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Ordinary People Character Analysis Essay

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In the novel, Ordinary People by Judith Guest, a family goes through the trials of trying to find normalcy after a tragedy strikes. Throughout the story you meet the Jarret family and watch as they progress through the everyday life and the challenges that come with it. Conrad Jarret is an ordinary 17-year-old boy living in Lake Forest, Illinois. Conrad is living with the burden of thinking he is at fault for his brother’s death and blaming himself for the family quandary’s. Conrad, by far, is the most interesting character for the reason that he unquestionably struggles to try to find what he defines as a “normal” life. Calvin Jarret, Conrad’s father, toiled with the fact that his relationship was falling apart and his son was not handling …show more content…

From the beginning, Conrad had various problems in the way he thinks. From start to finish Conrad made a radical change in his life. He learned that his brother’s death wasn’t his fault and came to terms with the fact that his mother could never deliver him what he wants and needed to stop holding a grudge against her for that. Conrad was not the only one who experienced change; his mother, Beth, did as well. Beth realized that she could not love the way her family wanted her to and decided that herself and her social status were more significant than her own sons well-being. Beth is exceedingly self centered and unloving. She showed this when she believed her own son blackmailed her into getting what he wanted when in reality, Conrad is just trying to move on and be happy. The Jarrets are trying to recover from their son’s death and attempting to move on from the tragedy. During a counseling session Conrad realizes that he may be the one not forgiving his mother for some of the events that have happened. This shows how tough it is to overcome a tragedy and move on. During the novel the reader can notice that there are copious different lessons the characters learned. The principle theme in the novel is that love and forgiveness are essential aspects in a family. The ending of the book seemed quite sudden and leaves you asking a great deal of questions. What happens

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