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This is an extension of our classroom. You will use this blog to communicate as a class, either in response to an assignment or in the aftermath of a seminar discussion when class flew by too quickly and there simply wasn't time to make all of your points. These posts are graded, and must use appropriate language.
Welcome to our class blog!
You should use this space for engaging in academic and school related conversations for which you will receive a grade. You should be respectful and intelligent in your posts. Treat this space, and what you say here, as if it were the classroom. Inappropriate, derogatory, and inflamatory remarks will not be tolerated.
About Me
- Ms. Soderquist
- That's me with Ishmael Beah at the writing workshop he taught with his mom, Laura Simms!
Night
Dante's Inferno
I found that scenes describing Conrad’s attempted suicide impacted me the most in Ordinary People. Judith Guest’s use of shockingly graphic imagery made me realize the terror of suicide. For instance, Conrad describes how his, “…artery bubbles up like a river widens does it again to his right arm warmth and color floods the room…”(213). Although Guest’s word choice is nauseating, its repulsiveness is what makes it so moving. She would not be truthfully conveying the horrors of suicide if she described the ordeal in a censored tone. I underestimated how hurtful the repercussions of depression and suicide are before reading this novel. In newspapers, stories of local suicides are usually overshadowed by crucial world events. Therefore, I had never really thought about how terrible suicide is for the victim and their family. Guest’s descriptive word choice revealed the true horrors of suicide and depression to me.
ReplyDelete-Molly O'Shea
The scenes that I find are the most difficult to forget are the flashbacks and descriptions involving Buck Jarret. They show what the author believes is meant by a truly pure and perfect person. Buck is described as a great student and athlete. He is also very intelligent and courageous. These scenes affected me because they were full of love and made it clear that all the characters loved Buck. I began to better understand that no matter how perfect a person is, they must eventually die. They may live their lives until old age and pass away of natural causes, or, like Buck, they may be killed in a tragic accident. Guest's descriptions of Buck moved me because they helped me to better understand the fact that all lives must end and all people, good or evil, eventually die and leave only their memory and actions behind them.
ReplyDelete--Adam Presser
After Conrad found out his friend, Karen, had died, Conrad begins recalling his memory of the boating accident. This part of the novel was most emotional for me and hardest to forget. As Conrad describes later, “everything made him ill. Food and the sounds of people eating it crushing breaking slurping… the acrid odor of dirt and dying flowers” (218). This imagery creates such a vivid feeling inside of me of agony, although I cannot fully comprehend the way Conrad must feel. It is unbearable to think of the guilt and grief Conrad feels, and it pains me to think about how I would feel if I was in Conrad’s situation. Conrad reveals to Berger what is bothering him, saying, “For killing him, don’t you know that? For letting him drown!” (223). I know it is not Conrad’s fault that Buck died, but I completely understand why he feels that way. He was right there with Buck, and he feels there must have been something he could have done to save him. This line is so emotional for me; I feel like jumping into the book and comforting Conrad. It is a hopeless situation, Buck’s accident; both Conrad and his father feel the blame, though neither of them deserves it. Death, especially at a young age, is the deepest tragedy in human existence. There is nothing more painful and life-changing than losing a loved one, so I cannot forget when Conrad describes the accident and his grief.
ReplyDelete-Sam Knee
The scene I cannot forget is when Conrad finally kicks the potatoes out of Stillman. I enjoyed that part because of the way it was described. "Everything is bathed in yellow light now, faded, like an overexposed photograph..." (180). To me, I saw the fight as a big blur. Vision was blinded by emotions as Conrad attacked Stillman, and he could only clearly see what was happening when it was all over. Stillman always annoyed me when I was reading the book, but I did not expect Conrad to get into a fight with him. I admit, I was satisfied when Conrad ended up winning the fight because I was not too fond of Stillman. Indeed, this one scene indubitably lingers in my mind.
ReplyDeleteJames JDawg♪ Christianson
The novel Ordinary People written by Judith Guest contains many influential parts, but the part that is most influential is when Conrad reads about the death of Karen. Karen is a good friend of Conrad, and the two first meet in the hospital. They talk to each other and Karen tells Conrad to, “try to be less intense” (56). She seems like she has no worries and has gotten better since her days in depression. Karen seems to accomplish what Conrad cannot, and she seemingly provides him with some inspiration to survive. Then all of a sudden Conrad reads, “Karen Susan Aldrich…dead on arrival at Skokie General Hospital” (210). The death of Karen was completely unexpected and changed the way that I viewed the novel. Her death caught me off guard because I expected her to get her life together and leave behind her hospital days. I believed that Conrad would follow Karen’s advice and begin to love life again, but these thoughts meant nothing after Karen’s death. Though she preaches goodness, Karen is no different than Conrad. The only difference is that her suicide attempt is successful, whereas Conrad’s is a failure.
