LITERARY ELEMENTS SETTING This story takes place in several different locations in both heaven and on earth.

The novel begins at Ruby Pier. Eddie grew up very close to Ruby Pier because his father worked there for a living. Ruby Pier was thus a significant setting in Eddie's childhood; the novel flashes back many times to Eddie's childhood involving incidents at Ruby Pier. Ruby Pier is also where Eddie had his career as a maintenance man and is the very place where he was killed on his birthday. When Eddie is in heaven, which is the bulk of the novel and also where he learns the five lessons, he visits five different settings: Ruby Pier, the battlegrounds on which he fought in the war, mountains, various wedding receptions and a river. Eddie meets the Blue Man, in heaven, at Ruby Pier. However, it is not the Ruby Pier where Eddie was killed at the start of the novel; it was the Ruby Pier Eddie remembers from his childhood. When he awakes he notices the primitive, simple, amusements and their crisp white paint. As he runs around the pier he also sees the weight guessers, fortune tellers, and dancing gypsies. This setting is symbolic of Eddie's childhood; as a child Eddie was happy, naive and carefree. He was not yet discouraged, depressed or bitter. The white paint of the rides could represent Eddie's purity as a child; the primitive rides, weight guessers, fortune tellers and dancing gypsies are symbolic of childrens' naivety and love for the simple things in life. As the novel illustrates Eddie's experiences later in his life, we notice that the rides on the pier become more modernized and complicated as Eddie becomes older and depressed.

Your browser does not support the IFRAME tag. The second setting in heaven is a war ground in the Philippians, where Eddie fought during World War II. The sky changes from a blue to a dark, charcoal grey. The scene is very dark with fallen trees, blackened rubble and the sound of bombs exploding in the distance. This setting is particularly dark because when Eddie was at war he was older and not quite as limber as he was as a child. The darkness of the setting also signifies how Eddie becomes injured during the War, which plays a large part in the depression he experiences for the rest of his life. The third place Eddie finds himself, in heaven, is a large mountain range surrounding a huge lake. The mountains have white, snow-capped peaks, rocks and purple slopes. The lake, in the center, was black and reflecting the bright moon. In the snowy field, below the mountains, Eddie sees a diner with neon lights. All of the customers in the diner are from a different decade and most appear to be injured. The diner is there because Ruby wanted to feel as if she had returned to her younger years, when she worked in a diner, and had a simple and secure life. Since the pier had caused her much pain and suffering, she wanted all those who had also suffered at Ruby Pier to be safe and secure as well. She also wanted to remain far from the sea and thus chose the mountains. This setting shows us that, along with Eddie, others have suffered at Ruby Pier: Ruby, Eddie's father and all of the other patrons in the diner. Before Eddie meets Marguerite in heaven, he finds himself journeying through many wedding receptions of different types and cultures. The weddings all seem more lavish that his and Marguerite's had been. Eddie had never liked weddings very much; he thought them to be "too full of embarrassing moments" (148). He also avoided most receptions because of his injury. In heaven, as he and Marguerite talk they walk through many receptions. Marguerite probably wanted to take Eddie through the different receptions so he would feel comfortable, as he never did on earth during weddings. Also, since Eddie avoided most weddings when he was alive,

Marguerite probably missed celebrating weddings with Eddie. Marguerite also chose to be around all of the weddings to emphasize her lesson of the power of love: All of the weddings, no matter the culture, are similar; when the groom lifts the bride's veil or when the two accept the rings, they truly believe in their love. True love is universal and unconditional. In the last place in heaven, Eddie finds himself by a river with thousands of children placidly playing and laughing together. This scene specifically has only happy, safe children; no adults or authority. It is in this last setting where Eddie finds the meaning of his life and his career: to keep children safe. All of the children in this setting can be representative of all the children Eddie kept safe throughout his life at the pier. CHARACTER LIST Major Characters Eddie The protagonist and main character around who the story centers; at the start of the story, he is killed on his 83rd birthday. When he awakes in heaven, he is taken on a journey to meet five people whose lives intertwined with his in many ways which he never expected. Eddie's Father The antagonist, belligerent drunk, not very supportive or caring towards his sons. He worked at Ruby Pier and often returned home drunk and was violent toward Eddie and Joe. He hurt Eddie in three major ways, throughout his life, by silence, violence, and neglect. He saves his friend, Mickey Shea, from drowning which causes him to catch fatal pneumonia. The Blue Man 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. The Captain The second person Eddie meets in heaven; his former war captain. He explained that, although he shot Eddie, he kept his promise by not leaving him behind and even sacrificed his life so Eddie and two other soldiers were able to live. He also teaches Eddie that when one loses something, they often gain something else.

