose or depth (25).” Positively phrased, this means to tell the truth, to speak friendly, warm, and gently and to talk only when necessary. Shortly, it is abstinence from lying speech, from back biting and abusive speech, and from idle babble.
The fourth path is Right Action. Right action involves the body as natural means of expression, as it refers to deeds that involve bodily actions.
Positively formulated, right action means to act kindly and compassionately, to be honest, to respect the belongings of others, and to keep sexual relationships harmless to others.
The fifth path is Right Livelihood. Right livelihood means that one should earn one's living in a righteous way and that wealth should be gained legally and peacefully. The Buddha mentions four specific activities that harm other beings and that one should avoid for this reason:” dealing in weapons, dealing in living beings (including raising animals for slaughter as well as slave trade and prostitution), Working in meat production and butchery, and Selling intoxicants and poisons, such as alcohol and drugs. Furthermore any other occupation that would violate the principles of right speech and right action should be avoided (27).
The next path is Right Effort. Right effort can be seen as a requirement for the other principles of the path. Without effort, which is in itself an act of will, nothing can be achieved, whereas misguided effort distracts the mind from its task, and confusion will be the consequence. One must strive to improve himself to avoid evil and to develop and preserve what is good.
thoughts and experiences, all this happen only half consciously, and as a result we often see things obscured. Right mindfulness is attached in clear perception and it enters impressions without getting carried away. Right mindfulness enables us to be aware of the process of conceptualization in a way that we actively observe and control the way our thoughts go. ”Buddha accounted for this as the four foundations of mindfulness: 1. contemplation of the body, 2. contemplation of feeling (repulsive, attractive, or neutral), 3. contemplation of the state of mind, and 4. contemplation of the phenomena (28)”.The mind must be kept alert, vigilant and constantly aware.
The last path is Right Concentration. The eighth principle of the path, right concentration, refers to the development of a mental force that occurs in natural consciousness, although at a relatively low level of intensity, namely concentration. Concentration in this context is described as one-pointed ness of mind, meaning a state where all mental faculties are unified and directed onto one particular object. Right concentration for the purpose of the eightfold path means wholesome concentration, i.e. concentration on wholesome thoughts and actions. The Buddhist method of choice to develop right concentration is through the practice of meditation. The meditating mind focuses on a selected object. It first directs itself onto it, then sustains concentration, and finally intensifies concentration step by step.
habitually endeavoring to fulfill their base desires for food and sex, while others such as some politicians or mega millionaires are obsessed with power and control. In the human life most humans live as humans and use a kind of discriminative intelligence in an effort to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. Some people live quite a pleasant life, they are happy and are willing to share their joy and material possessions with others. They are in heaven. If one is wide-awake one can see how some human beings definitely live-in extreme edges, or how at times one's own life seems to be dominated by heavenly or hellish mind states. The realms are a creation of our minds. On another level however, being’s subjective realities seem to overlap and become a collective objective reality.
Detachment embraced, as it were, the chaos and fluctuation of change in the universe, finding joy in the lack of desire for the universe to be otherwise. If people realized that they were not unchanging selves, and if they let go of their desire to be unchanging, then causes and effects could change around them, and change them, without causing them suffering. This detachment from one's self and all other objects of desire entailed letting go of the desire to have those things stay the same, attached, relation to one's (nonexistent) self. According to Buddhism, this detachment eliminated the fear of death.
Majjhima Nikaya, Sammaditthi Sutta mention” With the arising of birth there is the arising of aging and death. With the cessation of birth there is the cessation of aging and death (9)”, therefore, the remedy Buddhism proposed for emotionally accepting the inevitability of physical death was detachment, and the remedy it proposed for endless future physical deaths (by reincarnation) was also detachment. Detachment was as a price of overcoming fear of death in this life, and it was also the price of preventing any future deaths in future reincarnations.
2.2 Criticism
The criticism will give some information about other writer’s works about the author’s works. Knowing what other people discuss about the work will be helpful in understanding their literary works that are going to be analyzed.
