Premium Essay

Ordinary People Character Analysis

Submitted By
Words 1030
Pages 5
Tristen Kremer
Hour 6
Ordinary people term paper
Date:

In the book Ordinary people by Judith Guest there are quite a few characters in the story all diverse and different. While I am not similar enough to some of them I may however explain traits in the story that are associated with characters. There are many factors that contribute to strong relationships. Some of the key elements are trust, forgiveness, and most important communication. In Judith Guests book, Ordinary People, there are several relationships where these elements are portrayed. They are illustrated either in a good or bad way, usually between several of the family members.
One element that helps relationships become strong, and keeps people together is communication. …show more content…
One example of good communication in a relationship is demonstrated between Dr. Berger and Conrad. One of the only people that Conrad feels comfortable talking to revealing every one of his emotions to, is Dr. Berger. The doctor wants Conrad to communicate with him and gives him good reasons for doing so, for example he says, "That's what happens when you bury this junk, kiddo. It keeps resurfacing. Won't leave you alone." (Page 109) Dr. Berger says that because he is trying to get Conrad to open all of his communication with everyone, so that everything does not become a skeleton in the closet. Communication is an important component of all relationships and when it is missing it can make people very miserable. In Conrad's relationship with his mother, Beth, they do not go out of their way to talk to each other or talk to one another casually, and their conversations are conflicted and sometimes trivial. Some reasons that they do not talk to each to one another probably has to do with the simple fact that they are very much like one, stubborn, and will not admit to their inner feelings. One example of botched communication occurred when Beth learned during a meeting that her son had quit his …show more content…
Some people can come to terms with the past and move on, but others do not help keeping the memory of terrible things, and not forgive someone. Beth was one of those people, or so her son had thought. "Lately! Listen, if you-listen! I am never going to be forgiven for that, never! You can't get it out, you know! All of the blood on her rug and her goddamn towels-everything had to be pitched! Even the goddamn tile in the bathroom had to be re-grouted. Christ, she fired a goddamn maid because she couldn't dust the living room right, and if you think that she is ever going to forgive me-" (Page 110) This meaningful statement made by Conrad shows that he could not even forgive himself for it , and since he was not able to do this for himself, how could he expect his mother to forgive him. For most families, parents are forced to forgive their children for the things they do no matter how severe or insignificant. This is all part of life and how we live it, because everyone makes mistakes as they are expected to, yet Calvin had said that Beth was not able to forgive Conrad. There is one particular situation where Beth even said that she could basically never forgive Conrad and she stated and I quote, "That whole vicious thing! He made it vicious, as sickening as he could! The blood-all the blood! Oh I will never forgive him for it! He

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Crucible Dramatic Techniques

...Drama is created by placing ordinary people in situations of crisis or conflict Explore some dramatic techniques used to create drama in the crucible In his play, The Crucible, Arthur miller presents an allegory for McCarthyism through the use of the Salem With trials of 1692. In the crucible, miller uses many techniques to create drama to influence the decisions of the ordinary townsfolk. Drama is created by placing key protagonists in situations of conflict. The intolerance of puritan society towards new or different practices is one of the ways that miller creates drama. Another factor is the maintenance of personal reputation and the consequences of conflict upon this status. By manipulating ordinary people, hysteria also creates a large sum of drama. Through an analysis of Intolerance, reputation and hysteria, this essay will explore how conflict creates drama. In a puritan society, not meeting the social norms was seen as treason and heavily persecuted. This lead to an intolerance of anyone who did not worship god, and dissent lead to beliefs of Satanic activity. Judge Danforth quotes in act three page 85 "You are either with the court or against it". Miller uses tone to foreshadow what is yet to come in the the text. The tone of this sentence shows that the witch trials are the ultimate form of intolerance and hanging...

