Goal:

Students will read and analyze the memoir Tuesdays with Morrie. They will identify literary elements and write Life Lessons Personal Narrative.

Why:

The study of literature is not like the study of math or science, or even history. While those disciplines are based largely upon fact, the study of literature is based upon interpretation and analysis. There are no clear-cut answers in literature, outside of the factual information about an author's life and the basic information about setting and characterization in a piece of literature. The rest is a highly subjective reading of what an author has written; each person brings a different set of values and a different background to the reading. As a result, no two people see the piece of literature in exactly the same light, and few critics agree on everything about a book or an author. Literature is not simply a black or white situation; instead, there are many gray areas that are open to varying analyses. Your task is to use the memoir as a mentor text for writing your own personal narrative literature.