Sri Murni Lestari in her thesis used the novel Tuesdays With Morrie, to analyze the influence of Morrie on Mitch`s personality development as reflected in the novel. She analyzes the characters, Mitch and Morrie, and then analyzing the influence of Morrie’s personality toward Mitch. Widi Astuti in her thesis also used the novel, but she discussed the influences of Mitch`s behavior towards Morrie`s dependent behavior. Widi analyzes also Morrie’s character, but the different was she analyzes also Morrie’s dependent behavior and collects the two results to identify the influence to Mitch’s behavior toward Morrie’s.
and wisdom that lovingly captures the simplicity beyond life's complexities.” The book contains an image of love and how one view the meaning of life.
2.3 Theoretical Framework
In this section I would like to explain the reason why the theories are needed and how to us those theories in the analysis of this study. Morrie’s character can be analyzed using the character and characterization theory by analyzing his reaction, sayings, mannerism, and past life. Meanwhile the Buddhist teaching and philosophy on life based on The Four Noble Truth and The Noble Eightfold Path will be used to answer the second problem that is Morrie’s view of life.
2.4 Sources
In this thesis I use a novel as my primary data and several theories related to the topic. The novel I use is Tuesdays with Morrie written by Mitch Albom. To support the study, I use theory related to characterization, literature approaches, and philosophical approach and Buddhist philosophies on life.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism),
25
CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
This chapter will explain more about the primary data, approach and procedures I conduct to make this thesis. The contents of this chapter are subject matter, approach, and procedures. The first part is subject matter, which explains about the novel that I explore in this thesis. The second part is approach, which contains the approach I use to analyze the novel. The last part is procedures, consists of steps I conduct in order to do this thesis.
3.1 Object of the Study
Albom I, Live Albom II, Live Albom III, Live Albom IV, including the bestseller, The Five People You Meet in Heaven, BO, which is the autobiography of Bo Schemechler, and Fab Five, which is a story about the University of Michigan's men's basketball recruits who became starters as freshman, during the 1990's.
3.2 Approach of the Study
To analyze the work I use the approach suitable to the topic I want to reveal. In this thesis I want to find out Morrie’s character personality and the influence of Buddhist philosophy in his view of life. I use History of idea approach to analyze the influence of Buddhist philosophy in Morrie’s view of life.
History of Idea approach is used to give a bright light to the understanding of the novel. It sees philosophical side of a work of art. In using this approach Morrie’s view of life must be analyzed from the philosophical point of view. The character’s behavior, thinking, and thoughts must be noticed.
History of idea approach uses philosophical idea, in this case, I use Buddhist philosophy to analyze Morrie’s view of life and therefore this approach is a suitable approach to comprehend the influence of philosophy in the character view of life.
3.3 Method of the Study
28
CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS
This chapter contains the analysis to answer the questions in the problem formulation. This chapter is divided into two parts. In the first part, I analyze Morrie’s character. The second part is the analysis of Morrie’s view of life based on Buddhist philosophies. I analyze a character through personal description, character as seen by another, speech, conversation of others, past life, reactions, direct comment, thought, and mannerism.
Actually the title of the novel Tuesdays with Morrie itself is very interesting. The title means that a story written based on the author meetings with Morrie every Tuesdays before Morrie passed away.
4.1 Analysis on Morrie’s character
Murphy (1972) said that a character can be seen through personal description, character as seen by another, speech, past life, conversation of others, reactions, direct comment, thought, and mannerism.
Here are Morrie’s characters that make his personality is different from others Morrie Schwatz is an old professor teaching sociology in Brandeis University. In appearance Morrie is relatively small person with sparkling blue-green eyes, thinning silver hair, big ears and smile so sincere.
sparkling blue green eyes, that spills onto his forehead, big ears, a triangular nose, and tufts of graying eyebrows. Although his teeth are crooked and his lower ones are slanted back—as if someone had once punched them in—when he smiles it’s as if you’d just told him the first joke on earth (3).
