The Five People You Meet In Heaven

By : Mitch Albom

CHARACTER LIST Ruby

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 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
Eddie’s 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.

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.

SETTING

This story
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
takes place in several different locations in both heaven and on earth. The novel to Eddie's childhood involving incidents at Ruby Pier. Ruby Pier is also where
begins at Ruby Pier. Eddie grew up very Eddie had his career as a maintenance man and is the very place where he was
The Captain killed on his birthday.
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.