A Literary Analysis Of Mitch Albom's The Five People You Meet In Heaven

Friendship describes the mutual pledge to help reveal the innermost workings of a person, bringing out the hidden attributes and validity of one’s characteristics. Subsequently, the bonds and struggles of friendship are a central cause for unveiling identity as the relationship one makes contributes to long-lasting change. The acceptance of a person’s differences conveys an importance for the development of strong bonds. Moreover, hardships accompanying relationships establish times to reflect on oneself and lead to positive outcomes for growth. Furthermore, the memorable journeys embed an area in one’s mind that will change the way self-perspective is seen. Through the characters of Lewis in If I Ever Get Out Of Here by Eric Gansworth and

The book, The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom is a book full of reflection, life lessons, and experiences of the joys and sorrows that accompany life. The Five People You Meet in Heaven is about an old man named Eddie who meets his death after an accident at a theme park. On his path to heaven, Eddie meets five people from his life who he had an impact on, or who impacted him. These people teach Eddie important lessons before he is ready to move on. In the portion of the book about Eddie’s 2nd person, his captain, Eddie learns more about his life at war. The movie, The Five People You Meet in Heaven is very similar to the book at this part. In the section about war, in both the book and the movie, Eddie relives his experiences

Everyday, people are forced to make choices. Some of those choices are fairly easy to make, and others are not. In the short story “The Life You Save May Be Your Own” by Flannery O’Connor, a man by the name of Tom T. Shiftlet stumbles across a farm where an old woman and her daughter, Lucynell Crater, reside. When the author first introduces the readers to Mr. Shiftlet, he is described as “a tramp and no one to be afraid of” (674). What starts as a man accidentally coming across the woman’s farm, becomes a story that follows Tom through his unrealized quest for love and acceptance. With the help of Ms. Crater and Lucynell, Tom learns that his choices have consequences. In “The Life You Save May Be Your Own”, O’Connor creates a world in

Everyone has a desire, something that they want to achieve or obtain for them. Whether it is ethical or immoral, having desires is almost inevitable. Sometimes these desires make people go through tough times. Tragic occurrences such as death and broken relationships shape the lives of people positively or negatively. In the following essay, “Many Rivers to Cross” and the short stories, “Two Kinds” and “Everyday Use”, the protagonists of these texts struggle to achieve their desire, but because of those struggles the main characters do eventually come to a revelation.

I find the theme in this book to be something that an anyday person or child would experience in a day or much longer piece of time. Any person can experience times of confusion and emotional instability, but if that person sticks it out; they will find an answer to their problems or they will answer answer it for themselves. This pertains to a lifelong conflict, but it does not just pertain to that. It relates to a situation in a day, week, or even, an

The importance of cherishing the invaluable individuals in one’s life is apparent in Matthew Teague’s personal journey of his wife’s battle against cancer and a genuine friendship. “The Friend” depicts emotional appeal, comparisons, and vivid imagery to portray the significance of valuing loved ones. There is no single definition for a loved one. A spouse, children, family, friends, the reciprocated love can build everlasting bonds, but why is it so important to treasure the relationships we have? Just because they are family, it may not signify that we love them; just because they are acquaintances, it does not necessarily indicate that we have a type of love for them either. The pure love we possess for someone is rare and never chosen or obliged, so this valuable love should be nurtured, for people are bound within unpredictable time limits. Nichole’s, Teague’s wife’s, diagnosis of cancer was a realization for him that his days with her were numbered. Along the way, Dane Faucheux, the couple’s friend, was devoted to aiding the Teague family during their struggling time. Faucheux’s undisputed support for Teague and his family surprised him numerous times throughout their experience. This love in the sublime story is seeped with appreciation for those Teague values in his life. The realization and worth of his deep endearment for his family and friend is transferred to the reader, and he or she begins to realize the reality of the given time to value those who are most important.

When disaster strikes, two responses exist: lose hope, or find an inner strength to rise above. “Werner” is an essay where the author, Jo Ann Beard, presents the idea of rediscovering yourself, rebuilding a life after loss, and rising above adversity. Werner, Beard’s main character, finds that the only way to truly move on after a tragedy is to take a leap into what is unfamiliar. After a fire burns down everything Werner has, he is forced to grow and become a new man, leaving his old life behind. Throughout the essay, Beard illustrates a man who faces challenges to his sense of self, and who sequentially must change and become someone new to find who he is again. Beard’s use of the third person, candid diction, and conflict resolution compose an elaborate work that focuses on the concept of becoming a new and better person after a traumatic event.

