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. Throughout the novel, …show more content…
When Eddie came home, he became more serious and somber. He completely lost touch with his old self, and completely changed his disposition. Thus, Eddie’s emotional and physical changes impacts the reader’s view of modern day conflicts. Throughout the novel, Eddie also can be exemplified as a sympathetic character. sympathetic characters are when readers feel sympathy for throughout a story. The reader can feel empathy for Eddie, when the author describes the pain of Eddie’s gunshot wound. The pain was described to be unbearable and the description of the event of the gunshot pains a morbid picture in the reader’s mind. During Eddie’s time as a soldier in World War II, any reader can feel an astonishing amount of sympathy for Eddie. During, Eddie’s time as a soldier, he experienced, “A piercing pain ripped through Eddie's leg. He screamed a long, hard curse then crumbled to the ground. Blood was spewing below his knee. Plane engines roared. The skies lit in bluish flashes. He lay there, bleeding and burning, his eyes shut against the searing heat, and for the first time in his life, he felt ready to die,” (Albom 84). The reader can comprehend Eddies suffering and pain. Eddie was on the ground, in a war zone hurt and slowly dying. Readers can feel a lot of sympathy for when Eddie wanted to let go of the world and die. Before Eddie’s death, he ran under a falling amusement park ride to save a little girl, Eddie
Throughout the novel, The Five People You Meet in Heaven, the reader can observe that the main character, Eddie, is a dynamic character. Dynamic Characters change the way they view themselves or the world around them based off of a climatic event. The author used unique literary development of Eddie to show how he evolved throughout the novel. Eddie was a soldier for the United States of America during World War II. He experienced a lot of trauma, which changed his personality and perspective completely. For instance, after the war, Eddie realized, “His running was over. His dancing was over,” (85). In result of Eddie’s bullet injury, he physically changed, and was never able to do entertaining things that he used to do. Eddie was unfortunately physically unable to run or dance. Eddie’s physical state of his body evolved so
Eddie’s father influenced Eddie to be the chaperone in the family despite his age. At an early age he felt as though he had a financial responsibility, which influenced him to get a job as both a shoe-shiner and a paperboy. He describes his family’s structure as the father being the head of the family, and the mother as the heart. This helped create a balance within the family, but caused tension between Eddie and his father’s expectations. Eddie experienced two spheres of education, American school and Chinese school. “I loved going to American school, but Chinese school was another matter.” (Yung 25) He disliked the limited exposure of Chinese education, and felt that he had been exposed to a wider world in American school, which eventually led him to flunk out of school. This came as a disappointment to Eddie’s father, and added immense pressure to Eddie. The confinement he felt in Chinatown frustrated him, his overprotective mother crippled his adventurous-ambition and the pressure added by his father to lead the family caused him to runaway when at the age of 13. He
For example, he also saying how much he does for his family. He acts as though because he does all this work for his family, he deserves more respect from them and they should do as he pleases. Although Eddie constantly reminds everyone of all the work he has done for his family, it is clear that he initially only is concerned for himself. He tries to guilt people into doing what he wants. Near the end of the play, on Catherine’s wedding day, Beatrice tries to encourage Eddie to come with her to the wedding but Eddie think that what he wants is the final word. He tells her that if she attends Catherine’s wedding, she is not allowed back in the house, even though she begs and says it would be in honor of her sister. He cannot condone his niece getting married to Rodolpho, so anyone who is supportive of the marriage means nothing to him. The fact that Eddie would cast out his wife because of his niece’s marriage is a big reason why Eddie is an unsympathetic protagonist. In the beginning of the play, Eddie warns Beatrice and Catherine not to tell anyone about Marco and Rodolpho living with them. He tells a story about Vinny, a kid who snitched on his uncle to the Immigration Bureau and was publicly disgraced and spit on by his own family. When Beatrice asked where he is now, Eddie responds saying that they would never see a guy like that again. He shows no sympathy for him and implies that he
As Eddie tunnels deeper into substance abuse, he begins to turn emotionally listless (or should I say flaccid). The music fades in the mix, and sounds of snorting and moaning are brought up, taking the audience into
War had crawled inside of Eddie, in his leg and his soul. He learned many things as a soldier, He came home a different man,” (Albom 85). The reader can observe, since Eddie's unfortunate experience in the war, he changed into a pessimistic man. Before Eddie went to war, he was an energetic, adventurous, and caring man. After his traumatizing experiences, he arrived back home monotonous.