He was diagnosed with a deadly, brutal disease that strikes the deceased neurological system, and there was no way to cure it.
Finally, on a hot, humid day in August 1994, Morrie and his wife,
Charlotte, went to the neurologist’s office, and he asked them to sit before he broke the news: Morrie had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Lou Gehrig’s disease, a brutal, unforgiving illness of the neurological system. There was no known cure (7).
4.1.1 Tough
Morrie is a tough person. It is reflected by the author’s direct comment about Morrie’s reaction in accepting the disease and the fact that he was dying.
Morrie’s doctors guessed he had two years left. Morrie knew it was less. But my old professor had made a profound decision, one he began to construct the day he came out of the doctor’s office with a sword hanging over his head. Do I wither up and disappear, or do I make the best of my time left? He had asked himself. He would not wither. He would not be ashamed of dying. (10).
Based on his decision not to wither up and die, and instead use his dying, as an opportunity to teach others what truly matters in life,
He would make death his final project, the center point of his days. Since everyone was going to die, he could be of great value, right? He could be research. A human textbook. Study me in my slow and patient demise. Watch what happens to me. Learn with me. Morrie would walk that final bridge between life and death, and narrate the trip (10).
It shows how unselfish and positive he really was. Morrie didn't see his time spent ill as a waste, instead, he said, “I mourn my dwindling time, but I cherish the chance it gives me to make things right (167).”
In March of 1995, when Ted Koppel came to Morrie’s house to covers Morrie for his nightline show, Morrie was in terrible shape that anyone in his shoes could not endure without being stressful, he was in a wheelchair full-time, and getting used to helpers lifting him like from the chair to the bed and the bed to the chair. He had begun to cough while eating, and chewing was a chore and his legs were dead.
Yet he refused to be depressed. Instead, Morrie had become a lightning rod of ideas. He jotted down his thoughts on yellow pads, envelopes, folders, scrap paper. He wrote bite-sized philosophies about living with death’s shadow: “Accept what you are able to do and what you are not able to do”; “Accept the past as past, without denying it or discarding it”; “Learn to forgive yourself and to forgive others”; “Don’t assume that it’s too late to get involved (18).”
4.1.2 Wise
that they have to do what makes them happy without worrying what everyone thinks is right. It underscores the theme because in order to figure out the meaning of life and make every minute count, you have to know what makes you happy. If you do not know what makes you happy then you aren't going to make every minute of your life count unless you spend every minute of your life doing something that is pointless or makes you sad.
Morrie speaks these words of advice to Mitch during their eleventh Tuesday together, when they talk specifically about culture.
“Take my condition. The things I am supposed to be embarrassed about now — not being able to walk, not being able to wipe my ass, waking up some mornings wanting to cry — there is nothing innately embarrassing about them. It's the same for women not being thin enough, or men not being rich enough. It's just what our culture would have you believe. Don't believe it (155)”.
clean the minds of the public, and replacing the inherent kindness they posses at birth with a ruthless greed and selfish focus.
Morrie thinks a meaningful life will not be found in the best job or how much wealth you earned. The way you get meaning in your life is to devote yourself to help others and create something that gives you purpose, “Do the kinds of things that come from the heart. When you do, you won’t be dissatisfied, you won’t be envious, you won’t be longing for somebody else’s things. On the contrary, you’ll be overwhelmed with what comes back (128).” Morrie tells us to share other what we have to give and it will become meaningful things, meaningful is not always about the value and price, but a gift from the heart that makes everything we offer is meaningful for other. All that material thing won’t satisfy you because it is not merely the thing you really needed as Morrie said:
“Money is not a substitute for tenderness, and power is not a substitute for tenderness. I can tell you, as I'm sitting here dying, when you most need it, neither money nor power will give you the feelings you are looking for, no matter how much of them you have (125)”.
