Themes Of The Lovely Bones

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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

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