Ordinary People Character Analysis
Some people say that nothing is permanent in life. These people are wrong, one thing is permanent; death. When a loved one dies, they are not forgotten, they are forever remembered and continuously affect those who were close to them. In the novel, Ordinary People, written by Judith Guest, this theme is seen in the Jarrett family after their youngest son, Buck, died in a boating accident. Each family member deals with the shock of Buck's Untimely death in different ways. Conrad feels responsible for Buck's death, Calvin sees it as mere chance, but is left reexamining his life after Buck, Beth tries to be a control freak about the situation force everyone to move past the accident. Each Family member attempts to make a temporary fix to the accident,
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Calvin is rocked to the core with Buck's untimely passing. Calvin still struggles to emotionally comprehend Buck's death. Guest writes about Calvin, “So, how does a Christian deal with grief? There is no dealing; he knows that much. There is simply the stubborn, mindless hanging on until it is over. Until you are through it. But something has happened in the process. The old definitions, the neat, knowing pigeonholes have disappeared. Or else they no longer apply”. This quote shows how much Calvin has struggled through his grieving process. Calvin is trying to simply endure the sadness, but the sadness refuses to go away. Calvin sees his life unravel in front of his eyes. Tensions between he and his wife, Beth, rise, and he sees that Beth's facade of orderliness simply hides a chaotic inside. Guest writes, “For he sees something else here: that her outer life is deceiving; that she gives the appearance of orderliness, of a cash-register practicality about herself; but inside, what he has glimpsed is not order, but chaos; not practicality at all, but stubborn, incredible impulse”. This shows that Calvin is not able to properly grieve his son's death because the rest of his life has crumbled around him. Calvin's temporary fix of grieving has been drawn out into
Calvin is rocked to the core with Buck's untimely passing. Calvin still struggles to emotionally comprehend Buck's death. Guest writes about Calvin, “So, how does a Christian deal with grief? There is no dealing; he knows that much. There is simply the stubborn, mindless hanging on until it is over. Until you are through it. But something has happened in the process. The old definitions, the neat, knowing pigeonholes have disappeared. Or else they no longer apply”. This quote shows how much Calvin has struggled through his grieving process. Calvin is trying to simply endure the sadness, but the sadness refuses to go away. Calvin sees his life unravel in front of his eyes. Tensions between he and his wife, Beth, rise, and he sees that Beth's facade of orderliness simply hides a chaotic inside. Guest writes, “For he sees something else here: that her outer life is deceiving; that she gives the appearance of orderliness, of a cash-register practicality about herself; but inside, what he has glimpsed is not order, but chaos; not practicality at all, but stubborn, incredible impulse”. This shows that Calvin is not able to properly grieve his son's death because the rest of his life has crumbled around him. Calvin's temporary fix of grieving has been drawn out into