Our grief for money and power will get us nowhere, but it is what our culture influences us to do and to be. Morrie think logically that money and power you have do not anything in the community, people at the top who have more power would still look down on you and people at the bottom will only envy on what you have. Only a passion in loving other will make you equally float around different people.
bottom, forget it. They will only envy you. Status will get you nowhere. Only an open heart will allow you to float equally between everyone (127).”
"Once you learn how to die, you learn how to live (81)." Morrie said this during the fourth Tuesday when he and Mitch discuss death. Morrie feels that people refuse to believe that they will one day die, and therefore, do not live their lives as fully as they would have liked and also have many regrets as they become older and their death becomes closer. He feels that once we learn and accept that we are one day going to die, we learn to live our lives fully and without any regrets. Morrie emphasize how important and helpful it is to accept death, and what a benefit it would be to living the remainder of our lives. Morrie also wants Mitch to see how he is able to appreciate the smaller, more genuine things in life, knowing that his death is approaching.
Morrie said that he don’t want to remain young like most people do. He want to embrace aging, because by aging people could learn more to live a better life.
"As you grow old, you learn more. If you stayed at twenty-two, you'd always be as ignorant as you were at twenty-two. Aging is not just decay, you know. It's growth. It's more than the negative that you're going to die, its also the positive that you understand you're going to die, and that you live a better life because of it (118)."
insufficiency and the lack of purpose they felt in life. He feels that the young are also not very wise because they have little understanding about life. This is why he enjoys aging. "Aging is not just decay...Its growth (118)." Morrie embraces aging because he sees it as an opportunity to learn more. He explained that contrary to many people’s fear, he does not want to remain young because he would always be as ignorant as he once was at a young age. He feels that once people have found meaning in their lives, they never want to go back and be young again. He feels that if your life has meaning you will want to progress forward with age by doing more things, seeing more and learning more to appreciate life given. "If you're always battling against getting older, you're always going to be unhappy, because it will happen anyhow (118).” Everything in this world is impermanent and aging is a valuable progress. It is good being young but it is better to grow and to grow needs time. “You have to find what’s good and true and beautiful in your life as it is now. Looking back makes you competitive. And, age is not a competitive issue (120).”
4.1.3 Loving
Morrie is a loving person, from his speech in the novel “Love each other or die” (163). Morrie feels that love and compassion are necessary for a person to be fulfilled and when love abounds, there is no higher sense of fulfillment one can experience.
on a rubber band. And most of us live somewhere in the middle.” “A wrestling match. Yes you could describe life that way.” “Which side wins?” “Love wins. Love always wins.”(35)
The expression of love and compassion is very important to Morrie, especially since he lacked such expression in his childhood, with the early death of his mother, and his busy father.
"The truth is, when our mothers held us, rocked us, stroked our heads-none of us ever got enough of that. We all yearn in some way to return to those days when we were completely taken care of-unconditional love, unconditional attention. Most of us didn't get enough (116)."
He was lack of love at an early age, for the rest of his life he continuously offered his love and compassion to others.
Love is also important to Morrie as he is nearing the final days of his life. "If you don't have the support and love and caring and concern that you get from a family, you don't have much at all. Love is so supremely important (91)." He feels that without the care of those who love him, he would die and if he did not have his family around him, during his sickness, it would be much harder for him. “I may be dying, but I am surrounded by loving, caring souls. How many people can say that? (36).” He feels safe knowing his family will never leave and always be watching out for him. He feels that the love between family members goes hand and hand with letting someone know that there will always be someone there for them, someone always watching over them.
which Morrie is referring, are money and materialistic possessions. He feels that living a full life and being satisfied means offering other people what we have to give.”You can't substitute material things for love or for gentleness or for tenderness or for a sense of comradeship (125)”. Morrie feels that there are so many people who are in need of some compassion and if we all devoting ourselves to loving others, and to the community, it will gives our life a purpose and meaning
Morrie also emphasis on we should not only give love but also to let it comes in and be loved as Morrie said that "The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in (51)”. Morrie emphasizes the importance of giving out love and showing affection. He thinks that a lot of people feel that they do not deserve love and if they let love in, they become too soft.
