Portrait of a Dysfunctional Family

A detailed Summary of 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

The message of the book is contained in Berger's glib saying that, "People who keep stiff upper lips find that it's damn hard to smile". We see Conrad moving toward recovery and the successful management of his stage of development, as articulated by Erikson, "intimacy vs. isolation". At story end, his father is more open with Conrad, moving closer to him, while his mother goes off on her own to work out her issues. Both trying to realize congruence in their development stage (Erikson), "ego integrity vs. despair".

Conrad's parents are also busily engaged in the business of denial. Calvin, Conrad's father, says, "Don't worry. Everything is all right. By his own admission, he drinks too much, "because drinking helps..., deadening the pain". Calvin cannot tolerate conflict. Things must go smoothly. "Everything is jello and pudding with you, Dad." Calvin, the orphan says, "Grief is ugly. It is something to be afraid of, to get rid of". "Safety and order. Definitely the priorities of his life. He constantly questions himself as to whether or not he is a good father. "What is fatherhood, anyway?"

We see Conrad's anger and aggression is displaced, i.e. vented on another, as when he physically attacked a schoolmate. Yet, he also turns his anger on himself and expresses in extreme and dangerous depression and guilt. "Guilt is a normal emotion felt by most people, but among survivors it takes on special meaning. Most feel guilty about the death of loved ones whom they feel they could have, or should have, saved. Some feel guilty about situations in which they behaved selfishly (Conrad held on to the boat even after his brother let go), even if there was no other way to survive. In answer to a query from his psychiatrist on when he last got really mad, Conrad responds, "When it comes, there's always too much of it. I don't know how to handle it." When Conrad is finally able to express his anger, Berger, the psychiatris

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1298
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English