This clearly shows that while Eddie has never met “the man”, as his title shows no relevance to Eddie; the Blue Man impacted his life forever, as Eddie did to his.
In Eddie’s fifth stage in heaven he learns that yet again he lived in the place of someone else. The fifth person Eddie meets is a small Asian girl named Tala. In Tala’s heaven of a shallow lake with other young kids, she explains that Eddie had been the one to cause her death. Tala explains that many years ago while Eddie was in the war, he set fire to a barn that was the unknown hiding place of a young girl. As Eddie set fire to the building he noticed movement within the barn, and out of curiosity walked into the flaming barn to inquire what he had seen or perhaps, thought he’d seen. In consideration of the harm this could inflict on Eddie, a reliable troops man, Eddie’s captain shot him in the knee and dragged him out of the barn before he could be burned to death. It would seem that a middle aged man committing crimes and doing wrong took the life of an innocent girl but as Tala says “Children, you keep them safe. You make good for me” (Albom, page 191). Tala explains that her death allowed for Eddie to ensure the safety of hundreds of other kids whilst working at Ruby Pier. As Tala is explaining this she calls Eddie “Eddie Main-ten-ance” (Albom, page 191), as did many of the children at the pier, and it is at this moment that Eddie realizes that his life was of no waste, and while one accident was avoided, another was created; altering the world for many lives. When asked the question of what good came of the Blue Man and Tala’s death, this answer is simple. Eddie lived.
As some may call it fate; love at first sight, or true love never dies. Many people say they find love, referring to it as an object; but in reality, love takes many forms. Love is never the same for any man or woman, and Albom explained this as a “certain love” (Albom, page 155). Every life has one true-love snap shot and Eddie instantly found this certain love when he first laid eyes on Marguerite. In the novel, Albom clearly demonstrates the mood that is felt between Eddie and Marguerite through descriptive language.
As Albom describes to the reader Eddie’s beginning feelings for Marguerite it is apparent that this “certain love” is instantly found. When Albom writes, “Eddie didn’t say much. He was so nervous he felt as if his tongue were glued to his teeth” (Albom, page 9) the reader feels similar feelings as this towards the beautiful character that has just been introduced. The reader is able to understand that Eddie appreciates his time around Marguerite, and this foreshadows the unconditional love that he presents towards her. When Marguerite passed Eddie was sure that he would never love again, and this is considered true within the certain love that will never end. Marguerite is Eddie’s fourth person he meets in heaven, and his love is unconditionally still evident when Albom writes:
“Her dark hair fell over one eye and Eddie’s heart nearly burst. His lips took a moment to part, and the sound from the back of his throat took a moment to rise, but they came together in the first letter of the only name that ever made him feel this way... ‘Marguerite’” (Albom, page 150).
This shows that Eddie’s love for Marguerite is still very strong, as this is the first time he is seeing her since her death at the age of 47. Eddie’s emotions at this time can simply be summarized into a single word: speechless. As the reader is shown that Eddie is unable to say anything other then her name, it is very informative in the explanation of his passionate love towards her. This also relates to the feelings he was having when he first laid eyes on her. This shows that even decades later, the love he feels for her never died it just took a different form when her physical appearance no longer existed.
Another form of love is the unconditional love that is brought by parents. From the beginning, Eddie’s father never displayed a considerable amount of affection towards Eddie. In fact initially this type of love could be named hate. In the novel, Albom explains how all parents damage their children in some way; in the order of neglect, violence and finally silence. At the beginning, Eddie was grabbed by his father with less love than annoyance, and while his mother gave out tenderness, his father was there to discipline. As the years went on, rough grabs of the arm turned into drunken lashings and beatings with his belt at night; therefore bringing forth the damage of violence. Finally, when Eddie’s father was about to strike him again Eddie was much older and stopped his swing. From then on Eddie’s father never spoke a word to him; therefore provoking the damage of silence. Albom describes Eddie’s feelings towards this silence as “being stung again by the denial of a man whose love, almost inexplicably, he still coveted, a man ignoring him” (Albom 110). This explains that the damage has been done, and that all Eddie wants now is the one man ignoring him. After several years of silence Eddie’s father grew old and lay upon his death bed. One night, when he was alone he crawled to the hospital window and called for his wife and his two sons, and it was there that he died. As Eddie’s father was calling Eddie for forgiveness this shows that even after the many years of silence, the love never died. Lost love is still love; it just takes a different form. When the physical state of the love is gone, the memory becomes something one must never let go of; a life has to end, but love however, does not.