He quotes Levine in saying, "love is the only rational act" (52). They way Morrie emphasizes this quote, indicate that this will be the recurring themes throughout the novel. Morrie derived this theory due to the lack of love present throughout his childhood. Morrie's mother died when he was very young and his father was often working and not interested in showing affection toward Morrie and his brother. When Eva came into their house she provided them with all the motherly love of which they had been deprived. Morrie realized just how important it is to be compassionate towards others and emphasized that for the remainder of his life.
is because they’re chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning (43).”
Morrie had once told Mitch at the beginning of the novel when he was describing his job and his lifestyle. Mitch was a very busy, career and success oriented sports reporter. He chased money, success, and materialistic things. Morrie had told him how so many people get caught leading a meaningless life; they become too involved in their job, money, and fall under the popular culture dictatorship. Morrie feels that so many people are mislead thinking all of these things are important and they are too busy chasing these things that their life passes right by them.
“This is part of what family is about, not just love, but letting others know there’s someone who is watching out for them. Knowing that your family will be there watching out for you. Nothing else will give you that. Not money. Not fame. Not work (92).”
Morrie says that to create meaning in our life, we must love and show compassion for others. This way we create our own meaning of life and do not waste our life chasing false and superficial dreams. Ironically, Mitch lives this exact life of "chasing the wrong things".
earth, not only will we live more fulfilled and substantial lives, but when we die our love and relationship will remain in the hearts of those who we love. "Death ends a life, not a relationship (174)."
4.1.4 Forgiving
He is also a forgiving person. It is shown on the twelfth Tuesday when Morrie and Mitch discuss forgiveness. "Forgive yourself before you die. Then forgive others (166)." Morrie sees no point in holding any kind of vengeance or stubbornness. He then admits that he has had some pride in his life and regrets it. He recalled a story about his old friend Norman with whom he used to spend much time. After Norman and his wife moved to Chicago, Morrie's wife, Charlotte, had to undergo a serious operation. Norman never contacted Morrie or Charlotte even though they knew about the operation. This hurt Morrie and Charlotte so much that they decided to drop their relationship with Norman. Norman tried to apologize and reconcile but Morrie never accepted his apology. After Norman died, Morrie regretted how he never forgave him. Morrie therefore, feels that we need to also forgive ourselves for the things we should have done. He explains that we can't get stuck on regrets of what should have happened. He advises to make peace with yourself and those around you.
4.2 Analysis on Morrie’s view of life based on Buddhist philosophy
with a Buddhist philosophy that every day, one must ask the bird on his shoulder if that day is the day he will die.
How can you ever be prepared to die? “Do what the Buddhists do. Every day, have a little bird on your shoulder that asks, ‘Is today the day? Am I ready? Am I doing all I need to do? Am I being the person I want to be?’”( 81)
The bird itself is symbolic of Morrie's consciousness that his death is fast-approaching, and his readiness to accept it when it does arrive. He hopes that Mitch will realize that this bird is on everyone's shoulder at every moment of their lives, despite how young or old they may be. “Everyone knows they’re going to die, but nobody believes it. If we did, we would do things differently (81).” When he tells Mitch that one must know how to die before one can know how to live, he means that one must accept the possibility of one's own death before he can truly appreciate what he has on earth, as the sobering awareness that one day, it will all be out of reach, the urge to appreciate and value what one can have only for a limited period of time, and to use every moment of that time doing something that one will not regret when the bird sings its last note.
