Calvin and Beth Jarrett are ordinary people and parents in a family whose foundation is being eaten away by the tragic loss of elder son Buck in a boating accident and the guilt ridden suicide attempt of their other son Conrad. As Conrad fights his way to back to the light, Calvin has a mid-life crisis that brings him closer to Conrad even as it pulls him further from Beth who is obsessed with having the perfect home and family.
Ordinary People
by Judith Guest
Ffirst-time novelist Judith Guest made a stellar debut in 1976 with the publication of Ordinary People. Guest was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1936, and raised ther...
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In her blockbuster debut novel, Ordinary People, Judith Guest established herself as a perceptive chronicler of adolescent problems and emotions. Both Ordinary People and her follow-up novel, Second H...
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Ordinary People
The family in the movie Ordinary People suffers from an unexpected death of their oldest son Buck Jarrett in a boating accident. Which leaves the youngest son, Conrad Jarrett as only ...
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We all deal with death in a different way. Conrad Jarrett, a suicidal teenager who is still recovering from the guilt of his brother's death, finds out that his good friend Karen Aldrich has committed...
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In many great works of literature the author portrays the theme through several different characters. In Judith Guest's Ordinary People Conrad and Calvin portray the same theme regardless of their di...
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"The small seed of despair cracks open and sends experimental tendrils upward to the fragile skin of calm holding him together. Are You on the Right Road""
This question, "Are you on the right r...
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In the novel Ordinary People, we see deterioration in the marriage of Calvin Jarrett to his wife Beth Jarrett. The novel begins by telling us about there son Conrad who is recovering in a hospital ...
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Within the Jarret family, In Judith Guest's Ordinary People, Beth, Conrad and Calvin have different problems, which all still exist among present day people. Each individual's problem involves anothe...
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The father - son relationship is very unique. No one relationship is the same as another. Every father and son may have similar relationships but one will never be the same as one other. In Ordinar...
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The relationship between Calvin and Beth, although married, is often a bad one. They each see their family issues and problems from a different perspective, never collaborating to come to a more refin...
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The main central theme for Ordinary People, written by Jude Guest, is that repairing ones emotional and physical problems after a tragic event such as suicide is truly possible, but difficult for a gr...
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In the novel Conrad encounters certain events that contribute to his recovery. The first important step on Conrad's recover is his tunnel dream and when he consults Berger about it. Conrad dreams t...
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The novel Ordinary People, by Judith Guest, concerns the Jarret family, an "ordinary" family separated yet held together through their struggle to heal and recover.
Calvin and Beth, the parents, and ...
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"It's a very far-out act of self-preservation, do you get that, Con? And you were right. Nobody needs you to be Buck. It's okay to just be you." This was spoken by Doctor Berger in the book Ordinary ...
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Critical Lens Essay
"When writers write from a place of insight and real caring about the truth, they have the ability to throw the lights on for the reader."
Books of all genres and time periods ca...
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Ordinary People Book Notes is a free study guide on Ordinary People by Judith Guest. Browse the summary below:
Author Biography / Context of the Work
One-Page Plot Summary
C...
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Ordinary People
Judith Guest
Ordinary People