Winnie McCabe

Winnie McCabe
The Five People You Meet in Heaven
Mitch Albom
Philosophy/Fiction
Holiday
51

1. I am currently reading The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom. Right now, Eddie has just been left by the Blue Man. The Blue Man left Eddie right as he shouted "Wait!". This novel is about a man named Eddie. Eddie injured his leg while fighting in World War II. He is the head of maintenance at an amusement park called Ruby Pier. Then all of a sudden, Eddie dies on his 83rd birthday when he tries to save a little girl from a falling cart. Eddie wakes up in the afterlife and it is not what he was expecting. He is in the past and he has perfect health. Eddie's leg injury has not even happened yet. A mysterious "Blue Man" greets him and tells him his own story. He is called the Blue Man because he was given silver nitrate as a child, which caused his skin to turn blue. It just so turns out that the Blue Man was killed by Eddie. Eddie went to the Blue Man's funeral on his seventh birthday without realizing that he was the cause of the Blue Man's death. When Eddie was a young boy, he was playing baseball with his brother, Joe. The ball rolled into the middle of the street and Eddie ran to retrieve it. The Blue Man met with the ball when he was in his car. The Blue Man pulled to a screeching stop in his car, his heart was racing. Eddie ran off the street, having almost been killed. Subsequently, the Blue Man had a heart attack and could not be saved.

2. I am really enjoying The Five People You Meet in Heaven up to now. I like the way the story is structured because it is so unique. It switches from past to present in such a smooth fashion. After every few chapters there is one chapter that is in the past. So far the chapters in the past have been on Eddie's 5th and 7th birthdays. My favorite part so far was Eddie's description of heaven at first sight. Albom's way of describing the colors of the sky made me feel like I was experiencing the situation firsthand. Also the way Albom described the Blue Man's disappearance brilliantly. The descriptions of the different hues are so specific. I love reading this book because the chapters aren't too long either. Also, each chapter is filled with so many events and I am never bored with the storyline. The way that this novel was written just makes it fun and easy to read. I am also reading this book a lot faster than I usually read. I think that the reason is partially that I cannot wait to read more!

3. One theme that I have noticed in this novel is innocence. I see this theme with Eddie and his life experiences. Eddie is an old man but he is still so naïve. He has been through many experiences in life but does not know how he affected people in the past. He had no idea that he was the cause of the Blue Man's death. Eddie did not even realize that it was the Blue Man behind the wheel of the car that almost. He is learning so many things about his life that he never even knew happened to him. Innocence plays a large role with Eddie's life. This book makes it seem like you are innocent your whole life and you know nothing. It almost seems like Eddie learned more in heaven than he did while he was living. Albom definitely uses innocence to his advantage in this book. This theme makes people wonder if they really don't know how they affect people. Eddie didn't even know how much he impacted a stranger. Maybe you spend your whole life being innocent and unaware of your effect on people.

4. My favorite character would have to be Eddie. Even though Eddie was an outcast, he still cares about general wellbeing of others. Eddie died trying to save a little girl from a falling cart at Ruby Pier. Many people would not risk their lives to save an acquaintance. Even after Eddie died, he still asked the Blue Man if the little girl had been saved. He is a kindhearted, selfless person. He was courageous to try to rescue the girl. Eddie cares about everybody and is such a good person. I feel sorry for Eddie at the same time. Eddie receives no appreciation for his thoughfulness. I'm not even sure he had a funeral after he died. His whole situation is unfortunate. He deserves more gratitude than he receives.

5. There aren't very many characters in this book at this point. From my knowledge, I would have to say that my least favorite character is the Blue Man. He is my least favorite because he blamed Eddie for killing him. I am not positive that it is actually Eddie's fault. The Blue Man just said that he had a heart attack. Obviously coming close to hitting Eddie with his car could have caused the heart attack. He can't blame Eddie for his heart attack, there could have been many other events that caused it too. He taught some principled life lessons to Eddie but he does not have the right to blame him for his own death.

6. I think that Eddie will be met by another person that he was involved with in the past. I made this prediction because the Blue Man left Eddie very abruptly. Eddie still has so many unanswered questions. Also, Eddie still has a lot more to learn. The Blue Man did not explain everything to Eddie. Eddie still has a lot more to learn about himself and others. The Blue Man was only involved in Eddie's life until Eddie was 7 years old. I think that there will be more people to explain later events in his life that impacted them. There are many more things for Eddie to learn because he was only a young boy when the Blue Man died. He lived a long time and there must have been more experiences that impacted other people.