The following is a study guide that I developed for my students at Greenwood High on the novel For One More Day by Mitch Albom. Feel
free to use it for your own personal study of the novel or for classroom use. For the answer key, please write me from your school address
and I will gladly e-mail it to you. Happy Reading!!!
DEFINE THE FOLLOWING WORDS/PHRASES:
protruded from, shingles (the condition), imminent, solvent, optimistic, engaged in, arterial burst, nimble movement, cacophony, hydraulic air, gondola,
cylinders (as in engines), sprawled, arms extended, endured, to feign, interest, instinct, obstructions, promenade (noun), pristine paint, brick tenements,
ticket kiosk, conjoined twins, ballyhoo the oddity, grotesque shade of color, to belittle something, scenery without solace is meaningless, “You wiseacre!”,
foreman, primitive medicine, silver nitrate, “I am a commodity.”, exotic, pathetic, jolt of adrenaline, to marvel at something, to look at mournfully, gold lame’,
skeptical, lives intersect, colleague, melting sensation, an impotent posture, they relent, cobalt blue, lifeless terrain, porous wall, retaliate, deflected
shrapnel, bandoleers, prominent chin, was productive, adjacent ponies, a diversion, they had endured, a surge of bile, the futility of it all, punctuated
the word with a sigh, pummeling him, tied a tourniquet, a thicket of trees, smoldering remains, made a sacrifice, a yawning spread, a javelin, shifting
posture, greenish firmament, succulent colors, was oblivious, in solitude, custody, erupted like thunder, mimicked his father, learn devotion, maneuvering
the levers, strapping teenager, ritual of semaphore, more agitated every day, through clenched jaw, beseeched her husband, inexplicably, he still coveted
his love, bib-like bodice, despairing question, the agitation he felt, snared creatures, he abhorred rich people, incandescent lights, a gray film clouded it,
he felt undeserving, the initial owner, a roustabout, drinking and carousing, made of lathe and tar, acquired minimum insurance, “He is courting me.”, from
the confines of a bed, he had envisioned, a gondola ride, a commuter, new fenders, tried to strike you, instinctively blocked him, with a final surge,
judgement faltered, he was adrift, left him vulnerable, silence is rarely a refuge, window sash, enlightenment, subsequent collapse, held accountable,
engaged with one another, moved haltingly, jade colored sky, attendees, earnestly, sound startled him, participatory moments, uniformity, parchment, reel
of tickets, looked down sheepishly, dampened by her inability, complicated contraption, certain love, irreplaceable, crept up mischievously, felt a
churning inside him, stop-start anxiety, on the straightaway, sky is in flux, lacerating her liver, near oblivion, rotors and cables, a cutlet, doled out, this was
protocol, sallow complexion, his perception, confounded by his silence, “You nurture it.”, ugly associations, porthole, a bedroom bureau, vested retirement
plan, his soul was vacant, he had no impulse, had been gored out of him, hastening decay, unheeded alarm, on an embankment, monitoring themselves,
navigate the slope, paleness of surrender, arresting eyes, iridescent seashells, serene landscape, his soul seemed to plummet, body convulsed, anguish
had quieted, were black and charred, mottled scabs, barely audible, surrendered all barriers, my existence, engulfing his waist, submerged in the current,
entwined, unimaginable scene, mundane things, spires of the midway, memorabilia
JOURNALS:
Write at least 1 full page on each of the following journals. Choose and complete at least 8.
1. Create an outline for a novel like this using events that happened on your birthdays. Use at least 5 of your birthdays in the outline.
2. Write a “snapshot” from your life in narrative format.
3. Describe the events that “will occur” in the last 30 minutes of your life in a manner similar to that in “The End”.
4. In your opinion, is the comfort of Heaven similar to the safest place on Earth? Why or why not? What do you think is the safest place on Earth?
5. Who are the 5 people you will meet in Heaven? Describe why in detail.
6. A simple way to date a description is through colors, such as that at the beginning of “The Arrival”. The colors of every generation are different,
and an aged color is different from a new color. What colors do you foresee as identifying your generation? Why?
7. Name someone that has affected your life that probably does not know they have done so and describe how/when they did so in detail.
8. “All parents Damage their children.” is a statement from the novel. Discuss how your parents have “damaged” you. Consider: Is “damage always
physical? (Remember, your answers are private and will only be read by me.)
9. What do you want your coworkers or family to remember about you after you die? What changes can you make right now to begin the process of
becoming the person you want them to remember?
