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    A Study Guide for Judith Guest's "Ordinary People"
    A Study Guide for Judith Guest's "Ordinary People"
    A Study Guide for Judith Guest's "Ordinary People"
    Ebook41 pages39 minutes

    A Study Guide for Judith Guest's "Ordinary People"

    By Gale and Cengage

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    About this ebook

    A Study Guide for Judith Guest's "Ordinary People," excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Novels for Students. This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Novels for Students for all of your research needs.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCengage Learning - Gale
    Release dateJun 27, 2016
    ISBN9781535830331
    A Study Guide for Judith Guest's "Ordinary People"

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      A Study Guide for Judith Guest's "Ordinary People" - Gale

      5

      Ordinary People

      Judith Guest

      1976

      Introduction

      In 1976, Judith Guest's Ordinary People became the first unsolicited manuscript published by Viking Press in twenty-six years. Since then the popularity of the novel has remained undiminished. It is read by adults and teenagers alike for its sensitive characterizations of the troubled teenager Conrad Jarrett and his confused father, Calvin. The story of a teenaged boy's journey back from a suicide attempt after his older brother's death in a boating accident, and the grief and guilt that tear the Jarretts apart, Ordinary People was an instant best-seller. It was also made into an award-winning film. Guest's themes of alienation, the search for identity, and coming of age were timely ones, as the 1970s saw a trend toward self-discovery. Thus, psychology plays a key role in the novel, as young Conrad learns to express rather than repress his emotions with the help of a psychiatrist, while his mother's inability to confront her feelings leads her to leave her husband and son. Judith Guest has been especially praised for her insight into the feelings and experiences of her adolescent male protagonist, Conrad Jarrett, as well as for her ear for dialogue. Some critics have found Guest's emphasis on surrendering control ironic, as the style of the novel is tightly controlled, though unconventional, with its shifts between the perspectives of Calvin and Conrad Jarrett. Critics have also found that Guest's ending is too contrived; the troubled relationship between Conrad and his mother is resolved through the healing power of love, even though the two are not in contact with each other. Nevertheless, Ordinary People, with its universal insights into the grief process and the relationships between family members and its sensitive and realistic portrayals of its characters, will probably continue to be read for years to come.

      Author Biography

      Judith Guest does not stray too far from her own personal experiences and background in creating her fictional works. Like the characters in novels such as Ordinary People, she is from a white, well-to-do family and lives in the suburbs. Born March 29, 1936, in Detroit, Michigan, she is the daughter of a businessman and a housewife. Her insight into her male adolescent characters may stem from her experience raising three sons with her husband, or from her employment as a teacher in public schools.

      Guest began writing at the young age of twelve, but she never showed her family her work. Later, in college, she

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