The Five People You Meet In Heaven is a 2003 novel by
Redemption and Forgiveness
Throughout the novel, Eddie's encounters with the five people he meets in heaven teach him about the surprising ways in which life and death offer opportunities for redemption.
In The Five People You Meet in Heaven, Ruby tells Eddie that all things that happen and people who live before you're born still have an effect on your life. She and Emile were the reason that Eddie worked at Ruby Pier.
The first person Eddie meets in heaven. He was a sideshow worker at Ruby Pier when Eddie was a child. He was killed as a result of Eddie running in the street after his ball. The Blue Man teaches Eddie his first lesson, which is that there are no random acts in life, and that all incidents are intertwined in some way.
Marguerite teaches Eddie his fourth lesson which is the power of love. She tells Eddie that although people may eventually pass away, their love will endure even after their death. Although her life ended before Eddies, her love for him endured and will continue to forever.
Ruby Pier Symbol Analysis. Ruby Pier is the amusement park on the ocean where Eddie works in maintenance for most of his life. A place of both great celebration and great pain for Eddie and others, the park represents the variety of experience in Eddie's life.
Ruby explains that Eddie's father died from the pneumonia he caught on the beach the night he saved Mickey Shea. Eddie is shocked to learn about Mickey's attempt to rape his mother, and angrily says he would have let Mickey die after what he did.
Poignant and beautiful, filled with unexpected twists, The Next Person You Meet in Heaven reminds us that not only does every life matter, but that every ending is also a beginning—we only need to open our eyes to see it.
The Necessity of Sacrifice
The Captain sacrificed Eddie's knee in order to save Eddie's life; furthermore, the Captain sacrificed his life when he stepped on the land mine while opening the gate so that the other men of his unit could drive through to safety.
The only time we waste is the time we spend thinking we are alone. Sacrifice is a part of life. It's supposed to be. It's not something to regret.
Lesson 5: Life has a purpose. No matter what you do in life, you are here for a reason. You may not even realize what your actions have meant to others.
Cleo helped to teach Annie about loneliness and how she was able to have a home because of her.
The lesson that Cleo was to teach Annie was focused on loneliness. Annie suffered from it, especially in her younger years. Cleo said that "loneliness itself does not exist. It has no form.
However, the girl reassures Eddie that his life was meaningful because his purpose was to protect children at the amusement park, and in the end, he died saving a little girl. The story ends with Eddie joining his wife in their version of heaven, revealing that all endings are simply just new beginnings.
Although Ruby eventually reveals herself as a traitor, Kripke wrote her final scene with the intention of depicting Ruby as "the opposite of evil" and to show that Ruby does care about Sam, despite her manipulation of him to free Lucifer; Kripke explained that, in Ruby's mind, she had to lead Sam down that path because ...
In heaven, Ruby tells Eddie the true story of how his father died saving Mickey, and teaches him the lesson of forgiveness.
Police officer, father of Ruby Daly. The day before Ruby was taken away by PSFs, she wiped his memory of her. In In the Afterlight, he remembers her again.
Eddie's First Lesson
This is the first of The Five People You Meet in Heaven lessons. The Blue Man smiles and reassures him that he is only here to learn. He says that all five people that Eddie will come across in heaven have one lesson to teach him: that all lives are connected and nothing is completely random.
What is Eddie's last memory of being alive? His last memory is the tower cart falling, Amy/Annie crying and Eddie lunging and hitting pavement. Describe what Eddie sees when he dies.
Mentioned only briefly, a teenage boy who frequently visits Ruby Pier. Nicky turns out to be the grandson of Ruby, for whom the amusement park was named. Nicky loses his car key on the ride “Freddy's Free Fall” a few weeks before Eddie dies.
In heaven, all Eddie wants is time with Marguerite. They spend countless nights and days, talking and walking through Marguerite's world of weddings. Eddie tells her about his brother Joe's death, about his life working at the park, and about how the park has changed since they were young.
Throughout the novel, the ocean represents both destruction and new beginnings. Powerfully beautiful and yet dangerous, it is a constant at Ruby Pier.
Although Mickey was a drunk and touching Eddie's mother, Eddie's father knew he had to save his friend and to preserve the loyalty in their friendship.
Eddie saves the little girl - We find out at the end of the novel that Eddie did save the little girl from the falling amusement cart. It is important to note the symbolism of this child's rescue.