Themes Of The Lovely Bones

915 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: the theme of death used in literature

Death is a natural process in life. When we lose a loved one in our life the result of grief can be very shock, dramatic and the despair seems insufferable. However, it takes time for humans to relieve it emotionally and physically. The story begins with a fourteen year old girl named Susie Salmon, the protagonist of the story. She was murdered by the antagonist, George Harvey. After Susie’s death, her family and friends react in different ways. Each character in the novel went through different stages of grief in order to accept the death of Susie Salmon. Losing someone important in life can be the most difficult things to go through and the novel gives the readers an authentic perspective of each character's emotion. In The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold clarifies the primary theme of the novel is grief and the unconditionally love of family.
Lindsey Salmon, she is one the strongest characters in the novel. Lindsey Salmon has her own way of dealing with grief after Susie’s death. Alice Sebold state “I wasn’t aware I had lost anything” (Sebold 31) After Susie’s death, Lindsey couldn’t accept the fact that her sister was murdered, she was in denial. During the stage of denial, Lindsey didn’t reveal her emotion, she acted like she …show more content…

Harvey through his childhood and many reasons why he chose to murder Susie. Alice Sebold stated, “ She began handing him the stolen items to hide on his body, and he did it because she wanted him to.” (Sebold 188) George Harvey lived in a low-life family when he was young. His childhood was filled with darkness, his dad was very abusive towards him and his mom taught him to shoplift things in the grocery shop when he was young. Harvey was ashamed of his dad job because it wasn’t “normal”. Harvey actions reflect on his childhood life, violence and death coming into Harvey’s life when he was young. His childhood was one of the reasons why Susie’s death

Show More
Related

  • Character Analysis: The Lovely Bones

    608 Words  | 2 Pages

    Although, Buckley was never told what happened to Susie, except for the fact that she died tragically. No one bothered to explain to him what had happened. Buckley is only four years old and does not understand that Susie is dead, so Mr. Salmon has to simplify her death. Mr. Salmon explains that Susie is dead by using Susie’s favorite monopoly piece. “‘See this shoe?’ my father said... “Susie?” my brother asked, somehow connecting the two. ‘Yes, I’m going to tell you where Susie is’” (Sebold, 2002, p. 45). He takes Susie’s piece from the Monopoly board, by doing so Jack demonstrates that Susie is out of the game of life. Buckley only understands that Susie is not coming back. He does not understand where she

    Read More

  • Loss Of Innocence In Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones

    2242 Words  | 5 Pages

    In addition, Jack showed his inability to let go of Susie by keeping her physical belongings with him. From heaven, Susie is watching all of this happen, noting that “I knew then he would never give me up. He would never count me as one of the dead. I was his daughter, and he was my dad, and he had loved me as much as he could. I had to let him go” (...). The final sentence is very significant. It is the time when Susie recognizes the need for her to let go if she truly wishes to end her family’s suffering. As Susie is able to forget the past, so does Jack. He soon realizes that Susie lives in his past, memories, and not in objects. Specifically, it is not until Jack survives his heart attack that he fully accepts that his daughter has left. “Last night it had been [Susie’s] father who had finally said it, ‘[Susie’s]never coming home.’ A clear and easy piece of truth that everyone who had ever known me had accepted” (289). Upon realizing this truth, Jack is able to continue with his life, job, and most importantly, to refocus his attention to his two other

    Read More

  • The Effects Of Death In The Lovely Bones By Alice Sebold

    1742 Words  | 4 Pages

    Death: the action or fact of dying or being killed; the end of the life of a person or organism. It is scientific. Straight down to the facts. Something is born, it lives, and it dies. The cycle never stops. But what toll does death take on those around it? The literary world constantly attempts to answer this vital question. Characters from a wide realm of novels experience the loss of a loved one, and as they move on, grief affects their every step. In The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, the roles of Lindsey, Abigail, and Ruth all exhibit the effect of dealing with death over time; the result is a sizable amount of change which benefits a person’s spirit.