“The Five People You Meet In Heaven” by Mitch Albom is a heartfelt story of a war veteran named Eddie who works at the Ruby Pier. On his 83rd birthday, Eddie is killed trying to save a little girl from the falling cart of a ride that malfunctioned. When Eddie goes to heaven, he meets five people that tell him different things about his life and teach him lessons. Within the book, there are many important symbols. The Ferris wheel and the ocean are two of these symbols that help contribute to a deeper meaning of the story.
In the book The Five People You Meet in Heaven, the word choice can relate to character. Word choice i found for character was, “Then he took a small wad of bills from his pocket and removed the only twenties he had… get your wife something new,” this makes Eddie a nice person. Another word choice i found was “Around and around the table they go, to their mother’s delight, as the clarinets lead the radio melody and the Romanian cousins clap around the final wisps of grilled steak evaporate into the party air.” that word choice making Eddie’s family close to one another because they celebrate together. There can also be word choice for setting. Word choice i found for setting was, “misty pumpkin shade. This making the story at that time when
In the book The Five People You Meet in Heaven a guy named Eddie meet with 5 different people in heaven. Some of the people Eddie meets with he has met before and knows and others he has never met. When Eddie was alive he was angry over many things because he didn’t know why they happened to him. When he went to heaven and met these 5 people he was taught at least one good lesson from each of them.
Eddie learned a lot about his life in heaven. He learned from Captain about sacrifice. At a young age Eddie joined the army and fought for the rights and freedom of his country and would sacrifice his life to do so. During the end of his career in the military Eddy was on a mission to burn down some huts. The orders were followed and as he was watching the last hut burn he saw a shadow dart across the door that entered the hut. He sat there and heard bomber planes getting closer and closer to his location but he kept seeing the shadow dart all over the hut. He told his captain that there was someone in the hut and insisted on going in there and saving who was ever in there as he went to run in the hut his caption shot him in the leg and saved him from the fire and the bomber
Each person that Eddie meets has had an effect on him in some way, he just did not realize it at the time. Albom conveys the message that one's actions impacts somebody else’s life indirectly by using imagery and symbolism. Throughout the novel, Albom develops the message that one’s actions effects somebody’s life by using
Eddie’s father is one of the minor characters from the novel but he is not just there like any other regular book, the author gives detail of him and how he effected Eddie’s life. When Eddie is at the hospital after the war his dad isn’t talking to him he is ignoring Eddie his father isn’t even
In day to day life humans interact with other humans. Whether it be at work, or at a social event, human interaction is important to human life. By interacting with others, humans impact one another’s lives. In the book “The Five People You Meet in Heaven” by Mitch Albom the main character Eddie encounters people that affect his life greatly and experiences many emotions through the book’s theme, characters, and setting.
In denying his emotionality, an essential part of himself, he is driven to irrationality. A clear example of this self-suppression is seen towards the end of the text, wherein his wife, Beatrice, tells Eddie that ‘the truth is not as bad as blood […] Eddie, crying out in agony: That’s what you think of me – that I would have such a thought? His fists clench his head as though it will burst.’ In this situation, Beatrice is trying to convince Eddie not to fight one of the illegal immigrants having denounced him for calling the Immigration Bureau. The ‘truth’ is an allusion to the root of this tumultuous situation – his feelings for his niece.
Eddie’s father was an abusive alcoholic. He was also a maintenance worker at Ruby pier. Joe is Eddie’s brother. Marguerite is Eddie’s wife that died from a brain tumor. Marguerite’s death devastated Eddie.
Whether it’s to the community, the world or to another person there is only so much that one person can do to make a difference. In the book “The Five People You Meet In Heaven” by Mitch Albom there are many people who made a difference in other people’s lives.