10. In the gambling scene, Eddie does not seem to realize that what he did would effect anyone else. Why do we do things without thinking of how it
will effect other? Describe a time where your actions effected someone else adversely, even though you did not realize it until later. What things have you
don’t recently that might effect someone else adversely? Did you think about those effects before you did it? Why or why not?
11. How long can people stay in love? Describe a marriage that you know of that has lasted a long time (20+ years). Why has it survived? If you
interview people, ask their opinion of what they believe makes their marriage successful.
12. The attorney that handles Eddie’s estate sees Eddie’s small bank account and limited retirement investment and feels proud and thinks of Eddie
as a “poor slob”. What things in life are more important than money? Discuss the ways in which Eddie really was rich.
13. Write at least 1 full Page - In “The Last Lesson” Eddie is submerged in the river by Tala. Discuss the symbolism in this scene, including the title
and scene.
STUDY GUIDE QUESTIONS:
1. What is the significance of Eddie’s birthday in the novel? i.e. Why does everything center around the date of his birth throughout the novel?
2. Why does the novel go back and forth between the past and present?
3. Where did the car key come from?
4. Will Eddie see his mother in Heaven? Why do you think he will or will not?
5. Where did Eddie wake up in “The Arrival”?
6. What are the colors that identify the past to Eddie at the beginning of “The Arrival”?
7. What objects, movies, or pictures have you seen that have the same colors described at the beginning of “The Arrival”?
8. Why was the Blue Man blue?
9. Why did the author, Mitch Albom, choose the Blue Man to be the first person Eddie meets when he gets to Heaven?
10. The Blue Man says, “And Heaven itself has many steps. This for me is the second. And for you, the first.” What does he mean by this?