Your browser does not support the IFRAME tag. Ruby The third person Eddie meets in heaven and also Ruby Pier's namesake. She teaches Eddie to let go of his anger and to forgive his father for the damage he caused in his life. Marguerite Eddies wife and only true love. Marguerite was the only happiness in Eddie's life. She is the fourth person he meets in heaven and she teaches him the lesson that love is not lost with death. Tala The fifth person Eddie meets in heaven. Tala was the little girl who Eddie saw crawling into the burning fort during the war. Although he lived most of his life in denial, he finds out in heaven that he did kill her in the fire. She teaches Eddie that his life did have a purpose which was to keep children safe at the pier. Minor Characters

Dominguez A maintenance worker at Ruby Pier and friend of Eddie. After Eddie's death he plays a part in retrieving Eddie's documents and telling the pastor about Eddie's life for his funeral service. Dominquez also took over Eddie's job at Ruby Pier after his death. Joe Eddie's brother who grows to have a life and family in Florida. Eddie's Mother A caring, typical mother figure throughout the story. Later in the story we learn that she was almost abused by Mickey Shea, which, in turn, lead to her husband's death. CONFLICT There are two major conflicts in this story; the first being Eddie vs. himself. When Eddie was young he never had the desire to work at Ruby Pier like his father did. After Eddie returned from the war, he was very depressed and angry at what he had done with the remainder of his life. He never had another career aside from Ruby Pier and he eventually moved back into the same apartment building, where he grew up, to take care of his mother. We can tell that Eddie internally stores a lot of regret, hatred and anger about his life. This conflict is resolved when he meets Tala in heaven. She helps him realize that his life did have a purpose, which was keeping the children safe at the pier. The second major conflict was between Eddie and his father. Eddie's father had never shown him love, approval or any signs of encouragement. He would often get drunk and violently yell at and beat Eddie. After Eddie returned injured from the war, his father yelled at him and tried to hit him; Eddie blocked his father's attempt and his father never spoke to him again. Eddie feels that his father damaged him in three ways: neglect, violence and silence. This conflict is resolved when Eddie meets Ruby in heaven; she teaches Eddie to let go of his anger and forgive his father. Protagonist Eddie is the protagonist of The Five People You Meet in Heaven. We are introduced to Eddie the day of his death, on his 83rd birthday. Through Eddie's journey in heaven, we learn a lot about his life and the people who he had affected. Eddie lived his life as a bitter, depressed man; however, as he meets the five people in heaven, we see Eddie resolve and appreciate his life on earth.

Your browser does not support the IFRAME tag. Antagonist The antagonist of the novel is Eddie's father. We see that Eddie had a very volatile relationship with his father; aside from his war injury, his father caused most of the pain in Eddie's life. He was seldom proud of Eddie, only when he physically fixed a maintenance problem. He was also a belligerent drunk and beat Eddie and Joe; he was neglectful and he ceased talking to Eddie when he came home from the war. Eddie feels his father destroyed him in three ways: neglect, silence and violence. Even after the death of his father, Eddie was still angry with him for becoming trapped in his job at the pier and taking care of his mother. Eddie feels that because of his father, he was never able to become anything he wanted in life and also that his life held no purpose. Climax

