Portrait of a Dysfunctional Family
Ordinary People by Judith Guest is the story of a dysfunctional family who relate to one another through a series of extensive defense mechanisms, i.e. an unconscious process whereby reality is distorted to reduce or prevent anxiety. The book opens with seventeen year old Conrad, son of upper middle-class Beth and Calvin Jarrett, home after eight months in a psychiatric hospital, there because he had attempted suicide by slashing his wrists. His mother is a meticulously orderly person who, Jared, through projection, feels despises him. She does all the right things; attending to Jared's physical needs, keeping a spotless home, plays golf and bridge with other women in her social circle, but, in her own words "is an emotional cripple". Jared's father, raised in an orphanage, seems anxious to please everyone, a commonplace reaction of individuals who, as children, experienced parental indifference or inconsistency. Though a successful tax attorney, he is jumpy around Conrad, and!, according to his wife, drinks too many martinis. Conrad seems consumed with despair. A return to normalcy, school and home-life, appear to be more than Conrad can handle.Chalk-faced, hair-hacked Conrad seems bent on perpetuating the fami
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Some common words found in the essay are:
William Helmreich, Beth Conrad's, Dr Berger, Calvin Jarrett, Encyclopedia Britannica, Judith Guest, Calvin Razoring, Calvin Conrad's, Safety Definitely, Dad Calvin, feel guilty, conrad responds, mad conrad, conrad moving, conrad feelings, conrad consumed, judith guest, express anger, ordinary people, mad conrad responds,
Approximate Word count = 1298
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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