Words: 1065 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

The Analysis for a Photo Essay

...The photo essay story I want to analysis is named Missao and Fukumaru. The author is a Japanese photographer called Miyoko Ihara. Here is the link. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.362038270558190.81413.301135309981820&type=3 Firstly, I want to introduce some basic things about the photo essay. The story mainly happened in the photographer’s grandmother, Missao’s farm. There are different kinds of vegetables and fruits in the setting, which make the photos colorful. The main characters of the photo essay are the photographer’s grandmother, Missao, and Missao’s cat, Fukumaru. They live in the farm and are the best friend of each other. I think the biggest conflict is that Missao is old. There are deep winkles on her face. But the cat, Fukumaru is small and cute. Besides, Missao is a person and Fukumaru is a cat. So it is amazing that they are good friends. These conflicts make the friendship between them more valuable and make the photo essay more attractive. There is no sequence of events. All the photos are about the daily life of Missao and Fukumaru. They do a lot of ordinary but touching things together in Missao’s farm. They respect each other, building a friendship beyond the ethnicity. Then I want to talk about the technical skills applied in this photo essay. First, most photos have a good composition. The photographer put Missao and Fukumaru in the middle of the photo so that I can easily tell the main characters. Some of the photos are colored. The...

Words: 584 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Beowulf

...“A brilliant light burned all around him, the lake itself like a fiery flame.” The story of Beowulf is of a hero saving innocent people from monsters by killing them. Beowulf is an Anglo-Saxon epic; it is a story about heroism, honor, glory, goodness and the fight against evil. The hero of the story is warrior Beowulf. Beowulf has to fight three evil monsters throughout his life in the story. Beowulf, the hero and main character of the story had to fight a giant monster, Grendel with his bare hands, Grendel’s mother with a giant’s sword, and a fire-breathing dragon. He is the strongest amongst all men. His fuel for fighting these monsters is the unending thirst for glory; glory he could die for, glory that a lord seeks. His heroic abilities were present from the start. Beowulf’s character is described as if he were god. Beowulf is a form of god descended from the sky to send the demons to their final destination, hell. Beowulf’s resume includes killing sea monsters and giants. This clearly depicts the fact that he is a man with great power. Throughout the epic, Beowulf has been characterized as a supreme and divine man, a god in form of man. The quote from the epic ”a brilliant light burned all around him”, a phrase from The Battle with Grendel’s Mother, clearly means that the divine light is shone upon Beowulf to protect him and destroy evil. The powers only god could have. The clear light represents life, glowing, and guiding lord Beowulf find evil. It guides the all-powerful...

Words: 1030 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Rear Window Opening Mise En Scene and Cinematography

...Analysis of the opening to Rear Window The opening scene starts by the camera looking out of a window whilst the credits are shown. Slowly, each blind is raised revealing a section of the courtyard at a time already linking to its title ‘Rear window’ indicating that this particular window will play a big part throughout the duration of the film. Much like the curtains in a theatre, the viewer feels as if they are watching a show or play when the blinds are lifted slowly creating an exciting opening and the sense that drama is to come. The symmetrical close up shot of the window provides the audience with ‘front row seats’ as the scene unfolds further. Outside, the neighbourhood seems peaceful and like any other normal community with people carrying out their everyday lives in their everyday houses. Despite its normality, the courtyard seems enclosed and claustrophobic representing restriction and tension which could possibly be mounting. Everything seems too peaceful to be true. After the opening credits, the camera zooms towards the bottom of the window until it is completely outside. It then cuts to show a cat in the courtyard walking up the stairs which could link to the normality and ‘city life’ feel which is being portrayed. The camera follows the cat’s steps from the bottom of the stairs to the top until it reaches a ladder and follows the ladder upwards as if we (the viewer) were voyeur and spying or following someone. As the camera approaches the top of the ladder...

