Ordinary people
Forgiveness is the ability to release the mind and heart from all past hurts and failures, all sense of guilt and loss. Judith Guest uses the theme of forgiveness in her novel to establish its importance in a real life family situation. In Ordinary People, the lack of forgiveness detrimentally affects the Jarret Family. The father, Calvin Jarret, finds himself torn between his wife, Beth, and his suicidal son, Conrad. Beth finds herself unable to forgive Cal and Con which results in her leaving them. The most prominent example of how the inability to forgive has detrimental affects on a relationship can be seen between Conrad and Beth. The importance of forgiveness is so vital that it is even taught by most major religions. Judith Guest is able to vividly capture the destruction that can be created by the inability to forgive. In the novel, Calvin is greatly affected by the lack of forgiveness. As a general rule of forgiveness, one cannot expect to be completely consistent, to always act lovingly, to be totally accepting and tolerant, and always unselfish and fair. Cal is torn between his wife and his son. He has made every attempt to forgive Conrad. He even looks past Con's mistake in order to help him move on with his life. How
ever, Cal cannot forgive Beth for not loving Con. He feels that Beth is "such a perfectionist" and that "everything had to be perfect"(89). He eventually forgives her for being a perfectionist stating that "it is chance and not perfection that rules the world"(90). Cal forgives Beth for being a perfectionist but, unfortunately, is unable to forgive her for not loving Con. As a result, a rift is formed in their relationship. Tension grows between them until finally their relationship falls apart and they separate. Subsequently, Cal can't forgive Beth for these reasons. He finds himself alone since she has left him and Conrad. Beth's relationships with Cal and Con are deleteriously affected by the absence of forgiveness. As Conrad went to the hospital after the boating accident that resulted in his brother's death, he apologized to his mother and father. However, when he was in the hospital for attempting suicide he doesn't apologize, instead, offering the alibi: "I wish I knew why I just don't" (239). Consequently, Beth believes that Conrad made his attempt at suicide "as vicious, as sickening as he could" because he "wanted it to kill " her (237). Beth can't forgive Conrad for this and even though "it hasn't killed her, it has done something terrible to her; something terrible" (240). Beth's relat
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Approximate Word count = 882
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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