Analysis: The Liars's Club

Olivia Brodsky
Dean Herbert
Independent Study

The Liar’s Club
Mary Karr

In The Liars ' Club, Mary Karr recounts her dysfunctional childhood and the various struggles she and her family endured. Although both of Mary’s parents were suffered from severe alcoholism, Mary’s mother was also incredibly abusive as a result of mental illness. Growing up, Mary frequently witnessed violent episodes, fits and delusions that eventually landed her mother in a mental institution. Inevitably intensified by the alcoholism, her parents fought all the time, resulting in physical violence and constant threats of divorce. In just a few of her mother’s episodes, she tried to drive their car off of a bridge, starts fires and almost stabs her children with

In Ruth’s narrative she tells of how her family emigrated from Poland when she was a young girl, her abusive father disguised as righteous a Rabbi, her interracial relationships, teen pregnancy, and her eventual marriage to Andrew Dennis McBride, a black man from North Carolina, until he passed away and she remarried Hunter Jordan. What made Ruth so extraordinary was her resilience, strength of character and her freethinking mind. Despite having been raised in an ultraorthodox Jewish family, with a father who molested her, committed adultery, abused her mother, and later disowned her, Ruth was able to develop her own value system. Her ethics not only condemned this behavior, but also went against the societal norm of the 1960’s: racism. After becoming pregnant with her black boyfriend, as a teenager, Ruth confided in her aunt who helped her get an abortion. Following this incident, Ruth realized that she no longer desired to live at home with her family. Spending time away from home enabled Ruth to see how radically different her values and priorities were from those of her

He felt immense confusion about his identity, along with grief for the death of his beloved stepfather. This drove him to a phase of drug use and crime. However, after working with black men in Louisville, Kentucky, and spending time with his sister Jack and her husband James who live there, he became convinced of the importance of self-reliance and hard work. He began to trust in God and work toward self-improvement, honing his skills in jazz music and writing. During his senior year of high school, James was pleasantly surprised when he learned he had been admitted to Oberlin College. He and his eleven siblings complete college and lead successful careers. Ruth remains close with her children, and, later, her grandchildren, holding holiday gatherings that remind James of his household during childhood: chaotic, but delightfully active and