What was unique about the setting of the book and how did it enhance or take away from the story?

          This novel takes Eddie to five different settings, but mainly in Heaven. For each setting author describes the place with such detail that it creates a clear image for the reader of what the setting looks like. The first setting in Heaven is at a small amusement park called Ruby Pier. Eddie has been at Ruby Pier for the most part of his life, but he notices that it looks a lot more like the way it did when he was a young child. The Author describes how the amusement park looks simple and the rides were cover in crisp, white paint. The white paint covered on all of the rides that the author mentions could signify Eddie's innocence as a child. Towards the end of the story you notice as new updated and complicated rides are put into the amusement park, Eddie grows older and depressed.

       

       The second setting in Heaven, is a war ground in the Philippians, this is where Eddie fought in the World War II.  The sky changes from a cobalt blue to charcoal gray, and Eddie is surrounded by fallen trees and blackened rubble and there was sounds of bombs and explosions in the near distance. The setting is dark because this is where Eddie becomes injured during the War. The injury is a large part of his depression that he experiences for the rest of his life.

         The third setting that Eddie visits in Heaven, is a large mountain range that seemed to go on forever. The mountains had snow-capped peaks, jagged rocks, and sheer purple slopes. In a flat between two crest was a large black lake, and in a snowy field Eddie notices a diner with a stainless steel exterior and a red barrel roof. When Eddie goes to the diner, he notices that the diner is full of injured costumers from different decades. Eddie meets the woman Ruby, that Ruby Pier is named after, and she tells him that the pier caused her so much pain and suffering, so she wanted everyone else who suffered at the pier to come to this place to be safe and secure. This setting shows Eddie that he was not the only one who suffered at Ruby Pier, but his father and many other people did too.

       The fourth setting in Heaven is where Eddie is travelling through various different wedding receptions of different cultures. Each wedding that Eddie travels through looks much more expensive than his and Marguerite's was. Eddie finds his wife Marguerite, and they walk through more wedding receptions together. Eddie never went to weddings because he always felt uncomfortable so Marguerite missed celebrating weddings with Eddie, Marguerite chose to be around all of the weddings to signify the importance of love.


       In the fifth setting in Heaven, Eddie is at a river with thousands of children playing around. He notices that there aren't any adults, and he is surrounded by only happy and safe children. In this last setting, Eddie finds out the purpose to his life and also the importance of his career, which is to keep children safe. All of the thousands of children could represent all of the many children he kept safe while working at Ruby Pier.
     


           Each setting that the Author, Mitch Albom, introduced has a greater importance and meaning to it. Each of the five different settings was were Eddie was taught a lesson or came to a greater understanding of his life. The author also is very talented at describing each setting which got me into the book to the point where I could not put it down.