Ordinary People

A detailed Summary of Ordinary People

No family is perfect, we're all ordinary people. In the novel Ordinary People, by

Judith Guest, Beth, a private woman, wife, and mother strives for perfection. After the

death of one son and the near death of another, she builds feelings of hurt and denial. She

denies her feelings and her family because it is her only way to cope with those feelings.

Beth strives for perfection. Her life is like a Barbie doll's life, everything on a

Barbie is perfect, from her looks to her personality. Barbie's clothing is what makes a

Barbie look pretty and fashionable. Beth wears clothing and jewelry to show she has style

which shows she is a pretty woman on the outside. "a sleeveless knit suit, the color of

straw, a V-neck bordered in orange, a thin gold chain around her neck. All elegance and

self-possession. So beautiful in every detail that men and women both look at her."

(Guest 25) Her Barbie doll looks make her appear irresistible, like one that would be

idolized by many people. Her need for control is evident because her appearance must be

faultless, her hair must be nicely done and she must look younger than she really is. Beth

takes good care of her skin, making sure that her face does not have any wrinkles. A well

Beth is silent about her feelings, Conrad can't tell her about his feelings without that

sister-in-law also knows that Beth is a very private person, and tells Cal, "I mean her

her to cope with dealing with the past. The connection with her son has also changed

at whatever time she had come in? (Guest 191) Her home is filled with problems, not

things at home to change, so she redecorates Conrad's room, after his suicide attempt,

and everyone one will know that she was just putting on a show. Dealing with problems is

appearance. In their community, Beth demands her family to maintain the illusion of

her way to escape the problems that occur there. Her home isn't where Beth wants to be.

she is, and expects her husband to make sure her son projects the proper image she wants

getting rid of things from the past. Her need to cover things increase Conrad's

Beth and Conrad are very distant with one another. They don't talk much at all.

Beth has a hard time dealing with her problems, so she denies them. She needs

sleeping in the living room. Beth is already in bed and Cal wonders why she didn't check

Conrad, he goes up the stairs and sees her heading towards her room to tell her a lie just

Approximate Word count = 1303
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous

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