Quotes From The Bridge Dialectical Journal

1. Albom says that “all endings are also beginnings,” and I think he means that when one door closes another door opens. When a part of your life ends, a new chapter is starting. This quote relates to the story because Eddie’s ending was his death which led to his beginning of heaven. His death was also his beginning of the next chapter in his life. I can relate to this quote because when I ended middle school, I had then entered into high school. I was able to get my drivers license and become more independent.

2. The Five People You Meet in Heaven initially grabbed my attention when it talked about how the last hour of Eddie’s life was spent at Ruby Pier. The book held my attention by counting down the minutes of Eddie’s life.

3. Counting

“At the time of his death, Eddie was a squat, white-haired old man, with a short neck, a barrel chest, thick forearms, and a faded army tattoo on the right shoulder” (Albom 2). His knee was wounded in the war and had arthritis. He was a workingman. Eddie’s job was maintaining the rides at Ruby Pier, an amusement park by the ocean. “The park had the usual attractions, a boardwalk, a Ferris wheel, roller coasters, bumper cars, a taffy stand, and an arcade where you could shoot streams of water into a clown’s mouth” (Albom 1). Ruby Pier also had a ride called Freddy’s Free Fall. The kids that went to Ruby Pier loved Eddie. The amusement park created a good backdrop for the story because amusement parks are where people go to have fun. Everyday Eddie takes care of people wanting to keep them safe and happy, but Eddie isn’t

Albom thinks that young men go to war sometimes because they have to and sometimes because they want to. War could bond the men together or break them apart. Eddie learned in the war how to pray quickly, whistle through his teeth, and smoke. “He learned in which pocket to keep the letters to his family and Marguerite, in case he should be found dead by his fellow soldiers” (Albom 63). Eddie came home a different man because he was taken prisoner in the war. He watched his friend Rabozzo be killed. Eddie had a limp in leg after being shot, and he was sad that he would never be able to dance or run. He felt like his life was over. The Captain shot Eddie in the leg to save his life. The Captain is trying to say that Eddie’s life is more important than his leg. Eddie learns from the Captain why sacrifice is not really a loss, but a gain. Sacrifice is a gain because you make sacrifices for the greater good of others. Eddie sees that the Captain sacrificed so much to save the soldiers lives.

10. I agree that you do have peace when you make it with yourself. If you are angry with others and refuse to forgive, then you will be unhappy in your life. When the old woman says, “things that happen before you are born still affect you. And people who come before your time affect you as well,” she is saying this to Eddie to explain to him why his father died. My great grandmother came before me and affected my life. She told my parents that as a baby my first outing should