The Five People You Meet In Heaven
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER. by Mitch Albom
Literary Elements
Setting- One place the story takes place is an amusement park called "Ruby Pier" where the protagonist, Eddie worked and lost his life. Ruby Pier is also set in the story when the author talks about Eddie and his wife would go there.
When Eddie died and went to heaven, he met five people he knew from his life. Each of these people he met took him back to relive his moments with them individually, taking him to that setting. For example the first person that Eddie meets was the Blue Man who explained that he was there to wait for Eddie and tell him his own story which became part of Eddie's story also. It was after meeting the Blue Man that Eddie found out he was actually in Heaven. He also explained that there will be other people he will meet in heaven; other people that Eddie will meet who crossed his path and changed / altered his life in some way or another. He would even feel the age he was when he knew these people. He wouldn't feel like his 83 year old, somewhat grumpy self.
Another setting in the story was along a riverbed. He meets a young Asian girl who tells Eddie she was killed when he set a hut on fire during the war. The little girl was told to hide from the soldiers. During the war Eddie thought he saw something move in the burning hut but wasn't so sure. It is at this time in heaven, meeting the little girl, he finds out there was someone in the hut.
Theme- I think the author is trying to point out in this story that everything you do in your life affects another person or even more people. You may not realize that as you are in a situation. Although it's hard to know what Heaven is really like, the author shows five people in Eddie's life that affected Eddie's life as well as their own. For example, Eddie didn't know as a kid that the Blue Man was actually killed when he almost hit Eddie with his car as Eddie ran in the street to get his ball.
The little Asian girl told Eddie his job was to keep the kids safe at Ruby Pier to make up for killing her during the war. The Captain, the second person Eddie meets in Heaven explains to Eddie he shot him in the leg to prevent him from running into the burning hut. If Eddie ran into the hut, he probably would have died. The Captain also saved his troop by moving ahead clearing a path where he was killed by stepping on a land mine. These are examples of how people's actions affect someone else's life.
When Eddie meets his wife, Marguerite, in Heaven he realizes a love lost is still love and even though life ends, love doesn't have to.