The climax happens towards the end of the novel when Eddie meets Tala and she says "You burn me. You make me fire" (188). This is the climax because throughout the novel we see that Eddie has been tormented his entire life, after the war, not knowing if he had killed an innocent child in the burning hut. He has experienced many nightmares and could never seem to get that scene out of his mind. It is here that Eddie sees he did kill an innocent child in the war and that he was not hallucinating as the other soldiers had thought. After Eddie learns this about Tala, he is able to wash her skin of the burns and she leads him to the outcome and resolution of the story. Outcome The resolution of the story unfolds immediately after the climax. Eddies worst fear had come true: he had killed an innocent child during the war while burning down the camp. After he learns this, Tala leads Eddie to the resolution in the fifth lesson. The outcome of the novel is that Eddie realizes his life had a purpose which was keeping the children safe at the pier. SHORT PLOT / CHAPTER SUMMARY (Synopsis) The novel opens at Ruby Pier on Eddie's 83rd birthday. He goes about his normal routine until one of the rides breaks. Eddie gives a fellow worker, Dominquez, instructions on how to fix the ride; however, one of the carts breaks free from the ride and falls to the pier. Eddie jumps out of the way and tries to push a little girl out of the path of the falling cart. Eddie does not get out of the way in time and is killed by the falling cart. Eddie travels to heaven and meets his first person, the Blue Man. The Blue Man informs Eddie that he is going to meet five people in heaven whose lives he has somehow affected. The Blue Man tells Eddie how he is indirectly responsible for his death: When Eddie was a child, he and Joe were playing with a ball that bounced into the street. Eddie ran into the street to get the ball as the Blue Man was driving by. The Blue Man swerved out of the way, terrified that he would hit Eddie. Eddie ran safely back out of the street but the Blue Man was still extremely anxious having almost hit him. His anxiety caused him to drive recklessly and hit another car, which killed him. The Blue Man teaches Eddie his first lesson, which is that events are not random and lives intersect for a certain reason. After this lesson, Eddie finds himself back on a war ground, which resembled that on which he fought during WWII. There, he meets his second person in heaven, his former war Captain. During WWII Eddie fought in the Philippines and he, the captain and a few other soldiers were taken as prisoners of war. Through a juggling act, Eddie is able to distract the captors so he and the other prisoners can kill them and escape. When they leave the camp, they decide to burn it down for revenge. Eddie swears he sees a small shadow crawling in the flames and runs in after it. The other soldiers tried to get Eddie out of the fire; however, he was so insistent that he saw a child in the fire that he kept trying to get in the hut. The Captain did not want Eddie to die, or to leave him behind, so he shot him in the leg so the others could get him out of the fire. This is how Eddie got the injury that made him very depressed for the rest of his life.

Your browser does not support the IFRAME tag. The Captain teaches Eddie the second lesson of sacrifice. Eddie finds out that the Captain died trying to make sure the path was clear for the rest of his men to cross. He says that he sacrificed Eddie's leg to get him out of the fire alive, and also that he sacrificed his own life to save the lives of Eddie and the soldiers. Eddie then finds himself in a mountain range. He finds a single diner at the bottom of the mountains and through the window he can see his father sitting at a table. He meets Ruby who

tells him that it is her for who the pier is named. She shows Eddie a horrifying scene where Mickey Shea almost hurt his mother; Eddie's father saw what happened and chased Mickey Shea to, possibly, kill him. Mickey falls off the pier into the sea and Eddie's father saves his life. This is the night where Eddie's father caught pneumonia which later killed him. Ruby allows Eddie to see that his father was being loyal to one of his best friends. Ruby teaches Eddie to let go of the anger he has for his father. Eddie does this by visiting him in the diner and telling him "It's fixed" (144). Eddie blinks and finds himself in a room whose doors lead to different wedding receptions. Eddie walks through the different receptions and meets his fourth person, Marguerite. She and Eddie talk for a long while, as this is the first time they have been reunited since her death. For his fourth lesson, Marguerite teaches Eddie about the power of love; she states that even though people pass away, their love does not die. Marguerite tells Eddie that she loved him even after her death and that true love endures forever. The final person Eddie meets in heaven is a young Asian girl, named Tala. Tala explains to Eddie that he killed her in a fire; Eddie realizes that he had seen a child in the burning hut in the Philippians during the War. Tala's skin suddenly becomes marked with burns and scars. Eddie washes her free of all her burns and injuries from the fire. For his last lesson, Tala allows Eddie to see that his place in life was to be at Ruby Pier keeping the children safe. THEMES There are no random acts in life Eddie learns from the Blue Man that there are no random acts in life and that all lives intertwine in some way. The Blue Man's death exemplifies this theme: If Eddie's ball had never gone into the street, he would not have chased after it, running in front of the Blue Man's car. Thus, the Blue Man would have never become so anxious about almost hitting Eddie and gotten into an accident and killed. Lives are sacrificed to save others During WWII Eddie's Captain sacrificed his life for the sake of the three other soldiers. As they were escaping in a vehicle, they came across a suspicious area. The Captain got out of the vehicle to inspect the land and ended up getting killed by stepping on a land mine. Had the Captain not been willing to get out and survey the land himself, all four would have driven over the landmine and been killed. Forgiveness and Letting go of Anger Eddie hated his father for ruining his life. Even after his father's death, Eddie could never seem to let go of the anger he held towards his father; in fact, Eddie was so angry with his father after his death, that it seemed to still ruin Eddie's happiness. While in heaven, Ruby teaches Eddie to let go of his anger and to forgive his father. The Power of Love Your browser does not support the IFRAME tag. Although Eddie was miserable throughout most of his life, his love for Marguerite was the one thing that made him happier. After she died, Eddie felt extremely empty without her. When he meets Marguerite in heaven she explains to him that, even after her death, she had always loved Eddie. Eddie learns that although life ends love endures. MOOD

