INDEPENDENT READING BOOK PROJECT
Student name: Daniel
Period: 3
Title of the Book: The Five People You Meet in Heaven
Author: Mitch Albom
Genre: P hilosophical fiction
Pages: 1­196
Publishing Company:
Hyperion Books Copyright date: 2003
Standards:Reading 2.0; Writing 2.2 I. Describe the protagonist (main Characters) of your book.
The main protagonist is an old man named Edie. Edie is a thick, squat, old man with white hair, and a limp. He is kind and big­hearted with children. Eddie has worked at Ruby Pier as a maintenance worker for almost all his life. Eddie was a caring and compassionate man but he did not show these emotions.
Eddie was 83 years old when he died attempting to save a little girl from a falling rollercoaster cart. Eddie thought his life was a waste. He is sad, bitter, depressed, lonely and regrets his life. Eddie had a rough childhood and he went to war where he eluded death and got injured. He died and went to Heaven where he met five people who helped him understand his life and appreciate it. II.

Describe the conflict of your book (Include whether it is an internal conflict, external

conflict or both. Support your claim).

There were many conflicts in this novel, but the most important was an internal conflict. Eddie lived most of his life at Ruby Pier. He never went anywhere except when he was at war. E ddie dies believing that his life was not worth anything.Eddie believed that he didn't accomplish anything. Eddie didn’t like working at Ruby Pier. He blames his leg, his father for him staying at
Ruby Pier. He thinks his life was a waste. However, he realizes how much he meant to his loved ones (and people he never even knew) over the course of the novel with the help of his "Five
People."
III.

Describe the setting(s) of your book:
This book takes place in a variety of places. The main setting is Heaven which is divided to

stages, each having its own setting. In the first stage of heave, the setting is in Ruby Pier. Then it is a Battlefield. The third stage, occurs in place where mountains are covered with snow, away from the ocean. In the fourth stage, the setting in many wedding receptions. The final stage transpires in a river in the middle of a forest.
IV.

Describe the mood (atmosphere) of your book:
The mood in this book changes as Eddie continues his journey through Heaven. In the

beginning is has a melancholy mood. We learn that he lives a sad, lonely life. Eddie had a terrible relationship with his father, stayed in a career he didn't enjoy, got injured during the war, and was depressed after the death of his wife. But as the story continues, the five people make Eddie reflect on his life and explain why things happened. This makes the mood calm, r eflective, nostalgic, introspective, and cathartic
. At the end, the mood changes to happiness. We learn that Eddie did save the little girl and the readers feel joyful for Eddie as he makes peace with himself.
V.

Explain the Climax or “turning point” of your book:

The Climax happens almost at the end of the book when Eddie finds out that he was responsible for Tala's death in the Philippines during World War II. Tala, a young girl, is the fifth person that Eddie meets in Heaven. She says, "You burn me. You make me fire" (188). When
Eddie escaped the prison camp, along with his comrades, he burned down the whole camp. Eddie burned down the house where Tala was in. Eddie has had recurring dreams after the war of
"wandering through the flames in the Philippines on his last night of war," leaving a "general darkness" hanging over his life ddie breaks down at this moment, dropping to his knees and
.
E
crying of horror and guilt. He realizes that he burned an innocent girl.
VI.

How does your book end?
The book ends with Eddie finding his peace and purpose of life. He washes Tala and

removes all the burnt skin. Tala tells Eddie that he saved the little girl. He was a protector of children at Ruby Pier. He help prevent many accidents.
After Eddie’s accident, Ruby Pier reopens after the third day, Dominguez, Eddie’s assistant, is promoted to Eddie’s old position.We learn that the key that ruptured the cable in the ride belonged to Nicky, Ruby’s Great­Grandson. (Ruby was the woman who named the Pier,
Ruby Pier). The novel ends with how “Amy or Annie”, the little girl that Eddie saved, will eventually die and met with her five people one of them being Eddie. VII.

In what ways does this ending “resolve” the conflict of your book” i.e., what is the

resolution of the conflicts you described above? Eddie’s worst fear had come true: he had killed an innocent child during the war while burning down the camp.
Tala leads Eddie to the resolution of his fifth lesson. Tala tells him that he

didn’t waste his life. Tala helps him understand that his place was at Ruby Pier.
The resolution is that Eddie realizes his life had a purpose which was keeping the children safe at the pier. This helped solve the conflict which was that Eddie believed that his life had no purpose.
VIII. What is the Theme of your book?

There are multiple and various themes in this novel. For example, love interconnectedness of life, Reconciliation and Sacrifice. I believe that the major theme were Sacrifice.
When Eddie dies, he dies trying to save a little girl. While he is in heaven, he wonders if he saved the little girl. He believes that sacrificing himself for another person would help him leave a positive impact on the world. He later learns that he did save the little girl. The Captain, Eddie’s second person, also sacrificed himself to save Eddie and his fellow comrades. “That’s the thing.
Sometimes when you sacrifice something precious, you’re not really losing it. You’re just passing it on to someone else.”
IX.

What did you like most about reading this book? Why?
I didn’t like it, I loved it. The themes made me love this book. It made me think about life

and death. It taught me about sacrifice, forgiveness, reconciliation, and love. This book has a beautiful meaning.

X.

What did you like least? Why?
The flashbacks was the thing I least liked. The flashbacks kept interrupting the main

storyline. I know that the flashbacks helped move the story, but it interrupted and left me confused. When a good part was coming, it stopped and a flashback began. It was frustrating.

XI.

Invent an original title for this book:
The Five Lessons

XII.

Write down a favorite quote or narrative passage from your book and explain why you like

it:

“Dying? Not the end of everything. We think it is. But what happens on Earth is only the beginning.” I love this quote because it about how when we die, it's not the end, it’s only the beginning. Death is not the End. Its the beginning of a new journey.

Vocabulary
Atrophy
(verb) (of the body or an organ) To waste away due to nerve damage or defective nutrition. Ballyhoo
(noun) Clamor or outcry.
Roustabouts
(noun) Day laborers, an unskilled or casual laborer.
Unblemished
(adj) Lacking fault, not damaged, perfect.
Perversion
(noun) Something strange or abnormal, a distortion, behavior that is unacceptable.
Oblivion
(noun) The state of being completely forgotten, unknown.
Lanky
(adj) Tall and thin, ungraceful.
Inherent
(Adj) A quality that exists in someone or something as a permanent and inseparable element, quality, or attribute.
Grotesque
(adj) Oddly unnatural or bizarre, repulsive, or distorted.
Churn
(verb) To shake or agitate vigorously.