4.2.1 Analysis on Morrie’s view of life based on Buddhist’s Four Noble Truth
Morrie sees many people, mostly are craving for material things, a substitute for love that they actually needing. In the end they couldn’t get enough of material to covers the need of love and suffered by living an unsatisfying life. It is reflected in the first Buddhist’s four noble truth that life is or leads to suffering/uneasiness (dukkha) in one way or another.
of (dukkha) Suffering, is caused by craving (tanha) or attachments to worldly pleasures of all kinds. This is just what Morrie believes and follow.
"Wherever I went in my life, I met people wanting to gobble up something new. Gobble up a new car. Gobble up a new piece of property. Gobble up the latest toy. And then they wanted to tell you about it.
"Guess what I got? Guess what I got?"
"You know how I always interpreted that? These were people so hungry for love that they were accepting substitutes. They were embracing material things and expecting sort of a hug back. But it never works. You can't substitute material things for love or for gentleness or for tenderness or for a sense of comradeship (125)
One day Morrie as he was recovering from a violent coughing spell, he began to explain to Mitch the ability to detach yourself from your emotions. He believed that experiencing life and the emotions that go along with each situation were very important.
“Yes. Detaching myself. And this is important—not just for someone like me, who is dying, but for someone like you, who is perfectly healthy. Learn to detach.” He opened his eyes. He exhaled. “You know what the Buddhists say? Don’t cling to things, because everything is impermanent (103).”
The third Buddhist’s four noble truths, (Nirodha) is the cessation of (Dukkha), suffering ends when craving ends, when one is freed from desire. This is achieved by eliminating all delusion, thereby reaching a liberated state of Enlightenment (bodhi).
Morrie explained to Mitch that it was necessary to experience and feel your emotions fully rather than ignore them or pretend that they don't exist as so many of us do.
yourself, “All right, it’s just fear, I don’t have to let it control me. I see it for what it is (105).”
When Morrie detaches himself from his emotions, he is not simply ignoring and blocking them, but experiencing them fully as well as separating himself from them so that they will not control him.
Same for loneliness: you let go, let the tears flow, feel it completely—but eventually be able to say, “All right, that was my moment with loneliness. I’m not afraid of feeling lonely, but now I’m going to put that loneliness aside and know that there are other emotions in the world, and I’m going to experience them as well (105).”
In this sense at least he can slightly escape the fear of his emotions without fully ignoring them. “Even I don’t know what ’spiritual development’ really means. But I do know we’re deficient in some way. We are too involved in materialistic things, and they don’t satisfy us. The loving relationship we have, the universe around us, we take these things for granted (84).” Morrie did not want to leave the world through a violent coughing spell, instead he wanted to understand what was happening to him, find acceptance in it, and be able to let go in a peaceful manner. Morrie’s acceptance through detachment is a way in reaching spiritual development. This is achieved by eliminating all delusion, thereby reaching a liberated state of enlightenment. It is reflected in the fourth Buddhist’s four noble truth that (Magga) is the way leading to cessation of (Dukkha) and Reaching liberated state.
the goal of release the individual from attachments and fantasies; and it finally leads to understanding the truth about all things.
4.2.1 Analysis on Morrie’s view of life based on Buddhist’s Noble Eightfold
Path
The first path is right view. It means to see things through, to grasp the impermanent and imperfect nature of worldly objects and ideas. Right view is not necessarily an intellectual capacity, just as wisdom is not just a matter of intelligence. Instead, right view is attained, sustained, and enhanced through all capacities of mind. It begins with the intuitive insight that all beings are subject to suffering and it ends with complete understanding of the true nature of all things. Morrie follows this path as he can see things and condition wisely. Morrie’s illness makes him slowly unable to do the things he used to do, not even to wipe his own ass. Morrie can accept that he is a subject to suffering. His conversation with Mitch on the first Tuesday shows it,
“Do you remember when I told Ted Koppel that pretty soon someone was gonna have to wipe my ass?” he said. I laughed. You don’t forget a moment like that. “Well, I think that day is coming. That one bothers me.” Why? “Because it’s the ultimate sign of dependency. Someone wiping your bottom. But I’m working on it. I’m trying to enjoy the process (49).” Morrie’s acceptance to his illness that not everyone could endure attained by his intuitive insight that in life everything is impermanent and that includes human. It can be seen in Mitch and Morrie’s speech on the thirteenth Tuesday when they talk about the perfect day and Morrie ask Mitch to pick up a hibiscus plant behind Morrie.
