ENG3C
The Five People You Meet in Heaven: Novel Overview
PART A: CHARACTERS
1.ROLES AND DESCRIPTIONS
Joseph Corvelzchik
The Captain
Eddie
Ruby
Eddie's father
Noel
Dominguez
Marguerite
"Amy" or "Annie"
Eddie's Mother
Mickey Shea
Tala
Rabozzo
Joe
Fill in the name of the character fitting the description using the answers in the box above only once each.
CHARACTER
DESCRIPTION/ROLE
Eddie
the story's protagonist - head of maintenance at Ruby Pier
Marguerite
she dies of cancer at age 47 and was the love of Eddie's life
Eddie's Father
strict, demanding and arguably both a neglecter and an abuser
Eddie`s Mother
a loving parent who was unable to cope after losing a spouse
Joe
his older brother who Eddie believes was the more successful of the two
Mickey Shea
the alcoholic friend of Eddie's father who made a pass at Eddie's mother
Noel
Eddie's friend who likes to bet the horse races
Dominguez
Amy or Annie
Eddie's co-worker who helped to save the patrons on Freddy's Free Fall and helped to arrange
Eddie's funeral
the child whose life Eddie saves
Rabozzo
Eddie's fellow prisoner of war who was killed by their captors
Joseph Corvelzchik
The Captain
the blue man - an amusement park side-show attraction with a bad nervous condition - Eddie
accidentally contributes to his death
Eddie's commanding officer in the war who dies saving Eddie and his fellow soldiers
Ruby
the wife of Emile who built the place where Eddie worked and named it after her
Tala
The young Filipino girl who Eddie burned alive in the fire where the soldiers were held captive Eddie was prevented from saving her by the Captain who doubted she was really there
2.QUOTES - LESSONS FOR EDDIE
In the "SPEAKER" Column, identify which character said the quote.
In the "CONTEXT" Column, explain what is happening in the story when the quote is spoken.
SPEAKER
QUOTE
CONTEXT
The blue man "No life is a waste. The only time we waste is time we
The blue man is trying to convince Eddie
spend thinking we are alone."
that if he didn't save the little girl it
wouldn't mean his life was a waste.
The Captain
"That's what heaven is. You get to make sense of your
When Eddie first meets the Captain and
yesterdays."
attempts to give him a reason to value
heaven
"Lost love is still love...It takes a different form, that's all. You can't see Marguerite is trying to convince Eddie
Marguerite
their smile or bring them food or tousle their hair or move them
that he didn't need to mourn her loss for
around a dance floor. But when those senses weaken, another
so long because the love between them
heightens. Memory. memory becomes your partner."
lives on.
The Captain
"Sacrifice is a part of life. It's supposed to be. It's not
The Captain is trying to convince Eddie
something to regret. It's something to aspire to.
that risking his life for the little girl
shouldn't be regretted.
The Captain
"...you go looking for a small idea to believe in. When you The Captain attempts to convince Eddie
find one, you hold it...
that the only way to get through war is to
believe in something and hold onto it.
The blue man "...and that is what heaven is for. For understanding your The blue man meets Eddie and tries to get
life on earth...it is the peace you have been searching
him to see the value of heaven.
for."
"Holding anger is a poison. It eats you from inside. We think that
Ruby
Ruby is attempting to convince Eddie to
hating is a weapon that attacks the person who harmed us. But hatred let go of his anger over his father's
is a curved blade. And the harm we do, we do to ourselves."
cruelties.
The blue man "That there are no random acts. That we are all
The blue man is teaching Eddie his first
connected. That you can no more separate one life from
lesson
another than you can separate a breeze from the wind."
The captain
"Sometimes when you sacrifice something precious,
The Captain is trying to convince Eddie
you're not really losing it, you're just passing it on to
that his sacrifice was worthwhile because
someone else."
he gave his life to save another
The blue man "...the human spirit knows, deep down, that all lives are
The blue man is talking to Eddie about the
connected."
need for funerals and how it is important
to share feelings of mourning.
Eddie
"Kid, I never been anywhere I wasn`t shipped to without
Eddie says this to a Dominguez at Ruby
a rifle."
Pier when simply asked if he has ever
been to Mexico.
The Captain
"No one gets left behind."
This was the Captain's little something to
hold onto that actually helped save
Eddie's life.
Tala is revealing to Eddie that she was indeed in the
Tala
"You burn me."
fire that Eddie and the soldiers started at the village
where they were held captive.
Ruby
"No one is born with anger. And when we die, the soul is
freed of it."
Ruby is trying to convince Eddie that
anger is unnecessary.
Eddie
"It's fixed."
Tala
"No pull. You push."
Eddie says this to his father in heaven
when he finally decides to forgive his
father and let go of his anger.
Tala is revealing to Eddie that he did,
indeed, save the little girl on Ruby Pier.
3.THE MAIN CHARACTER: EDDIE
Provide three details/examples from the story that help to illustrate each of the following character traits of Eddie.
