A Critical Discourse Analysis of Lexical Choice of Moral Values in “Tuesdays with Morrie”

Abstract

The purpose of this work is to examine the moral values that are framed in Albom’s Tuesdays with Morrie and the techniques that he uses through the lens of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). CDA helps us understand how a specific text either supports or challenges the values of society. Using Fairclough’s model and qualitative approach, this work focuses on the morals emphasized by Albom through his lexicon, which in this case is compassion, grief, forgiveness, appreciation of life, personal growth, interdependence, authenticity, integrity, selflessness, and resilience. Analyzed excerpts reveal the patterns of value ethnography specific to the emotionally rich lexicon employed throughout the text. This work reveals a consistent pattern of emotionally resonant and morally driven vocabulary that supports the book’s overarching themes. The use of imperatives, metaphors, and key term repetition serves to galvanize ethical engagement. Albom employs a narrative discourse to encourage readers towards self-reflection on cherished human attributes and, with that, challenges them to re-evaluate how they interact with life’s hardships. This work contributes to the discourse by framing these moral systems of discourse more broadly into social culture and exposing the relevance of Albom’s work in answering the moral issues of today. It confirms how literature serves to cultivate empathy and insight while it also encouraging individual development. It further motivates inquiry into the interdisciplinary resonances of how literary language forms the ethics of its readers and reinforces the place of narrative in the cultivation of social values.