We think because we’re human we’re something above nature.” He smiled at the plant. “We’re not. Everything that gets born, dies (173).”
Morrie imply that being dying and suffer is a most incredible feeling, the sensation of accepting the fact that we are going to die and being at peace, being ready to move on whatever is next.
The second is Right Purpose. While right view refers to the cognitive aspect of wisdom, right purpose refers to the volitional aspect. Right intention can be described best as commitment to ethical and mental self-improvement. It is also seen from Mitch and Morrie’s conversation in the thirteenth Tuesday. “No way I could go back. I am a different self now. I’m different in my attitudes. I’m different appreciating my body, which I didn’t do fully before (175).” Morrie is mentally self-improved following his acceptance to his condition. It can be seen through his speech when Mitch and Morrie talks about the way that Morrie changes in terms of trying to grapple the big question in mental self-improvement. “And which are the important questions? “As I see it, they have to do with love, responsibility, spirituality, awareness. And if I were healthy today, those would still be my issues. They should have been all along (175).”
The next path is Right Speech. The importance of speech in the context of Buddhist ethics is obvious: words can break or save lives, make enemies or friends, start war or create peace. Morrie always creates peace with people around him. Shortly, it is abstinence from lying speech, from back biting and abusive speech, and from idle babble.
and to talk only when necessary. Mitch always brings food for Morrie although eventually Mitch knows that Morrie can no longer eat that kind of food. Morrie never say it to Mitch because Morrie do not want to hurt Mitch’s feeling.
The fourth path is Right Action. Right action involves the body as natural means of expression, as it refers to deeds that involve bodily actions. Positively formulated, right action means to act kindly and compassionately Morrie’s speech implicitly implies that the right action is to devote yourself to loving other. “The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning (43).”
Morrie also shows right action in his story when he was still able to drive. One day he was driving in a traffic jam and someone wants to get ahead of him, his reaction to the situation was he raised his hand, waved, and smiles.
“… I would raise my hand, as if I was going to make a negative gesture, and then I would wave and smile. Instead of giving them the finger, you let them go, and you smile. “You know what? A lot of times they smiled back. “The truth is, I don’t have to be in that much of a hurry with my car. I would rather put my energies into people (137).”
The fifth path is Right Livelihood. Right livelihood means that one should earn one's living in a righteous way and that wealth should be gained legally and peacefully. Although Morrie did not explicitly discuss this issue, but implicitly from his reaction of disagreement to popular culture effect to people shows that he carry out the right livelihood.
only for yourself. You start making money a god. It is all part of this culture.” He exhaled. “Which is why I don’t buy into it (154).”
The next path is Right Effort. Right effort can be seen as a requirement for the other principles of the path. Without effort, which is in itself an act of will, nothing can be achieved, whereas misguided effort distracts the mind from its task, and confusion will be the consequence. Morrie thinks that many people are misguided and brain-washed by the culture and doing the wrong effort.
“We’ve got a form of brainwashing going on in our country,” Morrie sighed. “Do you know how they brainwash people? They repeat something over and over. And that’s what we do in this country. Owning things is good. More money is good. More property is good. More commercialism is good. More is good.”
Morrie interpreted it as the people were so hungry for love that they were agree to receive anything including substitutes. They were clinching to material things and hoping it will hug back and turns out that they didn’t.
“Money is not a substitute for tenderness, and power is not a substitute for tenderness. I can tell you, as I’m sitting here dying, when you most need it, neither money nor power will give you the feeling you’re looking for, no matter how much of them you have (125).”
