Ordinary People: A Short Story

Ordinary People by Judith Guest is a book thats being told by 2 different perspectives, the protagonist Conrad Jarrett and the antagonist Calvin Jarrett, who also is Conrad's father. The point of view of each side is in every other chapter. Conrad is a character dynamic in the story, who will change his perspective in seeing things. Calvin is a character static, who’s constantly worrying about his son Conrad. The setting of the book takes place in Lake Forest, Illinois. The story surrounded the Jarrett family and how they interacted with one another along with the people around them. Calvin is a 41 years old tax attorney, a husband, and a father of 2 kids. Conrad is his second son, who is a Junior in High School. About more than a year, before

I found her one day she cried. I came to the situation of sadness and tearful however I kept in myself, and tried to control and showed my professional experience in dealing with it. I talked to her and cheered her up. I asked how was she spent time with her puppy? She smiled

Regarding psychological functioning, Conrad is under the vicious cycle of depression. His brother’s death led him to adapt a negative explanatory style. This in turn resulted in his depressed mood and cognitive and behavioral changes. He also believes that he has disobeyed his parents and does not deserve their forgiveness or affection (1:09:38). Conrad lives with a sense of guilt, not only for attempting suicide, but for things he had no control over (ex. Karen’s death). From a socio-cultural approach, Conrad depression worsens due to his unstable relationship with his mother, along with other relationships in his life. Throughout the movie, we clearly see that Conrad’s mother does not understand the severity of Conrad’s mental state. She frequently believes that Conrad is fine and wants their lives to ‘get back to normal’ (0:24:37). She believes Conrad’s mental health is a phase that can be fixed by simply being harder on him. The movie also takes place in a time where discussing mental health is taboo. Mental illness was significantly less common and thought to be a touchy subject. Throughout the movie, we can see that people do not know how to approach the Jarretts about Conrad’s state and frequently stumble through conversations or do not understand the situation (0:22:14; 0:31:52; 0:48:05). This plays a part in Conrad’s depression because he feels he can’t talk to or relate to anyone

At the beginning all she did was dwell on the past. She thought about all the friends she lost and family and more. Like when it said in the story “They Moved to Cincinnati, where for a month she spent the greater part of every day in a room full of beveled glass windows, sifting through photographs of the life she’d lived and left behind.’’ it just showed how stuck in the past she was. She literally spent a month in her room looking at pictures. Like nothing gets better if you just don't try and hide from your problems. So nothing did get better until one day at the supermarket.

again. She gave me the strength to get out of the situation and strive to give her

The emotional agony that Conrad experienced following the death of his brother almost led to his end. The conflict inside of Conrad is only the beginning of his suffering. The emotions that engulf one's mind can swallow them up and eat them from the inside out. They demand to be felt, but the management of the emotional conflict has been just as important. For example, when the Jannett family is together to take family photos, including the grandparents, the disconnect between Conrad and his mother are clearly visible to the naked eye. After being asked to take a picture with her son, Beth hesitates, violently insisting a different photo to be taken in order to avoid accepting and showing the increasing disconnect between her and her son. Siting and watching, Conrad struggles internally to decode the intentions of the scene depicted in front of him before he burst into an outrage. Initially, Conrad practiced silence in the form of withdrawal. Thus, he situated himself in the isolated window chair. The actions of his mother spoke to him in the sense that she hated him, wishing to have nothing to do with him. The silence remained silent until he burst with rage, projecting the instructions of his father for the camera to be given to his emotionally silent mother. Conrad rested on the assumptions he formed based not only on his mother’s current action, but passed actions as well, to reveal what he

I’m glad that she found people with the same struggles and dreams as

Conrad is a tall and thin white boy under 18 years old. He has big brown eyes like his father, but his hair is very short as it has been cut when he was in the hospital and now is growing out again. He speaks slowly and in a low voice which seems that he wants to control his emotion. He is healthy, but looks like losing his appetite hence a little weak.

Christopher R. Browning’s “Ordinary Men” chronicles the rise and fall of the Reserve Police Battalion 101. The battalion was one of several units that took part in the Final Solution to the Jewish Question while in Poland. The men of Reserve Police Battalion 101, and other units were comprised of ordinary men, from ordinary backgrounds living under the Third Reich. Browning’s premise for the book is very unique, instead of focusing on number of victims, it examines the mindset of how ordinary men, became cold-hearted killers under Nazi Germany during World War II. Christopher Browning’s “Ordinary Men” presents a very strong case that the men who made up the Reserve Police Battalion 101 were indeed ordinary men from ordinary background, and

I was also able to give her advice many other couldn’t, as I’ve had similar problems. Friendships are vital to emerging adults and throughout adulthood. Friends lend advice that some family cannot and without them we’d be without valuable advice and ear to listen.

Conrad's father does most of the worrying because he blames himself for Conrad's suicide attempt. Though the logical part of Cal's brain tells him it wasn't his fault he still believes that he should have paid more attention to Conrad. Conrad's mother, Beth, on the other hand thinks that Cal worries too much about Conrad. Beth thinks that Conrad is just trying to hurt her. Conrad tells Beth that he would tell her more about him if he thought she "gave a damn." Conrad tells Beth that he thinks she is the one trying to hurt him. Conrad finally releases all of his emotions when his mother confronts him about his quitting the swimming team. Conrad tells Beth how what he thinks of her visiting other countries instead of visiting him at the mental institution. After the fight, Conrad tells his father "She hates me. There's nothing I can do about it." Beth is a very unforgiving person, and Conrad doesn't think that she will ever forgive him for his suicide attempt.

there for his friend she was in her feeling about her ex-boyfriend. They both felt bad they slept

like an aunt to me, but she a friend, that I can blindly trust. She has always been there for me,

When life throws sticks and stones at you, or you just simply feel awful, a real friend won’t turn away. He or she could even sense if something is wrong.

different situations have changed me as a person and how I wish for my future to be.