Since the pier had caused her much pain and suffering, she wanted all those who had also suffered at Ruby Pier to be safe and secure as well. She also wanted to remain far from the sea and thus chose the mountains.
Ruby felt connected to Eddie's family because of their connection with Ruby Pier. She thought that the park had cursed their lives, and her wish that Ruby Pier had never been built followed her all the way to heaven. That's why Ruby's heaven is a diner.
Ruby Pier is the amusement park on the ocean where Eddie works in maintenance for most of his life. A place of both great celebration and great pain for Eddie and others, the park represents the variety of experience in Eddie's life.
It was the Seahorse Grille, but it was filled with everyone who had ever suffered at Ruby Pier. This was her heaven because she wanted to return to her younger years and she wanted all of these people to feel safe and secure.
The third person Eddie meets in heaven is Ruby after the name, Ruby Pier which was given by her husband, Emile. Emile made Ruby Pier as a wedding promise to Ruby. She was Eddie's third person because without Ruby Pier, Eddie would not be the same without growing up on the pier.
Eddie's fifth person in heaven, a little Filipino girl who Eddie unknowingly kills while he and his unit are escaping captivity during the war. Tala is affectionate, trusting, and wise. Following her mother's instructions, Tala hides from Eddie and his men in one of the abandoned village huts.
Marguerite is the central source of Eddie's happiness, and his life plunges when she dies of brain cancer at the age of 47. In heaven, she takes Eddie to a heaven full of weddings, where she teaches him that true love never dies.
While escaping captivity, the Captain shoots Eddie in the leg because he believes it is the only way he can get Eddie to leave with them. During the escape the Captain is trying to clear a path for his unit to get out, and he is killed by a landmine.
Redemption and Forgiveness
Throughout the novel, Eddie's encounters with the five people he meets in heaven teach him about the surprising ways in which life and death offer opportunities for redemption.
Albom has said the book was inspired by his real life uncle, Eddie Beitchman, who, like the character, served during World War II in the Philippines, and died when he was 83. Eddie told Albom, as a child, about a time he was rushed to surgery and had a near-death experience, his soul floating above the bed.
Ruby tells Eddie that he should learn from this story that holding onto anger is poisonous. You may think anger will act as a weapon toward others, but it only hurts you. She tells Eddie that he needs to forgive his father for all that he blamed him for.
Eddie and Marguerite got married but never had children. Eddie's stubbornness ruined their chances at adoption - Marguerite got in a car accident while driving to reconcile with him after a fight, and the subsequent medical costs meant that they could no longer afford to adopt a child.
Eddie never met Ruby during his life, as she was much older and they weren't directly related, but the amusement park where Eddie works all his life, Ruby Pier, was built for Ruby by her husband. Ruby feels connected to Eddie, as she was present in the shared hospital room when Eddie's father died.
Ruby explains that Eddie's father died from the pneumonia he caught on the beach the night he saved Mickey Shea. Eddie is shocked to learn about Mickey's attempt to rape his mother, and angrily says he would have let Mickey die after what he did.
Eddie saves the little girl - We find out at the end of the novel that Eddie did save the little girl from the falling amusement cart. It is important to note the symbolism of this child's rescue.
Notes. Ruby shows Eddie a horrifying scene involving Mickey Shea, his father, and mother. Eddie learns that his father died because of loyalty. Mickey Shea was drunk and hurting Eddie's mother.
In heaven, Ruby tells Eddie the true story of how his father died saving Mickey, and teaches him the lesson of forgiveness.
Lesson 5: Life has a purpose. No matter what you do in life, you are here for a reason. You may not even realize what your actions have meant to others.
Eddie is scared and defensive after learning he contributed to the Blue Man's death. He promises the Blue Man that he had no idea what he had done. He is afraid that he will have to pay for his sin. This is the first of The Five People You Meet in Heaven lessons.
Eddie forgives the captain and lets go of his bitterness because he realizes he isn't alone in having made sacrifices, and that others' sacrifices were often greater than his own. Eddie remembers from the Blue Man that people waiting in heaven can make it look as they wish.
The kicker of it all? Eddie's final words to Dustin: "I love you, man." If those words weren't already bringing on the waterworks, Dustin tearfully replies "I love you, too." And then Eddie is gone. The impact of those words in that moment could not have been more perfectly heartbreaking.
In heaven, Eddie waits at the Stardust Band Shell for a little girl, “Amy or Annie,” to live out her life and to one day come meet him and four other people.
Eddie is disappointed that heaven looks like Ruby Pier, but the Blue Man explains that there are many steps to Heaven. He says that Eddie has no voice so that he can listen better. The Blue Man explains that in heaven, everyone first meets five people who help them to understand their experiences on earth.
Irony. A form of situational irony can be seen when Eddie is in the war. He goes to save someone from a burning building, but the captain shoots him in the leg thinking he lost his mind. It's ironic because, that girl he almost saved is Tala, which is the last person he meets in heaven.