Words: 1223 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

The Ransom of Red Chief

...«The Ransom Of Red Chief» O.Henry. Analysis. O.Henry was a prolific American short story writer, a master of surprise endings, who wrote about the life of ordinary people in New York City. William Sydney Porter was born in Greensboro, North Carolina. When he was three, his mother died, and he was raised by his paternal grandmother and aunt. At the age of fifteen he left school. In 1897 he was convicted of stealing money. In prison he started to write short stories to earn money to support his daughter Margaret. After three of the five years sentence he came out of the prison. In 1901 he changed his name to O. Henry and died of cirrhosis of the liver on June 5 1910 . It is shown by the authors way of writing that the genre of the Ransom Of The Red Chief is a non-fiction because the characters, places, the events and actions in the story seem almost real. O. Henry describes the characters in a very delicate manner. He shows that Red Chief is a very active and mischievous kid . He has made the life of his kidnappers hell. The author uses chronological order to tell the story and to state the events that took place. He starts by introducing the main characters , the setting , then makes his way through by adding some twists and turns. The story finishes with a touch of irony . -They kidnapped Johnny. -They sent a letter to the father with demands. -The father replies the letter by an offer. -They accept the offer. -They return Johnny and pay the father the...

Words: 1384 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

The Abc Murders

...The ABC Murders - Summary and analysis Summary (Spoiler Alert): Hastings, Hercule Poirot's partner and assistant, returns to Britain, just as Poirot receives a sinister letter from an unknown person under the alias ABC. The letter says, that he should look out for Andover, on the 21st of the month. Just as stated in the letter, something happens on the 21st. A woman in Andover, named Alice Asher, turns up dead. On the crime scene an ABC railway guide is found, and Andover is marked. The police believes that this is just a coincidence, and that the letter and the murder are not connected. On the very same day, Poirot receives another letter. This time it tells Poirot, to look out for Bexhill on the 25th. On the 25th another woman is found dead. This time it is Elisabeth Bernard. Once again, an ABC railway guide is found on the body, and it is opened on Bexhill. The Police slowly starts believing that this is not just a coincidence. He receives the third letter three days late due to an error in the address, written on the letter. The next morning, a Sir Carmichael Clarke is found dead in his estate in Churston. The fourth and final killing happens in a cinema in Doncaster, where a guy named George Earlsfield is stabbed to death. ABC has erred, since Earlsfield does not start with a D. The police believes that the killer is a mad man, who has failed, and that the killings might be over. Poirot on the other hand, does not believe in coincidences. Therefore he believes, that...

Words: 1030 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

How Does The TV Show Gossip Girl And It's Influence On Societal Values

...money with happiness and distorts perceptions of class by romanticizing the negative aspects of upper class New York society. Through textual analysis of the show, a survey I conducted among viewers, and reviews and analysis from other authors, I will argue how the show looks down on the lower class; glamorizes materialism, corruption, and narcissism; and conveys that some people will always be excluded from the “Gossip Girl” world. Ultimately, the privileged Upper East Side lifestyle is a metaphor for the American Dream. While the show presents this lifestyle as the goal, it also suggest that like the modern day American Dream, it is unattainable....

Words: 569 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Odysseus: The Hero's Journey In The Odyssey

...Another character who has a fragmented hero’s journey is Odysseus from The Odyssey. Odysseus is the hero in this story despite his flaws, and his hero’s journey is his road back home where “home” is the elixir. His hero’s journey follows the guidelines well, missing steps or ghosting over some. The first steps starting with Ordinary world and ending with crossing the threshold are substituted for Odysseus’s fight in the Trojan war that lasts ten years. Because he was taken from his ordinary world to fight without protest, the story glances over these few steps, picking up at step 6. In other words, his journey starts with an Ordinary world but doesn’t engage with steps two through 5; therefore, his journey follows only part of the guidelines...