ReplyDelete-Chris Colarusso
In the novel Ordinary People by Judith Guest, the two parts of the story that are the most difficult to forget are the growth of the father-son relationship of Calvin and Conrad, and secondly Beth’s inconsiderateness.
ReplyDeleteFirst, the relationship between Calvin and Conrad strengthens over the course of the novel. At the beginning of the story, it is evident that there is little love in the awkward relationship. But, as the pages continue to turn, it is evident to the reader that Calvin truly does want to build up the relationship with his only remaining son. To the reader it is evident that he loves his son and wants a relationship when he says “I bet he’d like that, too” (233). Even though Conrad is in a different state, his father can not stop thinking about him. As the story comes to a close, the relationship makes a complete one hundred and eighty degree turn. The story concludes with Calvin and Conrad sitting on the steps and Conrad says to his father, “I love you, man” (259). At the beginning of the novel, Conrad would not even think of saying these words to his father, but now he is not saying them, but he also means it. This part of the story affected me because it provides a great story line underlying the complete theme of the novel. I was able to actually view the last scene of the novel in my mind, and I could see both Calvin and Conrad sitting there and Conrad saying the words “love” and “you” to his father.
Secondly, during the course of the novel, the character of Beth is the ideal character of a selfish, inconsiderate mother. Even though her son has tries to commit suicide, Beth shows her son no love what so ever. Beth is too worried about going to “England” or “Spain” to worry about her son. She even took it so far to say that Conrad tries to kill himself to cause pain to her. She is so inconsiderate to notice that her only living son believes that his own mother hates him. Worst of all, is when Conrad was left sitting on the steps with his father, not having a clue where his mother had gone. Conrad is in tears when he asks his father, “You think she’s coming back at all?” (259). Beth makes me cringe because she does not tell her son she was leaving and did not even say bye to him. What type of mother does not say bye to their own child. She should not even consider herself a mother. Her son was left alone with no mother to guide him on the right path, no mother to be there for nurturing, no mother to love him.
~Nico Varano Jr.
In the novel Ordinary People by Judith Guest, the scene that was stuck in my mind most was when Beth leaves her family. Typically, a mother is the guardian of a family and is always looking out for her children as well as caring for her husband. In the case of the Jarrett family, Beth is the polar opposite and completely ignores her motherly duties. She wants no part of Conrad’s recovery after his suicide attempt and constantly argues with Calvin. There is not one example where Beth displays qualities of a concerned, genuine mother or wife. If this is not bad enough she refuses to accept blame or even try to adjust her attitude. For instance, during an altercation with Calvin she exclaims “You are the one! You are the one who’s changed!” (254). Even while it is clear that there is tension within the marriage, her sudden departure shocks everyone. The reason I believe this scene carries so much emotion for me personally is because my mother is a huge part of my life. She is a major role model and I can not imagine what my family would do without her. Not to say that my father is incapable of managing a family but if my mother were to walk out of our lives it would not be an easy situation. Although there were many scenes that affected me throughout the novel, Beth’s exit definitely had the most emotional attachment.
ReplyDelete-Martina Corona
In Ordinary People it is difficult for me to forget the flashback when Conrand tells of Buck's death. Although I cannot fully understand Conrad’s guilt, I can see how he feels responsible for his brother's death. Conrand recalls his grandmother's comments at the funeral when she states, Jordan "didn't want to do it, he didn't want to leave us like this!" To this statement, Conrad asks, "Why did he let go, then? Why didn't he hang on to the boat?" It is difficult for Conrad to understand why he could not have saved his brother's life. Clearly there was nothing he could do to keep Buck from drowning; however, he feels he could have prevented it. It is sad to see Conrad's guilt and suffering. I wish that Conrad could see that he could not have changed the outcome of the boat ride. He could not have saved Buck.
ReplyDeleteIt is also difficult to forget Conrad’s visit to Berger’s office after he recalled the memory of his brother’s death. Conrad is unable to speak at first and “there are pockets of tears behind his eyes.” When Conrad finally expresses his guilt and pain, “tears roll down his cheeks.” At first, it was agonizing to see Conrad in such pain. After he communicates his guilt, I feel a sense of happiness and relief because he is making steps towards improvement. Judith Guest’s use of flashback and sensory images allows the reader to be in touch with Conrad’s emotions. It is difficult to forget Conrad’s pain and journey to recovery.