In the novel, it is clear to see that birth and death are part of a whole, and that every ending is also a beginning. Furthermore, time is not what it appears to be, and what happens on earth is only the beginning.
The second person Eddie meets in heaven is Eddie’s Captain from when he was in battle. The Captain teaches Eddie that what may seem to be the ultimate outcome of one event is just the beginnings of another. Time cannot be wasted, except for the time we think everything has reached the end, and the time spent thinking we are alone. When the captain says, "the Adam and Eve deal…Adam’s first night on earth? When he lays down to sleep? He thinks it’s all over right?... His eyes are closing and he thinks he’s leaving this world, right?... Only he isn’t. He wakes up the next morning… He has his yesterdays" (Albom, page 92), he is explaining the unimportance of time. At the beginning of the existence of humans, time was an unknown factor, and was not in the thoughts of Adam as he lives his first day on earth. Time was of no importance then and should be considered as of no importance now; as life is only a beginning and when it ends this beginning will eventually be made sense of. Time can be a very contradicting element of life, for as soon as it is considered, or thought strongly about, the value of life is erased. Life is all about not knowing what the future holds, and living in the moment, and this is precisely what the Captain educated to Eddie. As people try to find peace and make sense of their yesterdays, they are essentially losing time in their beginnings searching for something that may never come in this age.
Time is of the essence, and yesterdays are only the beginning to the present day. Through the entirety of this novel, death plays a commanding role to prove lessons and demonstrate significance; this obviously portrayed by the first paragraph in the book describing the meaning of death. From Eddie’s death comes the ending of his life but also the beginning of his journey through heaven. Through the many losses, knowledge and love were gained, and perhaps sacrifice is inevitable and a part of life that cannot be avoided. This is seen throughout the whole of the book, as many characters died instead of Eddie, such as the Blue Man, the Captain, and Tala. The death or "ending" of these characters gave a new beginning to a new chapter in Eddie’s life. Albom also gives evidence of this concept through examples in everyday life. Albom describes sacrifices as "something to aspire to… A mother works so her son can go to school. A daughter moves home to take care of her sick father. A man goes to war…" (Albom, page 93). These sacrifices may cause an ending to one thing; but also bring a new and possibly hopeful beginning to the life of another. As time moves forward, yesterdays end, and present days begin, this is an essential part of life, as are sacrifices. Progression in life would not be possible without this, as for something must end to create a new beginning.
Through the development of themes such as the connectedness of life, true love is never lost, and all endings are also beginnings Mitch Albom was able to create an inspirational novel that brings a new meaning to life. As Eddie journeyed through the five stages of heaven he learnt what he did not learn on earth, and made sense of his yesterdays. By the Blue Man and Tala’s death, Eddie was able to live and protect young children who ride the attractions at the pier. As Marguerite passed, Eddie’s love still remained strong, as did his father’s love towards him during their period of silence. Through sacrifices and time, Eddie was able to progress with his life and begin new chapters such as his job at the pier. As Eddie made sense of his time on earth an indescribable peace overcame him, and this is the essential purpose of heaven that Albom presents. As people search for peace in their lives they are only continually impairing their time, as peace will not be found by worrying. Reflecting upon your life as it happens is an “epidemic” that has consumed the human population and letting go of it itself is the only cure.