Words: 869 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Narrative and Character Development

...INT 201: NARRATIVE AND CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT ASSESSMENT 01 AVATAR (2009) is a science fiction epic directed by James Cameron centred around a growing conflict between a human corporation and an alien species Known as the Na’vi, on the latter’s native planet of Pandora. Like most blockbusters a third person shooter tie-in was also released by developer Ubisoft. The video game, James’ Cameron’s AVATAR: The Game, is set two years prior in the form of a prequel. Despite this it does little to expand on the films cannon and instead offers up a similarly tailored adventure that adheres to the basic parameters of the movie, utilising many of the same key moments across a clear and discernible 3 act structure. A cross comparative analysis of the two mediums, utilising Volger’s 12 steps Hero’s Journey demonstrates however how the games at first honours this time honoured journey, being plotted along Volger’s step before discarding them to its own detriment. The similarities in the narrative structure of both the film and the game differ little, particularly across their first act structures. Much like the films protagonist Jake Scully your character avatar, Able Ryder, will similarly find him/herself awakening from cryo after a prolonged journey from earth, leaving the ‘ordinay world’ and answering the ‘call to adventure’ within the exotic forests of Pandora. The hero archetype Jake is a fully realised character from the films introduction, who during the...

Words: 1214 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Dead Poet Society

...Film i Engelsk Bilag 1a FILM ANALYSIS – an introduction (Source: http://www.filmeducation.org) – bearbejdet af Mi og LK, Favrskov Gymnasium Reading a film is just like reading a book, except that instead of looking at a written page we are looking at the cinema screen. Reading a film works in exactly the same way as a written text, or a picture, except that the tools that are used to create meaning are different. We call these tools film language. The opening sequence From the moment we first start watching a film, we begin to get involved. The first few minutes of a film (the opening sequence) are very important to us as they give us lots of clues about the film: 1) what will the film be about (conflicts/themes); 2) who are the most important characters (hero, villain, love interest); 3); what is the setting of the film (time and place); 4) the genre; and finally, 5) what sort of film language characterizes the film? We look at all these elements and begin to put them into context. Based on their environment, how they look, what they say and what we see them do, we make assumptions about the characters, their roles in the film and their relationship to each other. We also recognize so-called genre markers (things we associate with one particular genre) which tell us if we are watching a Western or a Sc-Fi film and, thus, form specific expectations about what is going to happen during the rest of the film. At the same time, we listen to the sounds and the music...

Words: 2283 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

Representation of Illegal Drugs on Television

...For this analysis, the topic of illegal drugs will be traced across three different television serials that vary in genre. In each programme illegal drugs are a pivotal element to the storyline, with close reference to youth involvement. This analysis will investigate how different televisual forms shape the way illegal drug use is understood and made visible across three different genres of television with reference to youth involvement. In addition, this analysis will discuss to what extent this representation of illegal drugs assists in legitimating themes of drug use and how these representations have shifted throughout history. This analysis will explore the representation of illegal drug in Workaholics, 90210 and Arrow. The mass media are commonly seen to reflect and shape social attitudes and behaviours; therefore it is likely that representations of teen characters in film and television will assist in defining what normative behaviours and actions are for teen viewers (Stern 331). This contributes to the argument that television can influence and young viewers are using these representations to authenticate their behaviours according to the dominant values represented on television. The repetitive portrayal of drug use on television can be seen to glamorise drug use and provide an overabundance, and inaccurate representation of drugs (Long et al. 96). As it is more commonly discussed and glamorised, it becomes more likely that young people will associate substance use...

Words: 1174 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

El Presidente Reaction Paper

...which are all considered significant. Artistry Literature has an aesthetic appeal and thus possesses a sense of beauty. Intellectual Value It stimulate critical thinking that enriches mental processes of abstract and reasoning, making man realize the fundamental of truths of life and its nature. Suggestiveness It unravels man’s emotional power to define symbolism, nuances, implied meanings, images and messages, giving and evoking visions above and beyond the plane of ordinary life and experience. Spiritual Value Literature elevates the spirit and the soul and thus has the power to motivate and to inspire. Permanence Literature endures across time and draws out the time factor: Timeliness – occurring at a particular time. Timelessness – remaining invariable throughout time Importance of Literature • •Studying literature is like looking at the mirror of life where man’s experiences, his innermost feelings and thoughts are reflected. • Through literature, we learn the culture of people across time and space•We understand not only the past life of a nation but also its present. • Moreover, we become familiar not only with the culture of neighboring countries but also with that of others living very far from us Literary Approaches Literary Approaches Moral or Humanistic Approach • Literature is viewed to discuss man and its nature. • It presents man as essentially rational; that is, endowed with intellect and free will; or that the piece does not misinterpret...