The mood is somber, yet thoughtful throughout the novel; each person makes Eddie reflect on his life, and also how his life has been intertwined with the others. However, the reflections of Eddie's life prove to be quite somber; he had a terrible relationship with his father, stayed in a career in which he was not happy, became injured in the war, and was overall depressed. We feel quite sad for Eddie throughout the novel; but as Eddie's five lessons unfold, Eddie, and we the readers, see the reasoning for all these events in his life. Mitch Albom - BIOGRAPHY Mitchell David Albom was born on May 23, 1958 in Passaic, New Jersey. Albom is not only a best-selling author, he is also a newspaper columnist for the Detroit Free Press, radio host for ABC and WJR-AM in Detroit.

Mitch Albom Albom grew up in Philadelphia, PA and attended Brandeis University, where he graduated with a degree in sociology. He then attended Columbia University for his Master's Degree in journalism and business administration. Mitch Albom has written seven other books, including the bestseller, Tuesdays With Morrie (1997). His other works include Live Albom I (1987), Live Albom II (1990), Live Albom III (1992), Live Albom IV (1995), "BO" (1989), which is the autobiography of former University of Michigan football coach Bo Schembechler, and Fab Five (1992), which is a story about the University of Michigan's men's basketball recruits who became starters as freshman, during the 1990's. The Five People You Meet in Heaven was published in 2003. Aside from writing novels, Albom has also been deemed the #1 Sports Columnist in the Nation by the sports editors of America. He has received over 100 writing awards from National Sportswriters and Broadcasters Associations, Headliners Club as well as many others. His work has also appeared in publications such as Sports Illustrated, GQ Magazine, The New York Times, USA Today, and TV Guide. Mitch lives with his wife, Janine, in Michigan. LITERARY / HISTORICAL INFORMATION World War II played a significant role in Eddies life; it is where he was shot in the leg, which caused his life long injury, and also where he killed Tala. WW II was a complex war fought from 1939-1945 in Europe and from around 1937-1945 in Asia/Pacific. It was one of the largest conflicts because it involved a majority of the world and it is also where the first two atomic bombs were used. WW II involved many civilian deaths and genocide by Germany, the Soviet Union and Japan. The background and history of WW II is extremely involved and complicated; however, since Eddie fought in the Philippians, a brief history of the war in the Pacific and Asia is as follows: In the early 1930s Japan invaded China; the United States, Britain and the Netherlands stopped trading oil and steel with Japan, in hopes to discourage Japans war efforts in China. Japan needed oil for its war efforts, so on December 7, 1941, they attacked Americas Fleet at Pearl Harbor. This marked Americas entry into WWII. Japan then invaded countries across Southeast Asia and the Pacific (Indonesia is very rich in oil). At the same time, on the European front, Germany declared war on the United States, bringing America into the war in Europe also. America finally halted the Japanese expansion throughout the Pacific during the famous Battle of Midway. After Midway, America and Japan began a fighting campaign throughout several

islands across the Pacific; in the novel Eddie fought one on of these islands (name not specified). Eventually the Japanese lost most of their fleet and the U.S. gained more control over the Pacific. Also during this time, in Japan, America dropped two atomic bombs in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; Japan finally surrendered on September 2, 1945. WWII was a very gruesome and traumatizing war for civilians and also the soldiers who fought, such as Eddie. Eddies life was physically and mentally changed after WWII. He had a permanent gunshot injury, which affected his physical activity for the remainder of his life; he also suffered severe trauma after serving time in a prison camp. He would often wake up in the middle of the night with terrifying nightmares. Unfortunately, this was fairly common for soldiers who survived the war; though they had returned home, they had never mentally left their experience of the war behind. CHAPTER SUMMARIES WITH NOTES / ANALYSIS CHAPTER 1 - The End Summary This chapter describes the last hour of Eddies life. Eddie walks around Ruby Pier, where he works, and goes about his normal day-today business: he rode the Ghoster Coaster to assure that its brakes and steering were solid, talked with Dominguez in the shop, chased teenagers off the railing, and made an animal for a little girl out of pipe cleaners. Eddie was daydreaming when an unfamiliar voice alerted him; a woman had brought to his attention that one of the carts was tilted on Freddys Free Fall and people were clinging on to keep from falling out. Eddie tells Dominguez to go up the ladder and tell the ride operator, Willy, to release the safety restraint so he can get the passengers out. As Dominguez was getting the passengers out, Eddie noticed that the carts cable was unraveling. Eddie yelled for Willy not to release the cart but no one heard him. The carts began falling and one killed Eddie. The end of the chapter recalls the day Eddie was born; it is the 1920s and his father was in the hospital waiting room with the other fathers-to-be. The nurse leads Eddie's father to the nursery to see Eddie.