One must strive to improve himself to avoid evil and to develop and preserve what is good.
about things in life. “So we don’t get into the habit of standing back and looking at our lives and saying, Is this all? Is this all I want? Is something missing? (65).” Morrie said this when he talk about the culture, the culture that makes people wrapped in egoistical things. Standing back and looking at our life and asking those questions to ourselves bring people to the search for right awareness. Right mindfulness is attached in clear perception and it enters impressions without getting carried away. Morrie life value based on love, compassion, acceptance, and communication but he refuse to be carried away. “But detachment doesn’t mean you don’t let the experience penetrate you. On the contrary, you let it penetrate you fully. That’s how you are able to leave it (103).” Morrie belive that we should not cling to things because everything is impermanent, if not it will make us suffer in craving. If you let the fear inside, if you pull it on like a familiar shirt, then you can say to yourself, “All right, it’s just fear, I don’t have to let it control me. I see it for what it is.”
The last path is Right Concentration. The eighth principle of the path, right concentration, refers to the development of a mental force that occurs in natural consciousness, although at a relatively low level of intensity, namely concentration. Morrie realized that people lack of spiritual development and more involved in material things. “The things you spend so much time on—all this work you do—might not seem as important. You might have to make room for some more spiritual things (84).” He often contemplates to life that he are able to appreciate it.
through that windowpane. Because I know my time is almost done, I am drawn to nature like I’m seeing it for the first time.”(84)
48
CHAPTER V
CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
This final chapter consists of two parts. The first part is the conclusion of the study. I draw the conclusion based on the problem formulations in the chapter one and the analysis in the previous chapter. The last one is the suggestions for some people related to the study of this novel.
5.1 Conclusions
Having analyzed Tuesdays with Morrie, I draw some conclusions of my thesis. By applying the theory of characterization and theory of personality, I analyze Morrie’s personality and his view of life based on Buddhist philosophy.
Morrie, from applying the theory of character and characterization is a tough person and we can see that from his character as seen by others, his speech, his reaction towards certain situation, the author’s direct comment and his thought. He is also a wise person, and it can be seen from his speech and thought about the culture and the meaning of life.
Morrie’s view of life and way of being is influenced by Buddhist philosophy that is The Four Noble Truth in a way that life is suffering and he can accept the fact that he is a subject to suffering. He also sees that suffering is caused by attachment to worldly pleasure. Morie thinks that suffering will end if one stops clinging to worldly pleasure and so one can reach the liberation state. The Noble Eightfold path which are, right view, right purpose, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right awareness, right concentration also influence his view of life. The Noble Eightfold path is the way to liberated states.
5.2 Suggestions
This part is divided into two parts, first is the suggestions for the next researchers. The next part is suggestions for teaching English using the novel Tuesdays with Morrie.
5.2.1 Suggestions to Future Researchers
The novel Tuesdays with Morrie is an interesting novel even though it is not as famous as some other Mitch Albom’s novels. This novel is about Mitch and his former lecturer Morrie. My analysis is limited to Morrie’s personality and his view of life. I have some suggestions for the next researchers about the aspect that can be gained from the novel Tuesdays with Morrie.
analyze. He is not sure about what truly matters in life. He is looking for what really satisfies people in life. Thus, future researchers may find this character psychological side by using psychological approach which will lead to a deeper analysis.
Secondly, for future researchers who intend to write about Mitch Albom’s works and its relationship with Mitch Albom’s life, they can use this novel. Mitch Albom wrote this novel based on his own life experience with his former college lecturer Morrie. All names for the characters in this story are real from people’s names around him. The events and names for the places in this novel are also real from the place where he lives. So, the relationship between Mitch Albom’s life and the novel Tuesdays with Morrie is so interesting.
5.2.2 Suggestion on Teaching Reading using Tuesdays with Morrie
Reading is one of the skills in English teaching. According to Brumfit, reading is the most autonomous and individualizable ability in language work and literature is a rich and widely appealing source of material for reading (105). Literary work then can be the most suitable material for reading skill.
