Ordinary People Literary Elements

Novel

The action takes place over the course of six months and it is set in a town in Chicago.

The action is told from a third person omniscient and objective point of view.

Tragic, sad, depressing

The protagonist is Conrad and the antagonist is Beth.

The major conflict is an internal one and it is the result of Conrad’s internal struggle and the result of his battle with depression.

The story reaches its climax when Conrad finds about Karen’s death. Even though Karen appears in the novel only once, her death is important because it makes Conrad think about his decision to kill himself and to think about what pushed him to act in such a way. Thus, Karen’s death helps Conrad reach the conclusion that he was not responsible for his brother’s death and that there was nothing he could have done to stop him.

When Beth claims that she holds no grudge against her son proves to be an understatement as she proves through her actions that she resents Conrad for his actions.

When Beth tells Cal that she has good news for him in chapter 3 is an understatement because Cal is not happy to hear what Beth wants to suggest to him.

It is alluded in chapter 27 that the main character, Conrad, managed to get rid of the guilt of seeing his brother die after a period of more than 2 years. The shower Conrad takes is important because during the shower, Conrad cleanses himself from the pain of his past and he accepts the fact that there was nothing he could have done to save his brother. After getting clean, Conrad falls asleep, feeling free of guilt and pain.

One of the most important images appears at the end of the novel, when Conrad tries to reconcile with his old friend and when he expresses his feelings of appreciation for what the others did to him. This image is important because it shows that Conrad was on the way to recovery and that he made great progress in a short period of time.

At the end of the novel, Beth is presented as being a loving mother, someone who kept the drawings her children gave her in their youth. This is paradoxical considering the fact that she kept herself separated from Conrad when he needed her the most.

Conrad draws a parallel between the events that happened to him during a normal day of school after he returned from the hospital and the events that took place in the days before he tried to kill himself. In both cases, he realized that he did mostly the same things and that those around him were unsure about how to interact with him. This parallel has the purpose of proving that from the outside, a person who deals with mental health issues may appear normal or his or her behavior may appear usual but that on the inside the person may be struggling to keep up the appearances.

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