The thought provoking novel the five people you meet in heaven, portrays that after life is lost, not all is over; people go to heaven to get closure on the life they lived on earth. After death, the main character of the story while in heaven, Eddie, meets five people whose own lives were ultimately affected by his decisions. Through these five people, Eddie’s life and meaning on earth gets explained to him. Whether those five people were family or complete strangers, all lives are inter-connected.
The novel the five people you meet in heaven, by Mitch Albom, demonstrates how there are consequences to every action, whether being intentional or unintentional; this can be seen through sacrifice, regret and forgiveness. Sacrifice is demonstrated throughout the novel when, the military captain surrendered his life to save his troops, Eddie sacrificing his own life to save a little girl, and Eddie’s father saving Mickey Shea. While Eddie was fighting in the war, he had a captain who did everything in his power to protect his troops.
While escaping from enemy captivity, the military captain was driving their escape vehicle rushes out to mach sure the path is clear before advancing. In the process of scouting the area he stepped on a land mine and blown up. If the captain did not go ahead, Eddie and the rest of the troops would have drove over that landmine and they all would have perished. The captain is the second person Eddie meets heaven, and tells how sacrifice is an important part of life. “I didn’t die for nothing, either. That night we might have all driven over that land mine.
Then the four of us would have been gone. ” Therefore sacrifice can be seen through the captain’s will to save his troops. Eddie sacrificing himself to save a little girl he did not even know. At Ruby Peer amusement park, a ride was broken, and Eddie, the maintenance man, goes to fix it. While attempting to fix the ride he figured out what was wrong, but it was too late because the cord of one of the carts snapped and started to plummet, with a little girl trapped inside. Upon instinct Eddie ran to save the girl’s life, and in turn for his heroic efforts ended his life.
Therefore, Eddie shows sacrifice though trying to save a life. Eddie’s father and Mickey Shea are great friends to each other. Mickey had just gotten fired from his job and was very depressed. He went over to Eddie’s father’s house while drunk to see him but he was not there but his wife was. In these desperate times Mickey’s loneliness came over him like a wave and he threw himself at Eddie’s mother. When Eddie’s father came home and saw what was going on he threw Mickey out. Eddie’s father ran after Mickey though one of the worst storms of the year, with a weapon in hand.
He saw Mickey jump into the ferocious ocean water at an attempt to commit suicide. Eddie’s father dove in after Mickey to attempt to save his life, after reaching him pulls him onto shore then falls unconscious. “At that moment he was lost, adrift and what he did was an act of loneliness and desperation. He acted on impulse. A bad impulse. Your father acted on impulse, too, and while his first impulse was to kill, his final impulse was to keep a man alive. ” Thus Eddies father shows sacrifice through saving a friends life.
Therefore sacrifice was shown though the military captain protecting his troops, Eddie putting forth his life to save a little girl, and finally the lengths in which Eddie’s father went to save a friend. Regret is shown during the course of the novel through, Eddie not living the life he wanted, Eddie’s father never forgiving Eddie, and Eddie’s loss that he did not go after the person in the fire. Eddie, while working at Ruby Peer always wanted to escape to do something more with his life, but sadly after Eddie came back from war he lost all motivation to do anything with his life, due to his injuries.
While in heaven Eddie states “I was sad because I didn’t do anything with my life. I was nothing. I accomplished nothing. I was lost. ” Therefore Eddie had regret that he did not do more with his life while he had the chance. Eddie’s father regretted how he never forgave his son. When Eddie got back from the war he lost all inspiration to live and fell into a deep depression. Eddie’s father yelled at his to get a job, and when Eddie didn’t respond Eddie’s father went to discipline him. Eddie parried his father’s move and left his father feeling disrespected and never spoke to him again.
Years later while Eddie’s father was on his death bed with his last words “he called your mother’s name with what little voice he had, and he called yours, too, and your brother Joe. And he called Mickey. At that moment, it seemed, his heart was spilling out, all the guilt and regret. ” So in the end of Eddie’s father’s life on earth, he died with the regret of never forgiving his son. Eddie regretted never going back for the shadow he saw in the fire because later he finds out it was a little girl.
In the midst of war while Eddie and his comrades were escaping from an enemy base they determined that that base was empty, so they burned the huts to destroy any supplies. While the fire was set ablaze Eddie thought he saw a shadow among the fire, he was going to run into the fire to see if there was a person, but if he were to have run into the fire Eddie surly would have died, and as Eddie was about to run into the fire he got shot and fell unconscious.
Eddie’s thought’s as he sees the shadow. He stepped forward, convinced something innocent was being burned to death in front of him. ” For the rest of his life Eddie always regretted never being able to go into that fire, because maybe, he could have saved a life. In conclusion regret was shown through Eddie not living the life he wanted, Eddie’s father never forgiving Eddie, and Eddie not being able to save the person that was in the fire. Forgiveness is shown throughout the novel in the form of the Blue Man and Eddie, Eddie’s father forgiving Eddie, and Tala the girl in the fire.
The Blue Man is the first person Eddie meets in heaven. When Eddie was a boy, Eddie and his brother were playing catch when there ball flew onto the road. Eddie ran after it, while the blue man was driving his car Eddie startled him, and caused him to have a heart attack. The Blue Man knew Eddie did not kill him on purpose. “The Blue man pulled Eddie close. Instantly, Eddie felt everything the Blue Man had felt in his life rushing into him, swimming in his body, the loneliness, the shame, the heart attack. It slid into Eddie like a drawer being closed.
So, the Blue Man forgave Eddie for killing him. Eddie’s father while on earth never forgave Eddie for their fight but while in heaven they had a second chance to fix their relationship. To be able to find peace in heaven both Eddie and Eddie’s father have to forgive each other. “But you’re my father, I’ll let it go now, all right? All right? Can we let it go? He leaned in close. He saw his father’s dirty hands. He spoke the last familiar words in a whisper. It’s fixed. ” Therefore, Eddie’s father forgave Eddie for their differences on earth. The little girl in the fire.
While at war when Eddie and his troops were escaping, they set fire to the buildings in area to destroy any supplies, but in the midst of the fire a little girl named Tala was left to pay the ultimate price. Tala is the fifth person Eddie meets in heaven, and while there, Eddie gains her forgiveness through washing all the burns and scars off her, letting her beautiful skin glow once more. Tala tells Eddie that his meaning on earth was to protect its children, and that someone needed to protect him; So Tala did and in Eddie’s time of need she brought him to heaven. “I bring you to heaven. Keep you safe. Therefore, Tala forgave Eddie for burning her.
Throughout the novel forgiveness is shown through the Blue Man pardoning Eddie’s mistake, Eddie’s father forgiving Eddie and Tala forgiving Eddie. In conclusion the novel the five people you meet in heaven, by Mitch Albom, demonstrates how there are consequences to every action, whether being intentional or unintentional; this can be seen through sacrifice, regret and forgiveness. The five people you meet in heaven tells that it is important to forgive and make sacrifices for others, because in the end the only thing one’s self will regret is not making amends while they have the time.
