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... people it is all in the recent perspective. The characters in the novel are believable. Each character has a specific story and they are all regular people, with the exception of the Blue Man who works in the carnival side show. There are eleven characters, six are main characters. The protagonist is Eddie. Eddie is also the antagonist. The minor characters in the story are the crowds and fellow workers at the amusement park, soldiers, and children at the carnival. Key character, Eddie, is eighty-three years old and can be described as an elderly upright citizen who was wounded fighting for his country and has good morals. Eddie’s appearance is a squat, white-haired old man, with a short neck, barrel chest, thick forearms, and a faded army tattoo on his right shoulder. His personality was self-deprecating, although his lower jaw protruded slightly making him look prouder than he felt. Eddie’s function in the novel was to die and go to heaven. The significance of his name is that it is the name of the author’s uncle who inspired the character and the story. “Children looked at Eddie - who, with his protruding lower jaw, always seemed to be grinning, like a dolphin - and they trusted him. They drew in like cold hands to a fire. They hugged his leg. They played with his keys. Eddie mostly grunted, never saying much. He figured it was because he didn’t say much that they liked him” (Albom 3). This quote reveals that Eddie is a quiet, gentle man who is loved by children although he doesn’t understand why. The novel takes place at Ruby Pier in the present. The pier is described as an old fashioned amusement park, including a carousel, a Ferris wheel, and a side show. When Eddie dies and he is in heaven, everything is described as pleasant. The pier has a salted atmosphere and heaven has a very humble atmosphere. Albom’s use of diction is clever. It is mostly informal, with regular sentence structure. “But scenery without solace is meaningless” (Albom 35). His use of diction is to colorfully describe everything through the use of imagery. The author uses a lot of figurative language, and it is lyrical. Half of the story is dialog which is distinctly different than the narrative voice. Dialog between characters is distinct. The following is a passage from the story in which Eddie is given an explanation of the afterlife. “ ’I am your first person, Edward. When I died, my life was illuminated by five others, and then I came here to wait for you, to stand in your line, to tell you my story, which becomes part of yours. There will be others for you, too. Some you knew, maybe some you didn’t. But they all crossed your path before they died. And they altered it forever’ ” (Albom 35). Albom’s use of simple words gives one a detailed image of each scene. Albom’s use of imagery throughout the novel appeals to all five senses, although it is usually visual. “The Blue Man put his arms on Eddie‘s shoulders. Eddie felt that warm, melting sensation” (Albom 49), “She turns the dial until the small box offers music” (Albom 54), “The sky was a misty pumpkin shade, then a deep turquoise, then a bright lime. Eddie was floating, and his arms were still extended” (Albom 21). These quotes apply to the senses of touch, hearing, and vision. A recurrent image in the novel is the sky changing into fantastic colors. The changing colors are associated with his feelings as he changes to each different period in time while in heaven. Another recurrent image is Eddie grabbing a little girl’s hands. He wants to know if he saved the little girl from the accident. Recurrent images in the novel build suspense and question as to whether or not he saved the girl. The use of symbolism is prominent in this story. The major symbol of this novel is that Eddie sacrifices his life saving a child. This is what he had done most of his life, making rides safe. The symbolism identifies Eddie’s purpose in life, which he didn’t realize while on earth. Albom’s use of figurative language is frequent, with metaphors and similes being used most frequently. “No story sits by itself. Sometimes stories meet at corners and sometimes they cover one another completely, like stones beneath a river” (Albom 20). This quote is...