Ordinary People Conrad Jarrett Character Analysis

Conrad Jarrett the protagonist in the movie Ordinary People is the son of Calvin and Beth Jarrett. A lack of communication and denial between the members of the family is seen after the death of the oldest son Buck. Conrad struggled to cope after the death of his brother and attempted to commit suicide but failed, forcing him to be hospitalized. After he was released from the hospital Conrad was trying to get his life back to normal, but he was very depressed and felt he had very little purpose in life and no motivation. He then began to see his psychiatrist Dr. Berger to help him recover from the traumatic events that he had previously experienced. His psychiatrist taught him to express his emotions rather than hold them back, and showed him how to properly cope and work through conflicts that arise between him and his family members. Throughout the movie conflicts of the dysfunctional Jarrett family are presented through their violent and silent actions.

The relationship between Conrad and his mother is nonexistent. After the incident Beth shows no affection to Conrad. She cares and loves him, but she can’t seem to bring herself to display
Although Conrad was stubborn and didn’t want to speak of his problems, Calvin would keep trying to get it out of him. He would never give up on Conrad he cared deeply for him and wanted him to share his feelings and emotions. Calvin’s main priority was to see his son back to life, back to who he was before the boating accident. He showed his affections for Conrad both physically and verbally. Throughout the movie Calvin would walk into Conrad’s room after he’d have an argument with his mother and he would make sure he was doing fine. When Beth left Conrad believed it was his fault, but Calvin talked to him and made him realize had no control over the way his mom felt and it wasn’t his fault that she was such a cold hearted selfish