The people Eddie meets are- the Blue Man, the Captain, Ruby, his wife Marguerite, and Tala(read the book to know their stories). Surprisingly, out of all these five people, it is Tala- a young girl, who Eddie meets for the first time(in heaven, no less!), who had the most profound impact on him.
The fifth person Eddie meets in Heaven is a young girl name Tala. Eddie accidentally caused her death during the war. Tala, the fifth person Eddie meets in Heaven, helps him make peace with himself and his life.
In the book, Eddie dies in an accident and is transported to an afterlife where he meets five people who each teach him something about his life and his death.
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. The Blue Man lifts his hand and suddenly they are standing in the cemetery where he was buried.
The fourth person Eddie meets in Heaven is his wife, Marguerite. She is one of the few people he meets whom he knew in his life. The fourth person Eddie meets in Heaven helps him begin to see past his regret.
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.
The second person Eddie meets in heaven is his captain from World War II. They fought together in the Philippines where Eddie's troop, including the captain, was taken prisoner by four Filipino guards. Eddie, the captain, and three other soldiers were held in a bunker and forced to work in a coal mine all day.
Who is the third person Eddie meets? An old woman, Ruby. What did Eddie want from his father?
Joseph Corvelzchik, The Blue Man: Joseph is the first man Eddie meets in Heaven. His skin had been turned blue when he was a boy because of the repeated ingestion of silver nitrate, thought to be an effective medication at the time.
While escaping captivity, the Captain shoots Eddie in the leg because he believes it is the only way he can get Eddie to leave with them. During the escape the Captain is trying to clear a path for his unit to get out, and he is killed by a landmine.
Eddie never met Ruby during his life, as she was much older and they weren't directly related, but the amusement park where Eddie works all his life, Ruby Pier, was built for Ruby by her husband. Ruby feels connected to Eddie, as she was present in the shared hospital room when Eddie's father died.
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.
In heaven, Eddie waits at the Stardust Band Shell for a little girl, “Amy or Annie,” to live out her life and to one day come meet him and four other people.
The Necessity of Sacrifice
Eddie made his sacrifice when he took over his father's job at the Pier and moved into his parents' building to keep an eye on his mother after his father died.
Ruby's husband was later hospitalized in the same room as Eddie's dying father, allowing Ruby to witness Eddie's father's dying words of regret. In heaven, Ruby tells Eddie the true story of how his father died saving Mickey, and teaches him the lesson of forgiveness.
Marguerite tells Eddie that she also met five people in heaven, and learned things, and that she has waited for him ever since then. She tells Eddie that she remembers everything that happened when they were together, but that she now knows why it all happened.
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.
Eddie stops praying because Rabozzo's death symbolizes the men's sense of abandonment by God.
The Blue Man's real name is Joseph Corvelzchik. He and his family immigrated from a small village in Poland and came to work in America. At the age of ten, he was put to work in a sweatshop.
Lesson 5: The purpose of life. From his own perspective, Eddie had a disappointing and unspectacular life. He thought he didn't live to his potential. And, he thought his life was a complete failure.
How long after Eddie's death does the park reopen? Three days. Who takes over Eddie's job? Eddie's assistant.
He died from a heart attack, caused by the shock from a young Eddie running into the street after a lost ball on his birthday. The Blue Man teaches Eddie that all lives are connected, even strangers.
Ruby tells Eddie that during the night, just before he died, Eddie's father in The Five People You Meet in Heaven staggered to the window, opened it, and started calling out to Eddie, Joe, and their mother.
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.