Your browser does not support the IFRAME tag. Notes The first chapter is entitled The End; this is because the book is beginning with the end of Eddies life. In the first chapter we learn a little bit about Eddie: his job, personality, and his past. Eddie is a maintenance man at Ruby Pier, which is an amusement park; his main job is to keep the rides safe. He checks every attraction, test rides the amusements, and looks for broken boards, loose bolts and worn-out steel. We also learn that Ruby Pier is where Eddie met his love, Marguerite. It can be inferred that this took place in the late 1940s. Eddie remembers how he and Marguerite danced and how he bought her a lemon fizz. The narrator recalls a story that happened a few months before Eddies death, about a man named Nicky and his three friends. Nicky had just begun driving and was uncomfortable carrying a key chain; therefore he removed his car key and stuck it in his coat pocket. Nicky and his friends went on the rides and drank beer from brown paper bags. At the end of the night

Nickys key was missing. At the end of the chapter we learn that this key was the cause of the accident in Freddys Free Fall, which killed Eddie. It is also ironic, that the day of his death, was his 83rd birthday. As the story progresses we see that many important events took place on Eddies birthdays. It should also be noted that right before Eddie died, he felt himself holding the hands of the little girl, for who he had made the pipe cleaner animal. At the end of this chapter we are not sure if Eddie had saved the little girl, or if she too, was killed from the falling cart. CHAPTER 2 - The Journey Summary This brief chapter describes Eddie's journey to heaven. Eddie is floating and he does not feel any pain. He remembers lunging toward the little girl but he is not sure if he saved her or not. The end of this chapter brings us back to Eddie's fifth birthday at Ruby Pier. Mickey Shea, a friend of Eddie's father, picked him up and turned him upside down to do a "birthday bump" (23). With Eddie upside down, he lifted him up and down five times. When he returned Eddie upright, Eddie punched Mickey Shea in the arm. Notes In this chapter Eddie is still not sure if he had saved the little girl from the falling cart. Eddie also notices that he cannot feel any pain; he asks himself more than once, "Where is my worry...Where is my pain?" (21, 22). Eddie cannot feel agony and specifically, "every hurt he'd ever suffered, every ache he'd ever endured..." (21). This quote is alluding that Eddie probably felt a lot of hurt in his childhood and throughout the rest of his life. CHAPTER 3 - The Arrival / The First Person Eddie Meets in Heaven Summary Eddie awakes in some kind of amusement park. He is able to pull himself up and walk without his cane; he does not feel any pain. He then notices that he is at Ruby Pier. The colors and the attractions seem different and he realizes that he is at the Ruby Pier from his childhood, over 75 years ago. Eddie runs and jumps around, taking advantage of his newfound limberness and the fact that he no longer needed his cane. He passes by the sideshow and notices a man, who he vaguely remembers, with blue skin. The Blue Man tells Eddie that he knows him from when he was a child. Eddie is trying to find out why is at Ruby Pier but he cannot speak. Eddie finds it quite ridiculous that heaven might be Ruby Pier, since he had spent most of his life wishing he was away from Ruby Pier. The Blue Man informs Eddie that he will meet five people in heaven who were each in his life for a reason; this will help him understand his life on earth. Eddie is able to mutter out the question of what killed the Blue Man; the Blue Man replies that Eddie killed him. The next birthday flashback is Eddie's seventh birthday. He and his brother, Joe, are playing catch with Eddie's new baseball. Eddie mistakenly throws the ball off of the boardwalk. They search around the sideshow tents and freaks, from the freak show, catch them. Eddie and Joe become very scared, they grab the ball and run away. The chapter returns to Eddie's conversation with the Blue Man. He tells Eddie his story about how he came to Ruby Pier and why his skin is blue. The Blue Man tells Eddie the story about how he died from Eddie's point of view and also the Blue Man's point of view. Eddie attends a funeral on his eighth birthday; he is unaware of where he is or the purpose of the ceremony.