TRAIT
bitter/ resentful
DETAILS/EXAMPLES
1.he is bitter over having been injured in the war
2.he is resentful of his father's mistreatment
3.he is bitter over the loss of Marguerite
benevolent (giving
and kind)
1.He made the pipe cleaner toy for Amy/Annie
2.He took children on free rides when he was testing out the rides
3.He performed his job very conscientiously - the only accident was a fluke one.
selfless and
courageous
1.He risked his life for his fellow soldiers who were held captive
2.he risked his life to save Amy/Annie
3.he was prepared to risk his life for Tala also
PART B) CONFLICT
In the second column, identify the main clash that Eddie is specifically involved and describe the conflict.
In the third column, identify if/how Eddie is able to resolve the conflict.
CONFLICT
TYPE
person vs.
person
EDDIE'S CONFLICT
CONFLICT RESOLUTION
Eddie vs. His Father
Eddie makes his peace with his father in heaven when he forgives
him for his wrongs
Eddie's father neglected and
beat him
person vs.
society
Eddie vs. the War
Eddie learns how his injury was out of necessity to save his life
and eventually lets go of the resentment in heaven
Eddie began as patriotic but is
scarred very deeply by the war
Person vs. the
environment
(their
surroundings)
person vs. self
Eddie vs. Ruby Pier
Eddie felt at odds with his
workplace and job, feeling
trapped where he didn't want to
be
Eddie vs. his guilty conscience
Eddie is tormented by fear that
someone died in the fire and
that he failed to save Amy/Annie
Eddie learns from Tala that he was meant to be there - he was
doing right by children and parents alike all along by keeping
Ruby Pier safe.
Eddie repeatedly witnesses the power of forgiveness - from the
blue man , the captain and Tala . This enables hi to learn how to
see the value of forgiveness
PART C: THEMES/LESSONS
THE PERSON
EDDIE MEETS
IN HEAVEN
Joseph
Corvelzchik
(The Blue Man)
THE LESSON
LEARNED
The Captain
Sacrifice does
not necessarily
involve loss.
That which we
sacrifice is
often passed
on to someone
else who needs
it.
Eddie sacrificed for Amy/Annie in
risking his life to save her, he
sacrificed for both of his parents when
taking the job at Ruby Pier and he
attempted to sacrifice for Tala as well.
He also risked his well-being when
saving his fellow soldiers from their
captivity
Eddie carried a lot of anger around relating
to his work, his war injury and his sacrifice
to save Amy/Annie. But if Eddie had
thought of his sacrifices as necessities to
help others to live he may not have been
consumed with nearly as much negativity
throughout his life.
Ruby
Forgiveness is
crucial in the
process of
letting go of
anger and
hatred which
will only
damage and
paralyze us.
Eddie carried anger around for his
father who was abusively neglectful
and also beat him.
Eddie learns the power of forgiveness as
the only tool to alleviate the anger and
hatred that can poison a person's soul if
carried around inside.
There are no
random acts in
life. All lives are
connected and
intertwine is
some way.
HOW THE LESSON APPLIES TO
EDDIE'S LIFE EXPERIENCES
HOW THE LESSON COULD HAVE OR CAN
HELP EDDIE
Eddie was connected to the blue man
(whose death he accidentally caused),
Ruby, (who the workplace that Eddie
always resented got its name from)
and Nicky (whose key caused the
accident at Ruby Pier)
Learning this earlier could have helped
Eddie to appreciate that no matter how
lonely he might have felt at times, no one
lives in isolation because all of humanity
depends on those who came before us or
surround us - it would have helped him to
see value in his work.
Marguerite
Although life
ends, love still
endures. Love
is forever
because of the
memories we
hold.
Eddie lived a lonely existence after
Marguerite died. He spent a lot of
time reflecting on their past love and
mourned its absence through his
remaining years.
Eddie may not have felt so lonely or
isolated had he realized that the memories
he experienced should not have simply
triggered his moments of sorrowful
reflection, but instead should have been
treasured as the means by which he kept
his and Marguerite's love alive.
Tala
1)Redemption
is always a
possibility in
life, and
sometimes
choose our
actions and
path in life to
redeem past
wrongs without
even realizing
it.
2)We need to
learn to let go
of self-blame
over things we
cannot control.
1)Eddie expressed repeatedly in
heaven the notion that his life was a
waste and that he never really did
anything after the war or Marguerite's
death - he felt like a failure
1) Eddie would have benefitted greatly
from realizing that , all along, he had been
redeeming himself for not saving Tala by
keeping other children safe and happy at
Ruby Pier.
2) Eddie directed much of his
negativity towards himself largely
related to the concern that he hadn't
saved the shadowy figure he thought
he saw in the fire.
2) Eddie learned to forgive himself in
addition to forgiving others when Tala
helped him realize that there was nothing
he could do to save her and that it wasn't
his fault the Captain stopped him.
PERSONAL RESPONSE TOPIC
1.Choose which of the 6 above lessons is the novel's most important and explain your choice. Discuss how both
individuals and society can benefit from the lesson in your response. Including personal experiences will help you to
earn top marks.