Alice Sebold’s novel The Lovely Bones narrates the chain of events that results from the murder of a fourteen-year-old girl, Susie Salmon. By giving each character a unique way of grappling with their grief, Sebold breathes life into them. Since grief at the loss of a loved one is such a basic and primal human emotion, a certain sympathy for the character is instilled in the reader and thus they seem more real.
Mr. Salmon, Susie’s father, develops a rabid obsession with finding his daughter’s killer. He experiences a surge of vengeance that causes him to doubt the efforts of the detectives and to make plans to find and kill the man who he suspects is guilty. His paternal protective instinct remains firmly intact even though his eldest daughter is deceased, which is a trait that can easily tug the heartstrings of the reader. Mr. Salmon’s quest of avenge his daughter’s death also isolates him from the other characters and thus leaves him to grieve in relative solitude.
Mrs. Salmon’s grief manifests itself in a very different manner than that of her husband. She seeks to fill the void that her daughter left by falling in love with the detective who is investigating her daughter’s murder. Once she realizes how much the affair is hurting what remains of her family, she leaves them out of guilt. In the solitude of traveling by herself she is able to contemplate not only the extinguished life of her daughter, but her own life as well. Her urge to escape the painful situation makes her more fallible and therefore more human.
Lindsey, Susie’s younger sister, is given the greatest burden to shoulder. Not only must she experience the loss of her older sister, but also deal with the whisperings of classmates that forever brand her as “the dead girl’s sister”. Of all of the characters, she behaves with the most grace and resolve. She is there to remind her father that though he lost one of his daughters, he still has another for whom he must go on with his life. Through the process of her grieving, she also meets her first boyfriend and eventually marries him after graduating from college. He provides valuable moral support to her because he is a neutral third party in the murder incident and can thus comfort Lindsey without any grief of his own to process. Through Lindsey, the reader sees more of the quotidian manifestations of loss (such as the reaction of her classmates and the need to continue through school in spite of her situation) and can thus see her as more of a real human being.
In my opinion, the most fascinating characterizations in Sebold’s novel are those of Ruth and Ray. Ray was Susie’s crush at the time of her death and was therefore the police’s first suspect. Ruth barely knew Susie, however, she was touched by Susie’s spirit as it ascended to the afterlife and henceforth became obsessed with communicating with the other side. Though neither character was as close to Susie as her family was, her death still alters the course of their lives. Through these two characters, Sebold shows how a shared tragedy can bring people unexpectedley together. As they try to carry on with their lives, they both seek someone who can understand them, which is a fundamentally human trait.
The very nature of the story allows for very dramatic characterizations because death is a subject that is so jarringly real that it is much easier to identify with the characters who are still living and having to experience the aftermath. Seeing the characters struggle with something that is so common to the human experience makes them seem to be more than simply words on a page. (627)
Friday, August 31, 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
My Literary History
Dear Mr. Coon,
For as long as I have been literate, reading and writing have both been pleasurable past-times of mine. When I first learned how to read, it was as though suddenly the entire world was at my fingertips. I voraciously read reference books, magazines, children’s novels, and whatever else I could get my hands on. Through reading I could discover all sorts of fascinating secrets about the world around me and venture into exotic and exciting places. When I was in third grade, an hour of every day was set aside for reading. On the class bookshelf, I discovered abridged versions of classics such as Les Miserables, The Last of the Mohicans, and The Time Machine. I found all of these enjoyable, however, The Time Machine quickly became a personal favorite. I later went on to read the unabridged version as well as a few other works by H.G. Wells. When the first novel of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series was released, I soon acquired a copy and thus found another favorite author to add to my repertoire. With each installment of the series, I have thoroughly enjoyed getting lost in the whimsical world of Hogwarts.
In middle school, I was introduced to the works of Shakespeare and my world was profoundly rocked. I found all of the extended metaphors, clever dialogue, and flowery speeches to be absolutely enthralling. Later, I discovered Voltaire and was enraptured by his crisp witticisms in Candide. Although, it was not until last Summer that I had my most profound reading experience yet. Since I was reading The Dante Club for my I.D. paper, my father convinced me that I should not read anything with “Dante” in the title without actually reading Dante and that furthermore, because I am Italian, reading The Divine Comedy is essentially a moral obligation. On June 6, 2006 my bilingual copy of Inferno arrived from amazon.com. As I read the poem, I found it amazing how many pieces of literature, art, and film had used themes and concepts from it. I quickly developed an almost fiendish obsession with the work that I still carry with me today.
Reading has also fueled my highly active imagination and inspired me to do some creative writing of my own. In my earlier days I wrote a series of fantasy stories about four ordinary individuals who discover that they have supernatural powers with they must use in order to avert the destruction of the universe. However, my most prized pieces of writing are my poems that I often publish in Day Breaks and a two-act play entitled Gemini that I wrote at the end of my junior year. As a writer, I find my strengths to be my imagination and ability to use language in a thoughtful and original manner. However, I often have trouble conforming to style guidelines and working with length requirements. In general, I find writing to be enjoyable because it is an opportunity to express my thoughts eloquently using tactics learned from the authors that inspire me.
Sincerely,
Lauren Mattioni
(513)
For as long as I have been literate, reading and writing have both been pleasurable past-times of mine. When I first learned how to read, it was as though suddenly the entire world was at my fingertips. I voraciously read reference books, magazines, children’s novels, and whatever else I could get my hands on. Through reading I could discover all sorts of fascinating secrets about the world around me and venture into exotic and exciting places. When I was in third grade, an hour of every day was set aside for reading. On the class bookshelf, I discovered abridged versions of classics such as Les Miserables, The Last of the Mohicans, and The Time Machine. I found all of these enjoyable, however, The Time Machine quickly became a personal favorite. I later went on to read the unabridged version as well as a few other works by H.G. Wells. When the first novel of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series was released, I soon acquired a copy and thus found another favorite author to add to my repertoire. With each installment of the series, I have thoroughly enjoyed getting lost in the whimsical world of Hogwarts.
In middle school, I was introduced to the works of Shakespeare and my world was profoundly rocked. I found all of the extended metaphors, clever dialogue, and flowery speeches to be absolutely enthralling. Later, I discovered Voltaire and was enraptured by his crisp witticisms in Candide. Although, it was not until last Summer that I had my most profound reading experience yet. Since I was reading The Dante Club for my I.D. paper, my father convinced me that I should not read anything with “Dante” in the title without actually reading Dante and that furthermore, because I am Italian, reading The Divine Comedy is essentially a moral obligation. On June 6, 2006 my bilingual copy of Inferno arrived from amazon.com. As I read the poem, I found it amazing how many pieces of literature, art, and film had used themes and concepts from it. I quickly developed an almost fiendish obsession with the work that I still carry with me today.
Reading has also fueled my highly active imagination and inspired me to do some creative writing of my own. In my earlier days I wrote a series of fantasy stories about four ordinary individuals who discover that they have supernatural powers with they must use in order to avert the destruction of the universe. However, my most prized pieces of writing are my poems that I often publish in Day Breaks and a two-act play entitled Gemini that I wrote at the end of my junior year. As a writer, I find my strengths to be my imagination and ability to use language in a thoughtful and original manner. However, I often have trouble conforming to style guidelines and working with length requirements. In general, I find writing to be enjoyable because it is an opportunity to express my thoughts eloquently using tactics learned from the authors that inspire me.
Sincerely,
Lauren Mattioni
(513)
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