    Read More

  • The Catcher In The Rye: Crash Course Analysis

    1003 Words  | 3 Pages

    Bob Hassett gives his and his son’s thoughts about Holden’s character and ultimately linking his unacceptance to teens today. Hassett states that he has read the novel frequently, but never caught the hidden meanings until he read it later in life. He never realized that Holden was so devastated after Allie died. Hassett also cited his son, who explained Holden’s loneliness and unacceptance in an earlier essay about the book.

    Read More

  • Lovely Bones Analysis

    908 Words  | 2 Pages

    In many cases, the raw emotions felt by the characters as a result of Susie’s death help better their relationships. To begin with, Jack Salmon’s relationship with his youngest son Buckley is enhanced because of the cruel reminder of mortality that Susie’s death emphasizes. When Buckley attempts to comfort his heartbroken father, Jack clings to Buckley and says “‘you are so special to me, little man,’…Buckley drew back and stared at [his] father’s creased face, the fine bright spots of tears at the corners of his eyes” (Sebold 47). By expressing his affection for Buckley, Jack acknowledges the fact that Buckley is alive for him to cherish – something that he cannot possibly do with his deceased daughter. With his emotions array, Jack uses Buckley to steady himself and remind himself that he has two surviving children, and the depth of their relationship grows with their physical and emotional connection. Secondly, the impact of Susie’s death on her younger sister Lindsey brings her and Samuel, a boy she first met while in middle school, together with a tightknit bond. In reflecting on their relationship on the day of their college graduation, Susie notes that Samuel “had pressed himself into her need, and the cement between the two of them had begun to set immediately. They had gone to Temple together, side by side. He had hated it and she had pushed him through” (234). When Lindsey was in an emotional state as a result of her si...

    Read More

  • The Lovely Hat Analysis

    1271 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many significant symbols take part in this book, Susie’s jingly hat being one of them. Susie’s hat is a homemade symbol, showing the love and care her mother has for her. This hat also symbolizes Susie losing her breath and voice when her neighbor, Mr. Harvey, gags her with the same hat. After Susie is murdered, Len Fenerman, the detective to Susie’s case, takes the found hat to her parents, which shows that great danger has reached Susie.

    Read More

  • Lovely Bones

    689 Words  | 2 Pages

    To begin with, Lindsey Salmon struggles abundantly to accept the fact that her older sister is dead. She tries extremely hard to avoid sharing her emotions with others. She tries to stand strong when Susie is mentioned in school or when people recognize her as the sister of the dead girl. She tries, yet fails to avoid the pain and hurt that is caused by this heartbreaking event. This is shown when Susie says “Of everyone in the family, it was Lindsey who had to deal with what Holly called the Walking Dead Syndrome-when other people see the dead person and don’t see you. …….She avoided mirrors. She now took her showers in the dark. ………If the house was quiet or if she heard murmurs below her, she knew she would be undisturbed. …………she either thought Susie, just that one word, and cried there, letting her tears roll down her already damp che...

    Read More

  • The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold

    1102 Words  | 3 Pages

    To compare a person like Mr. harvey to in my life, would be pretty hard since I don't know anyone like that .My mom knows someone similarly close to him. She worked with a guy at work, what he does is that he pulls you to get close to him, and be friends with him. At the end he steals whatever you have in your home. Thankfully my mom knew he was trouble and she never spoke to him every since. “Imagining Death is the last thing anyone has on their minds. Dangerous guys like Me. Harvey or any other guys are always going to be in life. Its our responsibility to avoid them. Not all of them are going to be caught by the police or get caught at all.

    Read More

  • Sorrow Of Sorrow

    996 Words  | 2 Pages

    During the process of growing up, we are taught to believe that life is relatively colorful and rich; however, if this view is right, how can we explain why literature illustrates the negative and painful feeling of life? Thus, sorrow is inescapable; as it increase one cannot hide it. From the moment we are born into the world, people suffer from different kinds of sorrow. Even though we believe there are so many happy things around us, these things are heartbreaking. The poems “Tips from My Father” by Carol Ann Davis, “Not Waving but Drowning” by Stevie Smith, and “The Fish” by Elizabeth Bishop convey the sorrow about growing up, about sorrowful pretending, and even about life itself.

