'the five people you meet in Heaven' is about how life does not end in death, how death is just a beginning of a new phase, a phase where you learn to let go of anger and hate cultivated during our lives(but it's not a preachy book, trust me).
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, Eddie, through his wife, learns that love doesn't die even when a person passes away. Love is an infinite emotion, and can't easily be wiped away because the person leaves physically. It may take a different form, but it's still love.
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.
It follows the life and death of a ride mechanic named Eddie (inspired by Albom's uncle) who is killed in an amusement park accident and sent to heaven, where he encounters five people who had a significant impact on him while he was alive.
In heaven, Ruby tells Eddie the true story of how his father died saving Mickey, and teaches him the lesson of forgiveness.
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.
5. Tala: Eddie's life had a purpose; he kept children safe at the pier.) 3. Is it possible that Eddie's Five People each teach him more than one lesson? (Yes, it is possible that each person taught Eddie more than one thing.
During the war, Eddie had to learn many lessons: how to march, how to pray quickly, how to spit, how to take a prisoner. But, he never learned how to be a prisoner himself. That is, until one night when he felt a cold rifle on the back of his neck.
Notes. Eddie learns his second lesson here, which is sacrifice. The Captain teaches Eddie that sacrifice is part of life, that it is supposed to happen and it is not something we should regret.
WHAT WAS THE LAST LESSON EDDIE LEARNED? TALA TAUGHT EDDIE THAT HE DID SAVE THE LITTLE GIRL. SHE ALSO TOLD HIM HOW HIS LIFE HAD MUCH IMPORTANCE, HE KEPT CHILDREN LIKE HER SAFE.
Redemption can often come indirectly as well, the novel concludes. When Eddie meets Tala in heaven, she explains to him that by spending his life protecting the children on the rides at Ruby Pier, Eddie earned Tala's forgiveness.
Ruby teaches Eddie that anger is a poison and only hurts the person who holds the anger, so people should always forgive. Of all of the five people Eddie meets in heaven, Ruby is the only person who can give Eddie this lesson.
Eddie's mother also became unstable, causing Eddie to move back into her apartment building to care for her. Eddie was full of resent, regret and despair for the rest of his life for being trapped at the pier.
Eddie's fifth person in heaven, a little Filipino girl who Eddie unknowingly kills while he and his unit are escaping captivity during the war. Tala is affectionate, trusting, and wise. Following her mother's instructions, Tala hides from Eddie and his men in one of the abandoned village huts.
He feels a sense of peace as he floats above the boardwalk. He then comes to the big Ferris wheel, where Marguerite is sitting and waiting for him. Eddie hears the voice of God say: “Home.” Eddie finally achieves peace once he understands his purpose as well as his pain.
Eddie changes physically and emotionally over the course of the novel as he learns different lessons and new information from his five people. Use the activity for Character Evolution with your students to help them keep track of how Eddie evolves throughout the course of the novel.
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.
Eddie heroically sacrificed himself in the Upside Down to save Dustin and the others, fulfilling his arc by facing danger head-on instead of running away, as he said he had always done.
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 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 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.
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.
Eddie is startled when he coughs a deep, rattling cough. Then he notices that his skin is thin and dry, his stomach is soft with age, and his knee is stiff. He's frustrated to realize that he is deteriorating with each new stage in heaven. Eventually, Eddie starts to open the doors.