The Five People You Meet in Heaven Essay

867 Words4 Pages
The Five People You Meet In Heaven The book tries to explain that we are not alone and that there are no random acts in life; that everything happens for a reason. It also speaks about forgiveness and letting go of anger. The action of the story takes place in several different locations in both heaven and on earth. The novel flashes back many times throughout the story to Eddie's childhood involving occasions at Ruby Pier. Eddie worked as a maintenance man, who has dedicated his life to working at the pier. At the beginning of the story, there are many unknown facts about Eddie's life; we begin to learn most about him when he takes his journey through heaven. Eddie is an 83 year old man who didn't think he had much in life. He worked at Ruby Pier fixing amusement park rides. He appears to be lonely and sad, and he just lets the days pass by without a care in the world. He went through a rough childhood with his father being an alcoholic, and he got shot in the knee when he went into the army; could never walk the same way. The novel begins on Eddie's 83rd birthday, where unfortunately, that same day, he gets killed by a falling cart because of trying to save a little girl from being hit. He does not manage to get out of the way soon enough and dies. When he awakes in heaven, he meets five people who guide him and each person teaches him a lesson. The purpose of these meetings are to help him understand his life on earth. The action continues to rise as Eddie meets each person, in heaven, and even through the flashbacks to Eddie’s previous birthdays where we see how the conflicts developed through Eddie’s life on earth. Throughout Eddie’s life, we learn that he has constantly been battling to gain his father’s approval. After the death of Eddie's father, Eddie is still angry with him for those things he did to hurt him while he was still alive. The Blue Man
Open Document