Your browser does not support the IFRAME tag. Notes We now know that Eddie has reached his afterlife. It is unclear why he is at Ruby Pier, especially the Ruby Pier 75 years prior to his death. The Blue Man is the first person Eddie meets in heaven. He tells his story about how he became a member of the freak show: He was a poor immigrant and a very nervous child. He had a falling out with his father and often wet his bed. The Blue Man went to a chemist to get some help for his nerves and he gave the Blue Man a bottle of silver nitrate. Silver nitrate was later considered a poison, but the Blue Man drank it every night; it turned his skin blue. One night in a saloon, the Blue Man was discovered by a group of carnival men. One winter he came to Ruby Pier and decided to live there. The Blue Man loved how he could play cards at night with the other sideshow workers, and could even walk along the beach without scaring people. This is where we find out why Eddie is at Ruby Pier, after his death; the Blue Man states, "Do you understand? Why we're here? This is not your heaven. It's mine" (42). Ruby Pier is not Eddie's heaven, as he had originally thought; it is the Blue Man's heaven. The Blue Man then explains how Eddie killed him: The Blue Man had borrowed his friend's Ford Model A to practice his driving. Eddie's baseball bounces into the street and he runs into the street after it. The Blue Man slams on his breaks and yanks at the wheel. The Blue Man managed to regain control of the car; however, he was still so nervous that he had almost hit Eddie. He feels dizzy and his head falls for a moment, causing his car to almost collide with another. He skids down the street and pulls into an alley and ends up colliding with a truck. No one found him in the alley until he had already died. The chapter then brings us to Eddie's eighth birthday. His mother is dressing him for a funeral and Eddie does not understand where they are going and for what. Since reading the chapter we can infer that it was the Blue Man's funeral and we see the bit of irony that Eddie was the one who killed him and he did not even know whose funeral he was attending. CHAPTER 4 - The First Lesson Summary Eddie learns his first lesson from the Blue Man. Eddie feels terrible about killing the Blue Man and cannot understand what good came from the Blue Man's death. The Blue Man tells Eddie that in life, there are no random encounters and that we are all connected in some way. The Blue Man had completed one of his steps in heaven and has to leave. As he leaves his skin turns back to a perfect caramel color, unblemished and smooth. The chapter then leads us back to the day Eddie died to briefly describe the aftermath of the accident at Ruby Pier.

Your browser does not support the IFRAME tag. We are then lead back to a scene from Eddie's seventeenth birthday. Eddie's brother, Joe, tells his parents that Eddie met a girl the previous night (Marguerite) and that Eddie said he was going to marry her. Eddie gets mad at Joe and punches him in the arm several times and they even engage

in a minor fight. Eddie and his mother dance as he and Marguerite had; she then passes Eddie off to Joe and the two, jokingly, try to dance with each other. Notes Eddie learns his first lesson from the Blue Man. The lesson can be portrayed by the quote, "...there are no random acts. That we are all connected. That you can no more separate one life from another than you can separate a breeze from the wind" (48). The Blue Man brings Eddie back to the scene of his funeral. The Blue Man states that many of the people at his funeral did not even know him well, yet they came anyway. This is because the human spirit knows, in some way, that all lives intersect. The Blue Man continues to tell Eddie that there is a balance between life and death; he states that many people have probably died instead of him, and this is common to all of us, also that there is a balance and birth and death are two parts to a whole. He then states that this is the reason why humans are drawn to babies and funerals. Eddie still does not seem to understand what good came from the Blue Man's death. The Blue Man says that the "good" is that Eddie was able to live. The Blue Man says that this step, for him, is over and he must go. As he leaves, Eddie can see the Blue Man's skin return to normal, perfect skin. CHAPTER 5 - The Second Person Eddie Meets in Heaven Summary Eddie finds himself in some sort of wooded area and notices that some of his limberness is gone. He hears bombs exploding in the distance; he crouches to the ground and finds a dog tag with his name on it. When Eddie was younger he enlisted in the army. Since he had never fired a rifle he began practicing at the shooting arcade at Ruby Pier. One night while Eddie was practicing, a drunk Mickey Shea approached him and told him not to think while he is at war; he told Eddie that thinking will get him killed and that he should just shoot with out thinking about who he is shooting or why. A few days later Eddie headed to war. The story returns to Eddie back at a war scene. He finds his former Captain up in a tree. Eddie recalls when he was in the war and he, and four other soldiers, were taken as prisoners. They were kept in bamboo barracks and barely fed. One morning their captors lead them into a coal mine. Eddie and the other prisoners, including the Captain, are forced to strip coal to help the enemy's war effort. A few months later one of the prisoners, Rabozzo, developed a severe sickness and was unable to work. One of the captures shot him in the head, in front of Eddie and the rest of the prisoners. Three weeks later Eddie found one of the captors, Crazy Three, trying to juggle rocks. Since Eddie knew how to juggle, he decided to create a diversion for the prisoners to escape. He juggled for Crazy Three who then called in the other captors to watch. Eddie captured their attention with his juggling and then began to throw the rocks into the faces of the captors. Eddie and the other prisoners were successful at killing the four guards, enabling them to escape. The end of the chapter takes us back to Eddie's birthday right before he goes off to the War. Eddie and Marguerite walk around the pier to spend Eddie's last few moments home, together.

