Where It All Goes Down
Morrie's House
Except for a few asides and background stories, the book takes place in Morrie's little house right outside of Boston. We're told, "The last class of my old professor's life took place once a week in his house, by a window in the study where he could watch a small hibiscus plant shed its pink leaves" (1.1). (Psst… be sure to check out the "Symbolism" section for more about that hibiscus plant.) The neighborhood is described as "a quiet suburb of Boston" (5.1), and Morrie's house is always described as sunny and clean.
It's a friendly house, and at first, Mitch and Morrie enjoy their chats in different rooms in it, like the kitchen or study. As time goes on, though, Morrie is unable to move around and so they stay in Morrie's study, surrounded by his books and accompanied by his hibiscus plant. How they make use of the house, then, works as a sort of map for Morrie's decline.
Morrie's house is just like him: small, happy, bright and peaceful, and filled with books from Morrie's years of teaching and other little mementos of his life and friends. From the outside it probably looks just like other houses on the suburban street—and Morrie would probably agree that it is just like other houses. Life and death take place in every home, after all; we just have the opportunity to be a fly on the wall for this one in particular.