Fire
Fire, a catastrophic agent of destruction, has even more symbolic meaning in this book. It marks an ending of something that cannot be restored again. There are several fires that occur throughout the book that devastate those who are touched by it. One fire is the one that burned down the spectacular entrance to and the rest of Ruby Pier, the amusement park where Eddie works. The owners of the park then, Emile and Ruby, lost their fortune and Emile lost his health. From then on, Ruby harbored bitter resentment against the park and wished it had never been built. Also, the most important fire occurred while Eddie was in the Philippines and tried to risk his life to save a person he saw moving in the fire he had just started. His fellow soldiers kept him from saving the person though, and the person died. Eddie later meets this person in heaven and helps them to wash away the burns from the inferno from that day.