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How has the main character in The Lovely Bones changed?
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Susie, by exploring her past life and death through the eyes of the people she has left behind, comes to terms with her passing. Each member of her family, who are at different stages of grief when Susie dies, grows closer together as they each move through their own process.
Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones tells the story of the Salmon family and their journey of self-discovery that comes after the death of oldest daughter, Susie. Each member of the family embarks on the five stages of grief, and by navigating them, comes out changed on the other end.
Susie Salmon is already dead when our story begins, and she tells her part from her version of heaven. While exploring the story of her life and death, both through her own memories and the continuing lives of her family, Susie comes to terms with her death and is able to move on. She matures in the after life in a way that her fourteen years on Earth did not allow for. She comes out more stable, calm and thankful than she is when we begin.
Jack Salmon is a father struggling with the death of his daughter, whom he...
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always strove to protect. Jack has a difficult time accepting that Susie is gone. Since he feels he was unable to protect her, he becomes overprotective of Lindsey and Buckley. He develops a distanced relationship with them, more focused on keeping them safe than making them feel loved. We see Jack lose sight of the “family” part of his life and slowly regain those relationships during the story.
Abigail Salmon is unhappy being a wife and mother before Susie dies, and becomes distraught after. She runs away from her family and tries to find happiness without the burden of that unit. Over time, she grows to realize that her family was not holding her back, they were holding her together. She ultimately returns home to regain that unit.
Lindsey Salmon grows up in the wake of Susie’s death. She experiences all the things in life that Susie never had the chance to have, and becomes a substitute for what could have been. She has trouble accessing and sharing her emotions after Susie’s death, and works to be more in touch with them as she grows up.
Buckley Salmon feels very left behind after Susie dies. He struggles to regain a closeness with each of his family members, who seem to be moving further and further away from him. Over time, he succeeds in helping them find their way back together, and in ultimately becoming more whole himself.
In Sebold's The Lovely Bones, the main character Susie Salmon changes as she learns to accept her death and lets her family get on with living. When the novel opens, the reader immediately learns that Susie has been murdered and that she is narrating the story from the afterlife. She gives the details of her murder and her family's attempts to find her murderer and her body. Just before Susie died, she was becoming involved with Ray Singh, a boy at school whom Susie liked for quite a while. After she dies, she regrets that she never got the chance to kiss Ray. Susie is also upset that she has abruptly been ripped away from her family, and their grief torments her. Susie makes several "contacts" with her family, but her spiritual presence only serves to make all more upset. Susie also trades places with Ruth so that she can see Ray one more time, and she gets her first kiss. After this, Susie is able to cross over and let her family continue living without her. So Susie changes in that she becomes accepting of the reality of her situation, and she learns to embrace death and the afterlife.