English Literature

What is startling is the fact that male stereotypes have demonstrated an enduring resiliency despite evidence suggesting that these stereotypes often do not apply to the aging male population.  This is perhaps why Tuesdays with Morrie, a book by Mitch Albom about one of his dying professors, has touched such a raw nerve in both the academic community and in society more generally.  Men are in this book by Mitch Albom portrayed as vulnerable, as requiring some type of social support network, and as being at risk of depression and other ailments when they perceive themselves to be cut off from society.  Book report essay will show that, with respect to male aging, it is quite accurate to believe that fear is just as powerful for both men and women as they age and that a type of vulnerability peculiar to males demands genuine interventions to sustain a personal sense of social worth and a feeling of social inclusion.  This report will therefore discuss how the book was constructed and its main message and advice about male aging.

More than anything else, this book is the story of as relationship between a student and his old professor.  The writer was once a student of the professors at Brandeis University.  The book, however, is not about their relationship at university instead, this story takes many years later when the student is a grown man and the professor is an old man who is dying.  The title comes from the fact that the writer met his old professor on Tuesdays and learned about male aging and how it is to know that you are going to die.  Even though this might seem like a sad topic, and it is sad sometimes, the overall tone is happy and hopeful.  This is because the old professor, a man named Morrie Schwartz, has had a happy life and has had a good family.  Still, much of the book concerns Morries observations about getting older and the difficulties that men face as they age.  Morrie can still think and speak clearly, but his physical body is devastated from his disease.  The writer constantly says that these conversations with Morrie would make him reassess his life.  What is interesting is that the writer is actually a professional sportswriter and he is very much involved with male stereotypes such as physical strength, pride, and independence.  Through Morrie, who cries and openly expresses his pain and suffering at certain points, the writer realizes that these male stereotypes can do more harm than good from an emotional and psychological point of view as men age.  The writer promises to be more open with his own family, to be vulnerable and more dependent on those he loves, and to enjoy life as a feeling human being instead of as a stereotyped male.  The greatest fear, from the writers perspective, seems to be growing old without loved ones rather than an impending death itself.  In this way, the book is mostly about the process of aging as it impacts men rather than death or disease.  This ability to be vulnerable, and to express human needs openly, represents for the writer the ultimate type of human wisdom.  One example of this type of wisdom is when the writer quotes Morrie as saying that As you grow, you learn more. If you stayed as ignorant as you were at twenty- two, youd always be twenty-two. Aging is not just decay, you know. Its growth. Its more than the negative that youre going to die, its the positive that youunderstandyoure going to die, and that you live a better life because of it. (Albom, 1997)  This is beautiful, and intelligent, because they both come to equate aging with growth rather than the type of decay caused by Morries disease.  People are never too old to learn.

This books main message, a valuable one, is that trust and personal relationships are very important as people get older.  There are, however, certain parts of the male ego that sometime make it harder for men to trust and to ask for help as they age.  The stereotype, which this book suggests is not always correct, is that men are independent and too proud to be dependent on other people as they get older.  This can make aging men lonelier and less healthy than women as they age.  Mitch Albom delivers a message suggesting that people ignore these stereotypes in meetings and interactions with older men.  At one point, for example, he writes  Sometimes you cannot believe what you see, you have to believe what you feel. And if you are ever going to have other people trust you, you must feel that you can trust them too-even when you are in the dark. Even when youre falling. (Albom, 1997) Generally speaking, and quite clearly illustrated in Tuesdays with Morrie, gender is relevant and social inclusion is more challenging for men as they age than for women.  One researcher has stated that This lack of social embeddedness has been attributed to gender and mens acceptance of the pivotal role of women in establishing and maintaining social networks.  In support of this line of reasoning it has been further pointed out that women tend rather strongly to pursue and maintain family networks that women report a greater feeling of emotional gratification from personal relations and, that men suffer disproportionately from these gender disparities as they age.  The ways in which men suffer, and the sociological issues, demonstrate that trust and communication are critical factors.  Albom portrays a vulnerable man that defies traditional male stereotypes and which is also consistent with the academic literature regarding male aging.

In conclusion, Tuesdays with Morrie is a book that anyone interested in human wisdom or the process of aging should read and carefully consider.  It paints the aging process as one of personal growth and the acquisition of knowledge.  It is also especially valuable for men because it points out the dangers of male stereotypes and how this can lead to loneliness for men.  It is best to treat all human beings the same as they age and to  anticipate certain fears and needs.  Aging, after all, affects us all.