People are born into this world unaware of their true purpose in life. It is only after death that the answer to this question is revealed. Mitch Albom’s The Five People You Meet in Heaven introduces the protagonist, Eddie, who dies an honourable death in the attempt of saving a little girl. The story follows Eddie into Heaven where he encounters five people who were significant in his life. Throughout the story, there are many instances of sacrifice that ultimately help Eddie discover his purpose on earth. Eddie fails to find value in his life as he assumes the little girl died along with him and identifies his life as a waste. Regardless of the outcome, Eddie’s life is not a waste because all lives are interconnected. Only after Eddie realizes
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He believes that the only way for him to have any value is to positively impact the world. Eddie is unable to find his purpose because he is oblivious to the meaning behind it. Jeff Noonan says, “Life-coherence means organizing society such that the life-value of individual lives serves the life-value of others in a conscious way - that we identify our good with the individuated contribution that we make to other’ lives” (Noonan 2016). From the moment Eddie wakes up in heaven, he questions the survival of the little girl. He is not able to find the answer until the end of the story so he assumes that his death was a waste. The Blue Man says, “No life is a waste [....] The only time we waste is the time we spend thinking we are alone.” (Albom, 29). The Blue Man explains to Eddie that every life has a purpose, even if that purpose does not become clear until after death. Eddie learns that his life and death are not a waste and that his life was meaningful. This is shown when he joins the army and when he takes care of his family. Eddie has positively impacts the world because his life influences the lives of others. The final person Eddie meets in heaven is a girl named Tala. She is killed in a fire during World War II in a burning barn, the same one that Eddie was headed towards. Tala tells Eddie that the reason she died was because Eddie did not save her. Eddie who is filled with horror and guilt, drops on his knees and wails. Tala questions him and he replies saying that he has accomplished nothing in life. Tala disagrees by telling him that his life is full of meaning as he kept kids safe on the rides and he made them smile. She then tells him that she died so that he could live because he
He believes that the only way for him to have any value is to positively impact the world. Eddie is unable to find his purpose because he is oblivious to the meaning behind it. Jeff Noonan says, “Life-coherence means organizing society such that the life-value of individual lives serves the life-value of others in a conscious way - that we identify our good with the individuated contribution that we make to other’ lives” (Noonan 2016). From the moment Eddie wakes up in heaven, he questions the survival of the little girl. He is not able to find the answer until the end of the story so he assumes that his death was a waste. The Blue Man says, “No life is a waste [....] The only time we waste is the time we spend thinking we are alone.” (Albom, 29). The Blue Man explains to Eddie that every life has a purpose, even if that purpose does not become clear until after death. Eddie learns that his life and death are not a waste and that his life was meaningful. This is shown when he joins the army and when he takes care of his family. Eddie has positively impacts the world because his life influences the lives of others. The final person Eddie meets in heaven is a girl named Tala. She is killed in a fire during World War II in a burning barn, the same one that Eddie was headed towards. Tala tells Eddie that the reason she died was because Eddie did not save her. Eddie who is filled with horror and guilt, drops on his knees and wails. Tala questions him and he replies saying that he has accomplished nothing in life. Tala disagrees by telling him that his life is full of meaning as he kept kids safe on the rides and he made them smile. She then tells him that she died so that he could live because he