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Right after Eddie and the remaining prisoners escape, they steal the enemies weapons and decide to destroy the prison they had lived in for almost half a year. As the hut went up in flames Eddie thought he saw an innocent child crawl into the hut. He ran in after it, caught on fire and was shot in the leg. His buddies rolled him around in the dirt until he was no longer on fire. He then remembers being carted away in a transport vehicle. The Captain tells Eddie that it was he who shot him. He did not want Eddie to burn to death and he knew Eddie would hurt him if he tried to get him out of the hut. Eddie is furious at the Captain for ruining the rest of his life; he beats him furiously, not harming him. Eddie then learns that the Captain died later that night trying to secure a path for the vehicle containing Eddie and the two other soldiers. Notes We see many clues in this chapter that tell us Eddie had served in World War II. Before Eddie had gone to war, he mentioned that during the Depression, roller coasters had become too expensive for Ruby Pier; they were replaced by a number of new and smaller rides. The Great Depression began on October 29, 1929, with the collapse of the stock prices on the New York Stock Exchange. The Great Depression lasted up until WWII. Eddie also was fighting and taken prisoner on a Philippine island, which is where a lot of fighting took place during WWII. When Eddie finds the Captain in the tree, he asks Eddie if he can still juggle. This foreshadows that Eddie's juggling must have been significant during some point in the war. We find out towards the end of the chapter that it was Eddie's juggling which allowed him and the other prisoners to kill the guards, which then allowed them to escape to safety. In this chapter we finally learn more about Eddie and Marguerites relationship. Eddie is probably around eighteen or nineteen years old and it is apparent that they are dating. She arrives at Eddie's house and he gets butterflies in his stomach and fills with love for her. Later that night Marguerite tells Eddie that she will wait for him to come back from the war. At that moment Eddie feels that he will never love anyone more than he loves her. The flashbacks to the war, in this chapter, tell us how Eddie's life has changed afterwards. He thought he saw a child crawling into the burning hut. He became sickened by the war: the murders, captivity and the futility of it all. He merely wanted to salvage something and was convinced that there was an innocent soul inside the burning hut. The Captain shot Eddie in the leg to keep him from running further into the hut and burning to death. When Eddie finds this out he is furious with the Captain. Eddie's life had never been the same after his injury. For the rest of his life Eddie was haunted by that one mistake he had made by running back into the burning hut. After his injury, he could no longer run or dance. Eddie then learns that the Captain had died that evening trying to help with their escape. He got out of the vehicle to make sure the path was clear and safe; however, he stepped on a land mine, which exploded right under him. CHAPTER 6 -The Second Lesson Summary The Captain tells Eddie his second lesson. Eddie begins to understand the Captain's meaning of "sacrifice" (93) and forgives the Captain for shooting him. After Eddie shakes the Captain's hand, the war grounds turn into lush green scenery; the Captain also appears cleaned up and in a neat, pressed uniform. Eddie asks the Captain if he saved the little girl at the pier but the Captain does not tell him.

The chapter then takes us back to Ruby Pier, the morning after the accident. Dominguez and Willie sit in the shop wondering when Ruby Pier will open again. They sit and sit. By habit, they are waiting for Eddie to arrive. 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. The Captain explains how his sacrifice probably saved the other three soldiers in the car; if he had never went to inspect the grounds, all four of them may have driven over the landmine and been killed. The Captain explains that by shooting Eddie he kept his promise by not leaving him behind and giving Eddie his life. Eddie suddenly feels ashamed for having been bitter his whole life over his injured leg, because it turned out that the Captain had died for him. The Captain knows this and has been waiting for Eddie's forgiveness. Once Eddie shakes his hand the scenery changed into healthy branches, leaves and figs. Eddie was now able to see the war ground without the war. CHAPTER 7 - The Third Person Eddie Meets in Heaven Summary Eddie now finds himself in a beautiful mountain range. Eddie notices that his body has changed once again. He is older, fatter and his knee was in terrible pain. Eddie thought the pain would disappear forever once his visit with the Captain was over. He finds a diner and can see all of the patrons inside, who appeared to all be from different decades. Eddie sees his father through one of the diner windows; he bangs on the window and yells for him, but he never looks up.

