Lack Of Communication In Judith Guest's Ordinary People

Ordinary People
Lack of communication leads to much dysfunction. Ordinary People based on the book by Judith Guest revolves around the Jarrett family and their efforts to communicate. Conrad Jarrett, the son of Calvin and Beth Jarrett, struggles with PTSD and survivor’s guilt after the death of his brother in a boating accident. Additionally, Beth, who favored her older son, has isolated herself from Conrad. She distances herself emotionally, whilst trying to maintain the family’s idealistic reputation. Meanwhile, Calvin tries to keep his family tightly knit, despite his own emotions of helplessness and guilt. Consequently, The movie ends with Beth leaving her family, an event that could have been evaded through conflict management. The

She creates stories and makes assumptions. She also prefers to talk, not listen. For example, when Beth and Calvin go to play golf, Calvin tells Beth that Conrad “needs to know that you don’t hate him”. She gets defensive immediately and starts to accuse Conrad of telling lies to his father, convinced that Conrad is against her. She shows signs of violence, including labeling Instead, she should control her stories and presume that people are basically good. Additionally, she should stop demonizing Conrad. Furthermore, Beth often shows signs of silence through avoiding. She attempts to solve every misfortune by getting away and going on vacation. She acts childish when dealing with problems. Although Calvin Jarrett works the hardest to keep the Jarrett family together, his communication skills lack many important techniques. He often plays the helpless story when dealing with Beth and Conrad’s abnormal relationship. He feels like too much has happened between the two and that there is nothing he can do about it, thus practicing withdrawing. Occasionally, he acts violently by attacking others. For example, while on the golf course, he and Beth get into an argument. He blames all of the family’s problems on Beth, raising his voice and