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Chapter 13
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
Further back in time, Eddie is a young man about to ship off to war, and his family and friends are sending him off with an emotional birthday celebration. Throughout the night Eddie thinks of asking Marguerite to wait for him, but he can’t bring himself to ask her, even as they spend a romantic evening after the party, walking by the ocean at Ruby Pier. As if reading his mind, Marguerite announces that she will wait for him, and asks only that he come back alive. Eddie wishes that he could “freeze time” with Marguerite.
Again, female characters are shown to have more emotional fluency than their male counterparts, as Marguerite assumes the role of emotional interpreter. The impossible act of “freezing time” would be the only way Eddie could prevent his possible death and permanent separation from Marguerite, and this image creates an early link between time and the cycle of life that results in death.
Themes
