Identify how a main character in the text experience a change and explain how this changes influence the character identity and/or the event in the story
I think forgiveness is the main change that Eddie encounters. From the first pages of the novel, Albom makes it clear that Eddie is a good man underneath his grizzled exterior; he thus insinuates that Eddie's distance from other people is a survival mechanism over all else. As Eddie moves through Heaven, he realizes that the hate is like a weight tying him to the burdens of his earthly life. Each of the lessons Eddie learns involve taking down the walls of hate and anger around his heart and allowing forgiveness to seep through. Eddie is shocked to discover that the Blue Man does not resent Eddie for inadvertently causing his death, thus allowing Eddie to forgive himself for doing so. The Captain does not blame Eddie for being the indirect reason for his stepping on a landmine, thus allowing Eddie to forgive the Captain for shooting him in the knee. Eddie's father may not have been an admirable role model, but seeing glimpses of his father's humanity gives Eddie the ability to forgive the old man. Finally, Marguerite has no lingering anger towards Eddie for the difficulties in her life; rather, she professes that she has loved him all along. Therefore, Eddie can let go of his guilt about the struggles they faced and the fact that they never had a child. Finally, Tala, the Filipino girl Eddie was responsible for killing, no longer comprehends the word "hate." Meeting Tala allows Eddie to forgive himself for doing the one thing that has haunted him his whole life - and he can finally let go.
