Extraorinary Conflicts
A detailed Summary of Extraorinary Conflicts
Ordinary People by Judith Guest is a very emotional book that deals with many
thoughts and actions about life and suicide. A lot of people would have different opinions
or perspectives about this story. My thesis question for this book is: Does the author
Judith Guest try to prove that even the perfect family can fall apart? In this novel, regular
or "ordinary people" have to learn to cope with many extraordinary crises.
In Ordinary People, Conrad Jarrett is a seventeen year old boy attending a public
high school in the suburbs of Illinois. He and his family go through many stressful
struggles after Conrad's brother Jordan dies in a boating accident. Jordan's death
influences Conrad so much that he even cuts up his wrists and tries to commit suicide but
he does not die. Conrad struggles with a lot of things including school, quitting the
swimming team, and his friends. Conrad's mother Beth, is a perfectionist and is always
concerned about the way people view her and her family. She wishes for everyone to see
them as "normal". Conrad's Dad Cal feels he is somewhat responsible for Conrad's
suicide attempt. He also believes that Conrad and Beth are drifting a

of Jeanine and therefore is motivated to do the right thing for himself.
motivate that is important to him is his girlfriend Jeannine. She is always there for him and
reason. She never feels the need to forgive him for what he has done to himself. This
each other. One reason they fight is because Cal lets Conrad run over him a lot and he
extraordinary crises. The whole Jarrett family tries to cope with Jordan's death but they
Conrad says "I wanted to commit suicide because I needed more sleep and less stress".
Conrad saying: "No need for anymore words. The sun is on his back . He could fall
Some common words found in the essay are:
Jesus Christ, Conrad Beth, Judith Guest, Cal Beth, Conrad's Jordan, Ordinary People, Beth Jordan, Beth Conrad, Jeanine Conrad, Cal's Beth's, ordinary people, fall apart, commit suicide, perfect family, jordan's death, family fall, family fall apart, perfect family fall, jarrett family, judith guest, swimming team friends, cal beth, prove perfect family, conflict conrad, quitting swimming team,
Approximate Word count = 1264
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
Category: Novels
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