The Lovely Bones Lesson Plan

Jack explains to Buckley that Susie is dead using the piece she used in Monopoly, the shoe, to represent her. After that, Buckley takes the shoe piece and puts it in his room. Why do you think he does this?

Buckley is mimicking the behavior he sees around him. The rest of his family is coping with the loss of Susie in solitude rather than leaning on each other for support. It makes sense then that Buckley takes the shoe and hides it in his room because that's what his dad, mom, and sister are all doing: finding ways to handle the loss on their own, often behind closed doors. In much the same way, Buckley feels he is seeing Susie, but he doesn't tell his family. He only...