Summary
The novel The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold is a tragic story about a 14-year old girl named Susie Salmon and her brutal murder that occurred on December 6th, 1973. She was raped and killed by her neighbor, Mr. Harvey in a hole he had dug in a cornfield by their houses. Her body was then put into a safe and thrown into the sinkhole. Susie then passes on to heaven, and in heaven she finds she can watch over her family and has her own version of heaven. She also finds all the other young girls Mr. Harvey had killed. As time goes on, the detective on the case of her disappearance finds Susie's belongings and one body part, confirming her death to the people on Earth. As Susie was crossing over she accidentally touched a girl named Ruth Connors. This makes a connection between the two girls, and she watches over her from heaven too, as well as the boy she liked in school, Ray Singh.
Susie's dad, Jack becomes obsessed with Susie's death, and never stopped trying to find her killer. One day, Mr. Harvey was building a tent in his backyard, and Jack asked if he needed help. He suddenly gets the feeling that Mr. Harvey killed her or that he knew something about her death. Susie's mother, Abigail, never really wanted to be a mother, and finds herself stuck in the past because of Susie's death. She leaves Jack and starts somewhere new. Lindsey, Susie's sister, becomes suspicious of Mr. Harvey as she gets older. One day, she breaks into his house and finds drawings of the hole in the cornfield and plans to kill her. Mr. Harvey comes home and Lindsey barely escapes from his house with the evidence. However, before they can get to him, he packs his things and leaves. They still continue to look for him in other states and find clues that lead to more murders he committed. Years later, Jack has a heart attack and Abigail comes home after 5 years, she realizes she still loves him and stays.
Ruth Connors comes back to her hometown and visit the sinkhole before it is closed up with Ray. Susie inhabits Ruth's body for a short amount of time and makes love to Ray. Susie feels as if she can move on to the other part of heaven, and let go of watching over the living. At the end of the novel, Susie watches Mr. Harvey get scared of a falling icicle and stumble backwards off of a cliff into a ravine.
The novel The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold is a tragic story about a 14-year old girl named Susie Salmon and her brutal murder that occurred on December 6th, 1973. She was raped and killed by her neighbor, Mr. Harvey in a hole he had dug in a cornfield by their houses. Her body was then put into a safe and thrown into the sinkhole. Susie then passes on to heaven, and in heaven she finds she can watch over her family and has her own version of heaven. She also finds all the other young girls Mr. Harvey had killed. As time goes on, the detective on the case of her disappearance finds Susie's belongings and one body part, confirming her death to the people on Earth. As Susie was crossing over she accidentally touched a girl named Ruth Connors. This makes a connection between the two girls, and she watches over her from heaven too, as well as the boy she liked in school, Ray Singh.
Susie's dad, Jack becomes obsessed with Susie's death, and never stopped trying to find her killer. One day, Mr. Harvey was building a tent in his backyard, and Jack asked if he needed help. He suddenly gets the feeling that Mr. Harvey killed her or that he knew something about her death. Susie's mother, Abigail, never really wanted to be a mother, and finds herself stuck in the past because of Susie's death. She leaves Jack and starts somewhere new. Lindsey, Susie's sister, becomes suspicious of Mr. Harvey as she gets older. One day, she breaks into his house and finds drawings of the hole in the cornfield and plans to kill her. Mr. Harvey comes home and Lindsey barely escapes from his house with the evidence. However, before they can get to him, he packs his things and leaves. They still continue to look for him in other states and find clues that lead to more murders he committed. Years later, Jack has a heart attack and Abigail comes home after 5 years, she realizes she still loves him and stays.
Ruth Connors comes back to her hometown and visit the sinkhole before it is closed up with Ray. Susie inhabits Ruth's body for a short amount of time and makes love to Ray. Susie feels as if she can move on to the other part of heaven, and let go of watching over the living. At the end of the novel, Susie watches Mr. Harvey get scared of a falling icicle and stumble backwards off of a cliff into a ravine.
Themes
Time: It took a lot of time for every character to find closure and heal from Susie's death. It also took a lot of time for Susie to let go of watching over her family and crossing over to the other part of heaven.
Death: Susie's death was very tragic and grim, but extremely realistic in our everyday lives. Many of us are sheltered from the harsh reality of death and make it a taboo topic. It is a very fragile thing.
Healing: Everyone has different ways of coping as well as healing when terrible things happen to the ones we love.
Time: It took a lot of time for every character to find closure and heal from Susie's death. It also took a lot of time for Susie to let go of watching over her family and crossing over to the other part of heaven.
Death: Susie's death was very tragic and grim, but extremely realistic in our everyday lives. Many of us are sheltered from the harsh reality of death and make it a taboo topic. It is a very fragile thing.
Healing: Everyone has different ways of coping as well as healing when terrible things happen to the ones we love.
Quote
"Nothing is ever certain" (21).
Although this quote is very simple, it has a lot of meaning to it. I like this quote because it is a reminder of the harsh reality that not everything will happen the way you thought it would. Hope is the one thing that keeps people going and that even if things do not turn out the way we thought they would, that things will still be okay in the end.
"Nothing is ever certain" (21).
Although this quote is very simple, it has a lot of meaning to it. I like this quote because it is a reminder of the harsh reality that not everything will happen the way you thought it would. Hope is the one thing that keeps people going and that even if things do not turn out the way we thought they would, that things will still be okay in the end.
Argument
Holding onto the past makes it harder for someone to move on and grow as an individual.
Holding onto the past makes it harder for someone to move on and grow as an individual.