Key Theme in Novel + Development

Task - What do you consider to be the key theme in the novel. How is the theme developed in the novel.

In the novel ‘The Five People You Meet In Heaven’ written by Mitch Albom the reader is introduced to many themes that the author gets us to think about deeply. The theme that I consider to be most important or key theme is the idea of fate and how we are all connected. This theme is developed through the usage of continuity right from the start to the end. There are three key elements of the novel that help develop the theme of fate and how we are all connected, they are- Eddie’s death at the beginning and the resolution at the end, the use of flashbacks and Eddie’s birthdays which act as a clever linking device.

Firstly, Eddie’s death at the beginning of the novel clearly establishes the theme of fate and how we are all connected in some way. In the introduction to the story the author uses an almost obvious foreshadowing technique by giving the reader hints of the events to come. Within the first lines we are told that ‘This is a story about a man named Eddie and it begins at the end, with Eddie dying in the sun’. This first line clearly establishes a sense of mystery regarding to how Eddie dies and instantly captures the reader’s attention. This quote mainly deals with the idea of fate and of what is to come.

Another element is the usage of flashbacks that take Eddie back to his past, it is then that Eddie realizes his connection to the five people he meets in heaven. For example Eddie did not know who the Blue man was, but it turned out that Eddie had once known him at a young age, as he had worked at Ruby Pier (where Eddie had spent most of his life) but most importantly Eddie had caused the Blue man’s death without realizing it. It is therefore somewhat ironic that the Blue man is required to teach Eddie the idea of fate and “That we are all connected”.

Eddie’s birthdays are an important linking device that also develops the key theme on fate and how we are all connected. Eddie’s birthdays have the similar advantage of the usage of flashbacks, they give the reader a chance to pick up clues on past events that they may not have considered before or develop their understanding further of the key theme. For example on many of Eddie’s birthdays we learn about his connection to other characters in the text especially the less familiar ones he knew on earth like the Blue man, Ruby and Tala.

The resolution at the end develops the idea of fate and how we are all connected really well. Nicky, the young man whom lost his key was actually the one of the people who caused Eddie’s death when his key s got caught in the amusement park ride (Freddy’s Free Fall). We learn that Nicky is the great grandson of Ruby and that a little girl named Amy or Annie was the reason Eddie sacrificed himself for and will meet Eddie when she dies to understand one of the secrets of heaven and ‘why she lived and what she lived for’. The key phrase in the ending that truly establishes and gets the reader to think about the main theme (fate and how we are all connected) is the phrase on page 208 on the last 3 lines ‘That each affects the other and the other affects the next, and the world is full of stories, but the stories are all one’.

In conclusion the key theme of ‘The Five People You Meet in Heaven’ is the idea of fate and how we are all connected. This theme is developed continuously by the author’s clever placement of various narrative techniques, styles and devices. Mainly by the use of constant flashbacks, Eddie’s birthdays plus the introduction and resolution is what makes the novel get a grasp of the reader and make them think more deeply about this theme and the world that they exist in. That it really is a small world after all.