Society often fail to understand and see the mental pain that individuals carry throughout their lives. Some people bear its burden, while others suffer greatly because of it, to the point of choosing self-destruction. The narrators from “The Gargoyle” (Davidson) and “Walk to Morning” (Boyden) both experience this pain that ultimately sets them on a course to a deep pit. They survive their near-deaths and later encounter unique life-changing people. As a result, they become better individuals.

There are simple things in life that could mean something so important, yet our society doesn’t seem to notice it. Well, in this novel, it is the perfect example of that. Throughout the book, The Five You Meet In Heaven, an eye catching quote was stated. The author Mitch Albom mentions, “Nothing important. No bank statements. No insurance policies. Just a black bow tie, a Chinese restaurant menu, an old deck of cards, a letter with an army medal, and a faded Polaroid of a man by a birthday cake, surrounded by children.” Each of those items represent an important character in the novel. For some background knowledge, The Five People you Meet in Heaven is a novel written by Mitch Albom. The story is based upon the main character who is an old man named Eddie and has worked on the Ruby Pier all his life. His life comes to an end when he tries to save a little girl from a collapsed cart of a ride, but the cart lands on Eddie and kills him. Eddie then arrives in heaven and travels through five different environments to learn lessons from five different people. These five people were important in his life. Everything works out in the end and he is reunited with his one true love, Marguerite, at the pier with lovely children galloping all around. So from that quote and reading this inspiring novel, conclusions can be made of who represents each item. These objects symbolize important moments that have happened in Eddie’s life.

Many people oppose society due to the surroundings that they face and the obstacles that they encounter. Set in the bleak winter landscape of New England, Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton is the story of a poor, lonely man, his wife Zeena, and her cousin Mattie Silver. Ethan the protagonist in this novel, faces many challenges and fights to be with the one he really loves. Frome was trapped from the beginning ever since Mattie Silver came to live with him and his wife. He soon came to fall in love with her, and out of love with his own wife. He was basically trapped in the instances of his life, society’s affect on the relationship, love, poverty, illness, disability, and life.

Life is filled with tragedies, whether they be subtle or monumental. In society we are constantly surrounded by hardships and situations that test our own individual character, forcing us to react in order to move forward. The main characters in “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor, and “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates each react differently to the various tragedies they encounter, revealing their true identities that lie behind the (facade?)/version of themselves they present to the world. These tragedies that factor into all three works are both presented and interpreted differently in each story: In “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, Mrs. Mallard rejoices

The typical person has a variety of roles that they play in their own life, such as son/daughter, parent, friend, significant other, athlete, performer, student, worker, etc. In the novel “Three Day Road” by Joseph Boyden, three characters – Xavier, Elijah, and Niska – have their fair share of roles to play in their own lives, and like the roles one has in life inevitably have influence on one and one's life for better or for worse to some degree; their roles do the same for them.

This isn’t technically a book that I read when I was in the properly defined age group, but looking back at this book it is probably the book that has had the largest impact on my life, and had it been out when I was younger would have been a book that I would have read. I read this book after I had finished reading Tuesdays with Morie by the same author. Now I have read a lot of books in my life and I can’t think of one that has had a more profound affect on me than The Five People you Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom.

Across all genres of storytelling, characterization is used as a window into the soul of the reader. Characters connect to real life based off of their problems, emotions, and how they resolve their conflicts. This is true of characterization in the novel, The Five People You Meet in Heaven, written by Mitch Albom. The main character, Eddie, demonstrates dynamic characterization throughout the novel. Readers can empathize his general conflicts and how he resolves them. Eddie can also be perceived as a character with many physical and emotional traits. In these ways, the main character in the novel, The Five People You Meet in Heaven, has numerous and significant character traits that impacts the plot of the story.

There comes a point in most people’s lives, where we start looking for the meaning of life. Questioning who we are, why we are here, and what our purpose is. In the novel Ceremony, Leslie Marmon Silko paints a picture of self-acceptance and self-discovery. With the help of Tayo’s story between the struggle of his past and his present self, Betonie’s tolerance for the world, and the motif of alcoholism we are able to make this overall statement.