-Heather DeNisco
A scene from the novel which I felt had the biggest impact on me was the suicidal death of Conrad's close friend, Karen. He had met Karen during therapy, as she had also tried to commit suicide before. Conrad later contacted her, and the two met. Karen seemed to have been doing fine and was trying to convince Conrad to let go of his past, just as she had done. Her death just adds to a mixed bag of emotions that Conrad has from his brother's death, as well as his own suicide attempt. He later breaks down completely. I agree with Chris; Karen's death was quite unexpected because if anything, I believed that she had changed her beliefs, and would help Conrad regain his life.
ReplyDeleteTwo scenes, from the novel Ordinary People by Judith Guest, made me think and are hard for me to forget. These two scenes are when Conrad attempts suicide by cutting his wrist, and when his mother Beth leaves him and his father. First, Conrads attempted suicide affected me greatly through the vivid description of the event. Juith guest describes how "There is nowhere to put his hands the blood makes everything slippery" (213). Guest also goes on to describe the cuts and wounds themself and how grotesque they are. Through this horrid description, Guest shows the reader the horror and disgust of cutting his wrist, and is able to convey how severly depressed, one must be, to cut themself in such a way.IT also makes you think what the person is suffering, to cause them to even think of suicide as an option. The other moment that affected me the most are when Beth argued with Cal on how he was babying COnrad while she was harsh and strict with him. Beth did not even seem to care about anything that happened to conrad and did not even want to be with him. When alone in the house with Conrad, Beth would make-up reasons to not be with him. For example, " I have an awful headache. I'm going to go lie down for awhile" (24). Also Beth consistinly brings up to go away for Christmas even though they should not for Conrad's sake. Even thought she is told this, she does not care and continuly brings up the idea in conversation with Cal. Beth's total lack of care for Conrad shocks me. I do no understand how a mother of a child who watched their brother die and attempt suicide, dosen't care about them at all or for their feelings. Beth's total lack of respect for Conrad's needs and feelings sends me into disbelief.
ReplyDeleteIn Ordinary People, the fight scene and the scene were Conrad takes a walk at night are memorable. The suddenness of both these scenes contrasts with the rest of the book. Initially, the reader receives no hint that Conrad is going to fight Stillman. The vivid imagery in the scene also stands out. It is one of the only moments of physical contact in the whole book, and that contrast makes it much more memorable. The scene shows that Conrad still has problems. This loss of control negatively affected how I felt about Con, because he completely lost control. Stillman may have deserved it, but Conrad went crazy. Also, Conrad’s late night walk stands out. This is the first moment that Conrad shows real sense after Karen’s death. Again, contrast with the blur of his grief makes the scene memorable. He shows restraint by not attempting suicide, and that is important. His thoughts become clear, and this affects my view of him positively. He analyzes himself, as in the conversation with the cop, when he notes that he sounds normal. Both of these scenes influenced me personally.
ReplyDeleteThe part of the novel I find most difficult to forget is the flashbacks to when Conrad attempted to commit suicide. The author uses vivid imagery to paint a complete picture of the event and the terror surrounding it, “…the artery bubbles up like a river widens” (213). While the images are deeply disturbing they create a feeling that is not easily forgotten. Describing the blood coming from Conrad as like a river really puts into perspective just how bloody the seen really is. These images depict the pools of blood that are completely surrounding Conrad as he lies on the floor lifelessly. They show the utter terror of his parents who cannot believe this has happened. They are in shock and do not know what to do. The images of Conrad attempting suicide stick in my mind and as I read the rest of the novel I could not help but think of them.
ReplyDelete-Alex Shaievitz
The part of the novel that affected me the most would be Conrad's breakdown to the news that Karen died. To Conrad she seemed fine and even engouraged him to be more happy when they meet up after they had both been released from the hospital. He hears the news of her death and in shock, "his body feels nothing" (211). That night, Conrad's vivid horror dreams keep him awake. This was emotionally difficult to read. Conrad's life which was finnaly starting to improve was just turned upsidedown. His ordeal is hard for me to comprehend because I have never never expirienced anything like it before. I can only imagine what Conrad is feeling with the loss of someone who he thought was on the road to recovery. Conrad thinks it is unfair and I agree with him. It isn't fair that Conrad had to go through another loss of someone he cared about.
ReplyDelete- Graham Leman