(Love “No story sits by itself”(10) the circular nature of life learning to live nobly and well, learning to be a better person/husband/wife/, learning to be “loyal to one another” (138) because life is circular, it all comes back.)Ģ. What are Eddie’s first sensations of being in heaven?ġ. How does the author accomplish this? What techniques do writers use to draw in their readers?ĩ. Albom quite ably stirs up his reader’s emotions. Ask your students if they have ever experienced a moment that they want “to freeze.” List the moments and discuss as a class.Ĩ. When Eddie is with Marguerite, he “as always…mostly wants to freeze time” (78). What kind of love did Eddie and Marguerite share?ħ. What people find then is a certain love” (155). But love takes many forms, and it is never the same for any man and woman. Albom writes: “People say they ‘find’ love, as if it were an object by a rock.

How does it affect their opinions about Eddie?Ħ. Encourage your students to talk about Eddie’s volatile relationship with his father. Talk about (in groups or as a classroom exercise) what you know about Eddie.ĥ. What does Eddie’s relationship with Dominguez reveal about his character?Ĥ. How does this interesting device illuminate Eddie’s character? Do you like Eddie? Why or why not?ģ. The author divulges important information about Eddie’s life by detailing 15 of his birthdays. How did Eddie come to be in this state?Ģ. Explain what Albom means by this statement. Eddie exists in a “weary state of acceptance” (5). (Suggested leads: When was it built? Is it still operational? How has it managed to remain viable? Or, what brought about its demise?)ġ. Encourage your students to research an amusement park located on a pier. What are the differences between Ruby Pier and today’s theme parks?Ģ. Ruby Pier is an amusement park, not a modern-day American theme park. Language Arts and Reading Comprehensionġ. When Eddie dies he finds himself in heaven, where he soon learns that he will meet five people who will explain to him the meaning of his life. Albom writes that although it “might seem strange to start a story with an ending…all endings are also beginnings” (1). The book begins by detailing Eddie’s movements during his last hour alive. The Five People You Meet in Heaven, written in 2004 by Mitch Albom, is a story about an amusement park mechanic named Eddie who dies trying to save a little girl.

Bakalian, a writer who holds a doctorate in English and American Literature from New York University, prepared the guide. Answers are provided only for the “Themes” and “Five People” sections of the Language Arts and Reading Comprehension subject heading.Įllen S. The Guide is divided into 6 subjects, and includes discussion questions and vocabulary words. This Educator’s Guide is written to aid 10th through 12th grade teachers teach Mitch Albom’s best-selling book The Five People you Meet in Heaven.

The five people you meet