Essay on Analysis of the Novel The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

Peter Jackson’s 2009 film, The Lovely Bones, is based off of the New York Times bestseller novel written by Alice Sebold. Both the book and the movie adaptation tell the story of a young, 14-year-old girl named Susie Salmon who is brutally murdered by her neighbor. In both versions, Susie narrates her story from the place between Heaven and Earth, the “in-between,” showing the lives of her family and friends and how each of their lives have changed since her murder. However, the film adaptation and the original novel differ in the sense of the main character focalization throughout, the graphic explanatory to visual extent, and the relationship between the mother and father.

The death of a loved one can result in a trauma where the painful experience causes a psychological scar. Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones explores the different ways in which people process grief when they lose a loved one. When young Susie Salmon is killed on her way home from school, the remaining four members of her family all deal differently with their grief. After Susie’s death, her mother, Abigail Salmon, endures the adversity of losing her daughter, her family collapsing, and accepting the loss of the life she never had the opportunity to live. Abigail uses Freud’s defence mechanisms to repress wounds, fears, her guilty desires, and to resolve conflicts, which results in her alienation and

Loss of a loved one and the stages of mourning or grief manifest as overriding themes in The Lovely Bones. Through the voice of Susie Salmon, the fourteen-year-old narrator of the novel, readers get an in-depth look at the grieving process. Susie focuses more on the aftermath and effects of her murder and rape on her family rather than on the event itself. She watches her parents and sister move through the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. However, Alice Sebold makes clear that these categories do not necessarily remain rigid and that individuals deal with grief in various ways. For example, Abigail, Susie's mother, withdraws from her living children,

To follow, one can choose to resort to another lover or to isolate themselves from their family. Susie’s mother, Abigail may have been the one who took Susie’s death with greatest impact.

The characters in Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones are faced with the difficult task of overcoming the loss of Susie, their daughter and sister. Jack, Abigail, Buckley, and Lindsey each deal with the loss differently. However, it is Susie who has the most difficulty accepting the loss of her own life. Several psychologists separate the grieving process into two main categories: intuitive and instrumental grievers. Intuitive grievers communicate their emotional distress and “experience, express, and adapt to grief on a very affective level” (Doka, par. 27). Instrumental grievers focus their attention towards an activity, whether it is into work or into a hobby, usually relating to the loss (Doka par. 28). Although each character deals with

Throughout one’s lifetime growth occurs, and the trials and tribulations they face shape their opinions and beliefs of the world. The Death of a Confederate Colonel, written by Pat Carr, shows the hardships Saranell Birdsong, a young girl, experiences and how she conquered her struggles during the Civil War period. Though Saranell’s pain was enough to ruin her emotionally, she was able to overcome and change into a more mature young girl. It is only through tragedy that true growth can take place.

"Emotions are like waves. You cannot stop them from coming but you can decide which ones to surf". As described in this quote, we cannot delete our emotions but if we learn to surf the waves of our emotions and manage our thoughts and feel our feelings, we will be able to deal better with the difficult situations in life. Grief is the conflicting and strong emotion caused by the end of or change in a familiar pattern of behaviour. Each individual deals with grief in very different ways. In Alice Sebold's "The Lovely Bones" and William Shakespeare's "Hamlet", the main theme and emotion portrayed throughout the two works is grief with the intent of revenge. In Alice Sebold's "The Lovely Bones", the Salmon family find it difficult to grieve

The characters in Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones are faced with the difficult task of overcoming the loss of Susie, their daughter and sister. Jack, Abigail, Buckley, and Lindsey each deal with the loss differently. However, it is Susie who has the most difficulty accepting the loss of her own life. Several psychologists separate the grieving process into two main categories: intuitive and instrumental grievers. Intuitive grievers communicate their emotional distress and “experience, express, and adapt to grief on a very affective level” (Doka, par. 27). Instrumental grievers focus their attention towards an activity, whether it is into work or into a hobby, usually relating to the loss (Doka par. 28). Although each character deals with

The strong characters of Francie Nolan, her mother Katie, her brother Neely, and her aunt Sissy were all extremely dynamic and I was able to see the many sides of their personalities and thoughts throughout the novel. Her father Johnny was a more static character however, and we were only able to see him through Francie Nolan’s eyes. Francie, the complex, main character was bright, joyful, and had an observant view of the world, while still remembering where she came from. This classic story also contained all the necessary features of plot such as conflict, a climax, and a strong conclusion. Conflict was provided through the poverty of the Nolan family, the alcoholism of the father, and the fight to educate Francie and her brother. The climax hits, when Francie begins to lose her innocence and wonders about the cruelty of the world, and the story ends with a fulfilling wrapped up conclusion. Most of the family members conflicts fade and Francie Nolan’s internal conflicts

According to Richard M. Cook, the final impression conveyed by the novel is one of tragic

A comparison of the ways that the dead affect the living in the novels Beloved by Toni Morrison and The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.

As the novel progresses, Guest builds her characters and offers unflinching insight into a family torn apart by loss. By adopting an omnipresent third party viewpoint, she develops each of the family member's actions as they try

The story focuses that regardless when things don't appear to go your direction, you have to remember the significance of family since they will acknowledge you for your identity. This

Forgiveness is the major theme in the book. The main character Lily had to forgive herself for the accidental death of her mother. Lilly’s father T.Ray kept her isolated from others and blamed Lily for her mother’s death. Eventually Lilly feels forced for run away. Lilly needed a community help her heal. She found it in the three Boatwright sisters May, August, and June. These three black women opened up her eyes to what it is like to have family and caring people around you. Each sister influenced Lily’s growth.

Susie is the narrator of the story. She has been raped and murdered and feels enormous pain, even in heaven, for what has happened to her. However, she also presents careful connections about herself, family and friends. In these, we see her great love and compassion for those she misses dreadfully. We must not forget that she is also a character who must be examined for her own grief: Susie