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Ordinary People | 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.

Ordinary People Summary

Autumn
Ordinary People consists of two interwoven stories told from the points of view of Conrad "Con" Jarrett and his father, Calvin "Cal" Jarrett, Set in the suburbs of Chicago in the 1970s, the novel begins in the aftermath of the accidental death of Jordan "Buck" Jarrett and his brother Conrad's subsequent suicide attempt. Conrad, Calvin, and Beth Jarrett struggle throughout the novel to cope with these tragedies. The story begins with Con making an appointment with his new outpatient psychiatrist, Dr. Berger, after having been released from a mental hospital. It is evident in the first chapter that Con is still struggling with anxiety and depression.

In Chapter Two, the narrator switches to Cal's perspective. It is clear that Con and Beth' s relationship is a strained one, while Cal is torn between both of them. Like Con, Cal finds Beth unknowable and distant, but he romanticizes this quality in her, even when they disagree over whether or not to go away for Christmas, as they do in Chapter Four. Cal's insistence that the family not travel during Christmas because of Con's mental and emotional state is a decision which will cause tension in the family in later chapters. Cal and Beth's mutual grief over Buck's death is not mentioned, as they both struggle to control, rather than express, their grief. This desire for control is echoed by Con in Chapter Five, when he tells Berger that he wants to feel more in control. Berger's attempts to get Con to understand that it is better to express emotions than to control them continues as a theme throughout the novel.

When Con meets a friend from the hospital, Karen, in Chapter Seven, he realizes that their relationship has changed and that he can no longer depend on his friendship with her. When he returns home from his trip to see Karen, in Chapter Eight, he is visibly tense when Cal mentions the possibility of traveling to London for Christmas. When, on the way to a party, Beth tells Cal that Con would have made the trip, Cal replies that Con did not want to go, and he feels both relief and guilt when Beth drops the subject. After the party, Beth and Cal fight over his discussion of Con's problems with friends of theirs.

In Chapter Nine, Con realizes with Berger's help that he wants to quit the swim team, and after he does so in Chapter Ten, he neglects to tell his parents because he does not want to worry them. When, in Chapter Eleven, Con brings home an "A" on a trigonometry quiz, Cal wants to believe that the work of grieving is done and that they are ordinary people again.

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