    Read More

  • Painting a Portrait of Death

    820 Words  | 2 Pages

    Death is inevitable to all forms of life. In giving birth to a typical family, Flannery O’Connor immediately sets the tone for their deaths, in the story, A Good Man is Hard To Find. O'Connor’s play on words, symbolism and foreshadowing slowly paves the way for the family’s death.

    Read More

  • A Rose For Emily Analysis Essay

    1636 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the short story “A Rose for Emily” death plays a major role in developing the story. It also shows how the death of one person can change a city as a whole. However, if you compare this story to the life of the author, William Faulkner, you can see how death in his life can contribute to why he wrote the story the way he did. The death of the people is used to add to the meaning of the work altogether. William Faulkner’s experiences add meaning to his work, “A Rose for Emily,” through several deaths and Emily’s ultimate demise.

    Read More

  • New Year Baby by Socheata Poeuv

    1217 Words  | 3 Pages

    tragedies that befell her. She is an example of a melancholic character that is not able to let go of her loss and therefore lets it t...

    Read More

  • A Rose For Emily Death Analysis

    1627 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the short story “A Rose for Emily” death plays a major role in developing the story. It also shows how the death of one person can change a city as a whole. However, if you compare this story to the life of the author, William Faulkner, you can see how death in his life can contribute to why he wrote the story the way he did. The death of the people is used to add to the meaning of the work altogether. William Faulkner’s experiences add meaning to his work, “A Rose for Emily,” through several deaths and Emily’s ultimate demise.

    Read More

  • The Lovely Bones Analysis

    1406 Words  | 3 Pages

    After Susie was murdered, the only thing that the police found was a cap. It makes a jingly sound because her mom thought if something happens with her daughter maybe this cap would protect her. It becomes a symbol of her loss of breath and voice. Moreover, there are a lot of similes, metaphors and imagery in this book. The old shoe from the Monopoly game is represents Susie to Buckley. The Keystone State/Charm and the charm bracelet is represents Susie that she always wore it until she died. Also the title of this book ‘Lovely Bones’ is symbolism of Susie’s body. It represents her death and also her body and they called it in the last chapter and Susie talks about how she affected the world on when living and dead. “He wore his innocence like a comfortable old coat.” (Sebold, 26) This quote describes Mr. Harvey, the serial killer, who killed so many innocent people and thought that he is the one of the innocent people. It is a metaphor that Mr.Harvey is innocent man. Structure of tone and mood of this book, it is mostly sad and gloomy because of Susie’s death and grief of her

    Read More

  • Death in Auden’s Funeral Blues, Forche’s Memory of Elena, and Dickinson’s Last Night that She lived

    1681 Words  | 4 Pages

    Death is a natural and inevitable part of life. Everyone will experience death, whether it is of a loved one or oneself. In W.H. Auden’s poem “Funeral Blues” (1003), he describes such a catastrophic event and the drastic effect that it has on his life. It is interesting how people choose to accept this permanent and expected event, death. Similarly, Emily Dickinson has written many poems about death, such as “The last Night that She lived” (843), which describes a family waiting for a woman or girl to die and the dreary and depressed mood that exists within the household. Mourning is considered a perfectly healthy reaction when someone who is deeply loved and cared about passes on, and this is illustrated in “The Memory of Elena” (1070-71) by Carolyn Forche. She writes about the events following a funeral and also flashes back to the actual moment that a wife has watched her husband die. W.H Auden’s “Funeral Blues,” Carolyn Forche’s “The Memory of Elena,” and Emily Dickinson’s “The last Night that She lived” are all poems which share death as their subject matter, but differ in the fact that they discuss death in a unique style with a variety of literary devices to make them more effective.

    Read More

More about Themes Of The Lovely Bones

Open Document