11. Who tells Eddie that he will meet 5 people?
12. Who does the Blue Man say killed him? How/Why?
13. Where was the Blue Man from?
14. How did the Blue Man die?
15. What did Eddie doing at the funeral to pass the time?
16. Why does Eddie act like a child when he is talking to the Blue Man?
17. Why does Eddie think he has to “pay” in “The First Lesson”?
18. What happened when the Blue Man hugged Eddie?
19. What is Lesson Number One?
20. Who is the second person Eddie meets in Heaven?
21. What does the rifle and helmet stuck in the ground stand for?
22. List the things that Eddie learned during the war.
23. What did the enemy put in their food?
24. What did they call their captors?
25. What happened in the forth month?
26. What did Eddie stop doing after Rabozzo was killed?
27. What did Eddie know how to do that diverted the captors?
28. What did they decide to do to their prison when they escaped?
29. Why did that choice effect the rest of Eddie’s life?
30. What happened to Eddie’s knee? Who caused the injury? Why?
31. What crawled inside Eddie? He came home a different “what”?
32. What happened to the Captain? How did he die?
33. What is Lesson Number Two?
34. What does the Captain say Eddie “sees” him doing but that he doesn’t really do in Heaven?
35. Who is the third person Eddie meets in Heaven?
36. What question does Eddie consider at the beginning of “The Third Person . . .”
37. What did Eddie notice about the people in café in “The Third person . . .”
38. What was Eddie’s father’s opinion of his brother?
39. What was Eddie’s father’s opinion of the dirt under Eddie’s fingernails?
40. How did Eddie’s father damage him?
41. What did Eddie’s father see as a weakness?
42. What happened as a result of Eddie blocking his father’s punch?
43. According to the Old Woman, when do you have peace?
44. What did the Old Woman sit on?
45. How do most people, according to Eddie, think amusement parks are constructed?
46. Why were amusement parks originally constructed, and by whom?
47. Why was the Old Woman’s name of importance?
48. Why did Emile lose his fortune?
49. What is the Old Woman supposed to tell Eddie?
50. What did Eddie’s father keep asking him?
51. Why was it ironic that Eddie ended up working at the pier?
52. What did the Old Woman do with her umbrella?
53. What event lead to Eddie’s father’s death?
54. What did Eddie’s father do to hasten his own death?
55. What is Lesson Number 3?
56. What do Eddie’s coworkers say about him at the beginning of “Thursday, 11 A.M.”?
57. Why is Eddie coughing at the beginning of “The Forth Person . . .”?
58. What are the traditions that Eddie observes in the wedding at the beginning of “The Forth person . . .”?
59. What does “Per l’amaro e il dolce?” mean?
60. In the 10th Birthday, what raises and then lowers Eddie’s mood?
61. What had Eddie’s wife been talking about for a year in the 10th Birthday?
62. What happened because Eddie chose to stay and gamble?
63. What never happened because of his choice to stay and gamble?
64. What did Marguerite say she could “see from here”?
65. What does the Marguerite in Heaven ask Eddie about the war? And why?
66. Just before “The Forth Lesson . . .” what did Eddie admit to Marguerite?
67. In the beginning of “The Forth Lesson . . .” Marguerite says “Life has to end; __________ doesn’t.”
68. What is the Fourth Lesson?
68. In “Friday, 3:15 P.M.” What does Dominguez realize when he finds himself thinking of Eddie?
69. What does the attorney find in the “serious looking box”?
70. Explain the following: “the paleness of surrender becomes the color of Eddie’s days”
71. What is the name of the little girl in “The last Lesson”?
72. Who is the little girl?
73. What happened when he washed her arms and back with the rock?
74. What does she tell Eddie was the meaning of his life?
75. Did he save the little girl at the pier? Why or why not?
76. Why did Eddie remember the feeling of the little girl’s hands in his?
77. Discuss the irony in the “her hands” discussion Eddie has with Tala.
78. In “Epilogue”, how are all the lives intertwined?
79. What is the Last Lesson?
ESSAY QUESTIONS - at least ½ page required for each:
1. Why does the Blue Man tell Eddie that this is Eddie’s heaven, not his? Explain in detail.
2. Does Eddie have a “memory” of his birth in the flashback in “The End”, it is simply a flashback to assist us, the readers, in understanding the novel,
or does Eddie “see” this moment after he has died and he is reliving his life in Heaven? Defend your position with details from the novel.
3. In the 7th “Birthday” why does Eddie’s father react as he does? Discuss in detail based on details from the novel.
4. At the beginning of “The Forth Person . . .” Albom wrote that Eddie thinks he is “rotting away”. Why do you think Albom chose the word “rotting” for
Eddie to refer to his “aging” condition in Heaven? Discuss in detail.
5. After Eddie meets the young Marguerite, he doesn’t believe that it is really her, and then breaks down and cries for the first time since her death.
Why do we assume he is crying now? What might he feel at that moment in time? Discuss in detail.
Project and Speech:
LIFE IN A BOX
YOU WILL MAKE A LIFE BOX. IN YOUR BOX, JUST AS EDDIE PLACED IN HIS BOX, YOU WILL PLACE THINGS THAT HAVE SYMBOLIC MEANING TO
YOU. WE SAW HOW THE BOW TIE, MENU, DECK OF CARDS, MEDAL, AND PHOTO WERE FROM SIGNIFICANT MEMORIES OF EDDIE’S LIFE. YOU
MUST MAKE, FIND, OR BUY A BOX THAT HAS SOME SIGNIFICANCE TO YOU AND THEN FILL IT WITH AT LEAST FIVE ITEMS THAT ARE OF
SIGNIFICANCE TO YOU/YOUR LIFE.
YOU WILL BE ASKED TO GIVE AN INFORMATIVE SPEECH TO THE CLASS TO EXPLAIN THE ITEMS THAT YOU HAVE CHOSEN TO PLACE IN YOUR
BOX. YOU WILL INCLUDE AN OPENING PARAGRAPH THAT EXPLAINS THE IMPORTANCE OF YOUR LIFE BOX, AND AT LEAST ONE PARAGRAPH
THAT EXPLAINS WHY YOU HAVE INCLUDED EACH OF YOUR FIVE ITEMS IN YOUR BOX. YOU WILL ALSO INCLUDE A CLOSING PARAGRAPH.
YOU WILL PRE-WRITE YOUR SPEECH FOR CONTENT AND CORRECT STRUCTURE. YOUR SPEECH WILL BE AT LEAST 3 MINUTES IN LENGTH AND
NOT MORE THAN 7 MINUTES IN LENGTH. CORRECT STRUCTURE OF THE SPEECH, PARAGRAPHS, AND SENTENCES, TIME, AND INTEREST
CREATED BY YOUR WORD CHOICE, ITEM CHOICE, AND DESCRIPTIONS OF WHY YOUR ITEMS ARE OF SIGNIFICANCE WILL ALL FACTOR IN TO
YOUR FINAL GRADE.
100 POINTS, graded on standard Greenwood Rubric
Copyright: Property of Genji Bailey; Created 10.2006 Last Updated 05.08.06
Please write for permission to duplicate: doghouse@walkinginthefog.net