Words: 917 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

The Hero

...protagonists who realise their own special power and go on to take great personal risks in order to change their reality. In day-to-day life, these powerful archetypes provide a structure that can release the ability of ordinary people to rise to challenges, take risks, break rules, and transform their lives”. There are many ways of defining what a hero is and what a protagonist is. A hero is usually the protagonist but this is not always the case and vice versa. For clarification purposes within this analysis a protagonist or hero is a character who drives the narrative and plot and who embarks upon a learning journey that changes them. A writer’s construction of the hero will Is this Essay helpful? Join OPPapers to read more and access more than 325,000 just like it! get better grades be analysed using examples from Kate Grenville’s Lilian’s Story, Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code and Stephen King’s Carrie in comparison to Joseph Campbell’s (1949, p. 36) “destiny of Everyman” by firstly illuminating who the hero’s and protagonist’s are, how the character of the hero has been portrayed and how their journey’s compare. Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code construction of the hero is by no means a clear one as Lilian’s Story is. There are three main characters, Jacques Saunière, Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu. Jacques is a protagonist, despite the fact that he is dead for majority of the novel, his puzzles and codes left for his granddaughter drive the narrative. However...

Words: 376 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

V for Vendeta

...3434 11/23/15 V for Vendetta Analysis WR 111 C Analysis In the film, V for Vendetta, the director James McTeigue implies that ideas are bulletproof because the idea lives on through the people you've touched. The movie starts off with V saving a fearful women named Evey. She is scared of everything because her parents were killed and she watched her mother get beaten by government officials. V then goes on to explain his beliefs and ideas, and he even shows her his first act of rebellion by destroying the Old Bailey. They then run into each other a couple more times before the main events of V imprisoning Evey to help her lose her fears. She ends up wanting to die rather than give up any information for V's arrest. V does this to help her lose her fears and see what he had to go through partially. His main thing was for her to lose her fears so she would help him execute his main act of rebellion to free the society of their fear and for his ideas to live on. Once he gets all of London to follow his idea, he knows his idea will be bulletproof and it will live on through everyone he touched. V was a victim of a government ran epidemic. The government was experimenting on London natives trying to find a substance to make a super soldier who held a cure and use a illness to be a devastating chemical warfare weapon. V actually held the cure and he was the super soldier the government was trying to make. The whole laboratory went up in flames and burned down unfortunately...

Words: 1076 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

To Kill A Mockingbird Empathy Essay

...To Kill a Mockingbird Empathy Literary Analysis “Human morality is unthinkable without empathy” (Frans de Wall). In Harper Lee’s book, To Kill a Mockingbird, the main theme is empathy, and it is exemplified through the different character’s actions and thoughts. Harper Lee believes that many of the characters express this trait which include Atticus, Jem, and Scout. This is clearly shown by the events that take place in the book. Atticus is the character that introduces the theme of empathy to Scout and Jem. He has a very famous line of dialogue that exemplifies empathy, ”You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view...until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” (39). Another event that shows empathy is when Atticus takes the case for Tom Robinson, because he knows that it is not right to condemn an innocent man on the sole intent of racism (99). The statement Atticus makes and the defense of Tom robinson shows the empathy he has toward other people and how he teaches that to his children. Jem is another character that has begun to show empathy throughout the book whilst growing up. During the trial Jem is seen crying and muttering that the verdict of the jury is not right toward Tom...

Words: 517 - Pages: 3