Your browser does not support the IFRAME tag. The story flashes back to Eddies 24th birthday in the V.A hospital. Eddies father, Joe, Marguerite, Mickey Shea and his mother had all come to visit him. They sing happy birthday and Eddie sees his father standing across the room, looking down at the windowsill. Eddie forces back his tears. As a child Eddies father did not spend much time with him. On Saturdays he would take Eddie to the pier and would leave him in the care of an acrobat or an animal trainer. Later in the day Eddies father would come back drunk. Often, Eddies father would come home drunk late at night and beat Eddie and Joe. Eddies father has created damage to him in three ways: neglect, violence and silence. After Eddie was released from the hospital, he was very depressed by his injury; he did not work and would spend his days indoors, staring out the window. Eddies father came home very drunk one night and yelled at him to get a job. He raised his hand to punch Eddie, but Eddie defended himself from his fathers swing. His father never spoke to him again. Back in the mountains, Eddie meets a woman outside the diner, from where he sees his father. The woman leads him away and tells her story of how she met her husband, their courtship and how he built an amusement park for her. The old woman is named Ruby, Ruby Piers namesake. After the war, Eddie suffers from severe depression and terrible nightmares. This specific night is Eddies thirty-fourth birthday. He returns home from driving his taxi and Marguerite surprises him with a cake and some taffy.

The baker, who lives in one of the ground apartments, comes to Eddies and tells him that he thinks something has happened to Eddies father. Ruby tells Eddie how the pier caught fire, how her husband became injured, and how they moved far away from Ruby Pier. She tells Eddie that she is here to tell him why his father died. Eddie then recalls the death of his father and the following events; after his death Eddie and Marguerite move back to the apartment building where Eddie grew up so he could help his mother and continue his fathers job at Ruby Pier. Eddie cursed his fathers death, for it forced him to work and lead the life he was forever trying to escape. It is then Eddies 37th birthday and he is having breakfast with his friend, Noel. The two talk about an amusement park accident in Brighton. Notes We learn a lot about Eddie's relationship with his father in this chapter. During the flashback of Eddie's birthday in the hospital, Eddie notices that his father is the only one standing back and over by the windowsill remaining silent. Seeing this, Eddie tries gets very upset and tries not to cry. This is foreshadowing, what we will learn about Eddie's father and how he has hurt him. Eddie's father was a belligerent drunk; he would go out and come home drunk every night and hit Eddie and Joe. Eddie notes that his father never seemed proud of him unless it involved Eddie getting in a fight. Eddie remembers his father watching his baseball games without any sign of approval, even when Eddie would hit the ball deep into the outfield. If Eddie came home from an alley fight, his father showed a sense of approval. Eddie's father was not impressed by education or sports; however he would be impressed with Eddie if he had fixed a maintenance problem and returned with grease all over his hands. He wanted to be able to see "a hard day's work" (107) with greasy hands and dirty fingernails. After the war, when Eddie was released from the hospital, he was very depressed about his injury. He did not have motivation to find a job or even leave the house. One evening his father came in very drunk and started yelling at Eddie to stop being lazy and to get a job. His father raised a hand to hit him, but Eddie defended himself and blocked his fathers fist. Eddie's father never spoke to him again. Neglect, silence and violence were the three ways in which Eddie's father damaged and hurt him. During the excerpt from Eddie's 33rd birthday, we see that he is still haunted by that night in the fire, when he was at war. He has terrible nightmares and is still depressed about his injury. Ruby tells Eddie of a terrible fire that broke out on the pier one evening. Her husband, Emile, heard of the fire and ran down to the pier; he tried to put out some of the fire and a column collapsed on him, which changed their lives forever. They lost the pier, his fortune and his health. They ended up moving away from the pier so Ruby could tend to her wounded husband. Ruby tells Eddie that she had one wish and it was that Emile had never built the pier. Eddie now sees that he is not the only one who regretted the pier ever being built. After the death of Eddie's father, he secretly cursed him, for how he had treated Eddie and how Eddie was forced to take over his job at the pier. After Eddie had taken over his father's job, he and Marguerite moved back into his mother's apartment building to take care of her; for after his father's death, his mother was mentally unstable. Eddie hated his father because he was the reason Eddie never escaped Ruby Pier, which he had been trying to do his entire life. The next section of the chapter recalls Eddie's 37th birthday. He is sitting in a diner with his friend Noel and they discuss an amusement park accident in another town. We can tell that this is one of Eddie's greatest fears-an amusement accident at Ruby Pier. This illustrates the irony of

Eddies life and death. He had spend his whole life trying to escape Ruby Pier, however, he ended up working there for the rest of his life; the pier was even responsible for Eddie's death.