Eddie's Exploration of His Life's Purpose in 'The Five People You Meet in Heaven'

Death is not an end, but a new cycle of life through which the deceased get an opportunity to have a more thorough understanding of their life. In The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom, Eddie’s meeting with five different people provides him with an opportunity to redeem himself. Eddie’s encountering with Ruby in which he pardons his father, learning of the interconnectedness between all lives from the view of the blue-man, and learning of significance of sacrifice through the perspective of the captain provides him with a chance to develop a more insightful understanding of his life and past actions. Therefore, Eddie’s journey through heaven teaches him that in order for him to redeem and forgive himself, he must be able to cope with pain and suffering.

To begin with, Eddie’s memories teach him one vital lesson: for him to be better self-pleased, he must let go of his exasperation and detest towards others. Eddie’s resentment towards his father’s abusiveness changes when he learns that it still has some good conscience, and it educates him that he has to be able to pardon his father in order to live a better pleasurable life. When Eddie encounters Ruby after he dies, she offers him a prudent perspective on his father/son conflict when she remarks, “We think that hating is a weapon that attacks the person who harmed us. But hatred is a curved blade. And the harm we do, we do to ourselves” (141). Ruby, who has no opportunity whatsoever to bring back Eddie’s relationship with his father, explains that his extreme detestation towards his father is one of the reasons that he thinks of himself as someone who leads a dissatisfying life. Now, he must overcome his loathe to become better content. Moreover, Eddie’s encountering with Ruby aids him in conquering the turmoil and agitation that has affected him throughout his life. Eddie, questioning Ruby about his death and living, learns to become better self-settled after Ruby says, “You have peace when you make it with yourself” (113). Eddie simply hopes to become comfortable after death, but he currently must accept his past grief and confront his insecurities. This pushes him to have a better sense of self-awareness and encumber his happiness in his afterlife. Eddie, beginning a new cycle of life in heaven, must acknowledge that for him to live a peaceful life in heaven, he must endure his inessential repulsiveness.

Likewise, flashbacks Eddie goes through in heaven demonstrate to him how all lives are interconnected, aiding him to realize the unintentional and indirect harm and good he did to others. Eddie’s unintended death cause of the blue-man helps him accept that people’s lives can be connected in unexpected ways, meaning that he must realize the involuntary pain he caused to others. The blue man, clarifying to Eddie how he died after being rolled over trying to rescue his life, declares, “The human spirit knows, deep down, that all lives intersect. That death doesn’t just take someone, it misses someone else” (48). Eddie is insisted to accept that everyone, whether unbeknownst or known to him, is in some way connected to him. As a result, he must perceive the indirect and accidental suffering he has caused to others. Correspondingly, the blue man’s teaching of Eddie about the worthiness of his life reaffirms him about the extravagant deeds he did to help others. The blue man reassures Eddie when he says, “No life is a waste. The only time we waste is the time we spend thinking we are lone (50). The positive affirmation and soothe the blue man provides Eddie with exhibits that even if Eddie thought he has had no effect on others, his life still affected others in favourable ways. This is significant as it motivates him to look back on the impact he has had on others and thus become better fulfilled and self-conscious. The past suffers that Eddie undergoes impel him to reconsider that even is he thought of himself as someone with no effect on others he did or did not know, he still had both positive and negative effects.

Lastly, the actions Eddie accomplishes throughout his life, some of which were sacrificial to others, show him that if he thought they were worthless, they still had importance as they helped aid the grief of others. The lessons Eddie learns from the viewpoint of the Captain exhibits that his actions were still heroic and sacrificial. The captain does not regret dying and tells Eddie not to feel worthless of himself: Sometimes, when you sacrifice something precious, you’re not really losing it. You’re just passing it on to someone else” (94). The captain advises Eddie that is unnecessary for him to feel regretful about his sacrifice, as his suffering was a consequential part of helping others. The later learnings about Eddie’s significance of life from the perspective of the captain instruct Eddie an integral lesson: The occasional value of death. The captain’s remarks about the idea of how death can be purposeful changes Eddie’s outlook about his own death: “Time is not what you think. Dying? Not the end of everything. What happens on Earth is only the beginning” (91). Eddie, viewing the Captain’s death as a tragedy,, changes his outlook on how his death was still necessary. To elaborate, the captain illustrates to Eddie that he must not be upset about his death as it was a vital part of his sacrifice for him. Eddie becomes demanded to change his outlook on death as an occasional part of sacrifice, resulting in him becoming more pleased about what he meant to others and vice versa.

An individual must be able to cope with and prevail over their pain and distress in order to live a gratifying life. Eddie’s letting go os his abhorrence towards his father, learning about his indirect responsbility towards the harms and goods of others, and acknowledgement of the death of him and others as a part of immolation all show him that he was someone wothful and that his modesty was the cause of his entire pain and suffering. Khaled Hosseini, an Afghan-American novelist, said, “True redemption is… when guilt leads to good. Eddie, who was unknowingly harmful and aiding towards others becomes aware of all of his unintentional and flaw actions, leads to his ultimate “good.”