Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Five People You Meet in Heaven, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Redemption and Forgiveness
The Connection Between All Humans
The Cycle of Life and Death
The Value in Ordinary Life
Time
Gender Roles
Summary
Analysis
Eddie has just died, and he is now floating through a series of vibrant changing colors and peaceful oceanic scenery, remembering his last moments. He wonders if he saved “Amy or Annie,” but suddenly he feels as if everything at Freddy’s Free Fall happened years ago. He is surprised to realize that he feels no suffering or sadness—only calm.
The colors bring a sense of vibrancy back to Eddie, whose life on earth had become dull. Albom doesn’t make any specific religious claims about heaven, and rarely even mentions God, but the novel depends on the premise of an afterlife and a benevolent force with plans for every person.
Themes
