Len: One character in The Great Divorce who decides to stay in Heaven is the spirit known as Len. Len was formerly a man who worked for an individual now known as Big Ghost. He was mistreated by his boss, who hated him and wished suffering on him to the point his anger drove him to kill a man called Jack.

Despite this man’s actions, he genuinely repented of his sin and ended up in Heaven and was sent to try and convince Big Ghost to come to Heaven with him. Len, instead of continuing to hate his Boss for how he wronged him, let go of his anger as he realizes that neither of them was a decent person. He notes his anger as his true sin, not just murder, as he realizes, just as Jesus taught, that hating your brother is just as punishable as murder and that hating his boss was already making him guilty of murder (Matthew 5:21-22). Len chooses to use his free will to let go of all the grudges that had been keeping him tied to Earth and decides to move on to Heaven, realizing that what was done on Earth does not matter in the face of Heaven. The Spirit chooses to let go and stay in Heaven, unlike Big Ghost, who refuses to let go of the idea that he is better than Len and did nothing wrong when he was on Earth. This all illustrates how Len chose to put aside his anger so he could go to Heaven and be in God’s presence.

The other two analyses can be read here