Literature Analysis #2

The Five People You Meet in Heaven

Mitch Albom

1. This story was a recollection of a man's life as he dies. The man was killed, and then he must meet five people in order to finally be at peace. The five people he met each had a very important story to tell him about his life, how he lived it, and they all show him what he did wrong, and other times, what he did right. The man's name was Eddie, and the five people he met were as follows: Joseph Corvelzchik, (a man that Eddie "killed"); his Captain from his army days; Ruby, (the woman whom the amusement park he died at was named after); Marguerite, (his late wife); and the little girl who Eddie could have saved from burning to death but couldn't. All of these people had an inspiring and eye-opening story to tell. The author tries to break the wall between the actual character being read about, and you yourself. He tries to make you feel the emotions that Eddie feels and what it's like to be in their shoes.
2. I thought carefully about this theme, because I really want to get it right, or even close. But I came to the conclusion that one major universal theme is that every action has a reaction. Every single story that Eddie heard had one thing in common: it was a direct reaction to something he had done. Had he not done what he did in each story, none of it would have happened, and he could have even lived rather than dying. It really gave me another perspective. Everything that I say, do, or even think has a direct reaction on someone else. If I tell someone that I like their shirt, they could go the rest of the day feeling great about their decision in wearing that shirt. But, if I tell my little sister that I don't like what she is wearing to school on a certain day, she could either go the rest of the day feeling self-conscious about herself, or her negative energy that I rubbed off on her could affect someone else, making something happen that was unintended.
3.  The author's tone is very straightforward, and deep. He describes everything in a way that everyone understands and relates to, and speaks of love and life and death in a universal tone. "People say they “find” love, as if it were an object hidden by a rock. But love takes many forms, and it is never the same for any man and woman. What people find then is a certain love." The way that Mitch Albom describes things in this book, as well as in other books by him, he takes his time so that the reader can connect with what is going on, and not drift off into a different place while reading. "People think of heaven as a paradise garden, a place where they can float on clouds and laze in rivers and mountains." He creates an atmosphere that gets you stuck inside of what you are reading and holds you there until you lift your head just to think about what you just read. "People say they “find” love, as if it were an object hidden by a rock. But love takes many forms, and it is never the same for any man and woman. What people find then is a certain love."
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Imagery: "People think of heaven as a paradise garden, a place where they can float on clouds and laze in rivers and mountains. But scenery without solace is meaningless." (p. 35)
Personification: "The whirring of a small biplane, dragging an ad from its tail." (p. 14)

Simile: "Every muscle he had was as tight as a piano wire." (p.56)

Hyperbole: "The children freeze." (p. 37)

Metaphor: "Holding anger is a poison." (p. 141)

Euphemism: "Passed away? Moved on? Met your maker?" (p. 112)

Irony: "He cursed his father for dying and for trapping him in the very life he'd been trying to escape." (p. 128)

Exaggeration: "It eats you from inside." (p.141)

Periodic structure: "Life has to end. Love doesn't." (p. 173) 

Denotation: "Holding anger is a poison. It eats you from inside. 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." (p. 141) 

CHARACTERIZATION:

1.  When Mitch Albom describes Eddie, the main character, he uses direct characterization. Actually, he describes all of his characters in this book with direct characterization. He is very descriptive in anything that he writes in the novel. But, the way he describes both Eddie and the very first person he meets in heaven are somewhat alike. He describes their facial features, what they are wearing, and what their body language is telling about them as people. I don't remember reading any examples of indirect characterization. Like I said before, he is very straightforward.
2. The author's syntax and diction stay constant throughout the whole novel. It didn't matter whether characters were changed, or settings. The author's syntax and diction were helped by the intense imagery set forth. The diction flowed through the pages. 
3. The main character in this novel, Eddie, is a dynamic character. After each and every story that he hears from every person that he meets in Heaven, his mind set changes a little more. By the end, when he meets the little girl who he tried to save from being eaten alive by fire but couldn't, he have sympathy for every person he met. He also understood so much more about himself, and others around him. He was a round character as well in the sense that he had so much personality and feelings that showed up as I read.
4.  After reading this book, I felt like I met every single person that was mentioned. Eddie, Ruby, Marguerite, Joseph, Eddie's father, the Captain, and tons more characters. Each character came with his or her own story that made you eager to read on. I felt as if Eddie was me, sometimes. After doing this literature analysis, I kind of want to read the book all over again haha!