Ordinary People Literary Analysis

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According to Thomas Gray, “ignorance is bliss”. He implies that it often seems easier to ignore the truth, whether that choice is made consciously or not. However, truth will find its way to shatter ignorance, and the decision to focus on reality over the fractured remains of illusion is what truly brings us bliss. In the novel Ordinary People by Judith Guest, the Jarrett family has trouble focusing on the reality of their problems. Conrad Jarrett, a teenage boy, struggles with making sense of his emotions after the death of his brother Jordan Jarrett, nicknamed Buck. This traumatic experience ultimately leads to Conrad’s suicide attempt, and throughout the novel, the Jarrett family is recovering after his return from the hospital. His mother …show more content…
At the end of the book, Beth decides to leave the family for an indefinite period of time to go to Europe, like she did after Conrad’s suicide attempt. Calvin tries to suggest counseling, and he tells Beth, “‘I want to talk to you, Beth, but when I try you freeze me out’” (Guest 234). Guest narrates Beth’s response: “‘Well, what do you expect from an emotional cripple?’ she blazes. ‘That's what you really think of me. I won't have it, Cal’” (235). Beth ends up leaving and running away from her family’s problems. In this scene, it is ironic when Beth refers to herself as an “emotional cripple”. She is implying that she is not an emotional cripple and that Calvin incorrectly sees her as one; however, this statement is the closest she has ever been actually admitting reality. The truth is that she is extremely emotionally damaged, but she outright denies it. The negative connotation of the word “cripple” shows her negative view of accepting problems as reality, which would cripple her. She “won’t have it” with Calvin, who is trying to make her face her issues, and Beth not having it with reality is what is making her run away. She does not want to see the truth, which makes it too hard to deal with her blurred perceptions crashing down. Guest uses the word “blazes” to suggest how the illusions Beth has created are finally starting to burn down. Usually Beth “freezes” Calvin out, keeping her illusions frozen in front of her, but Calvin’s insistence on talking about her problems finally leaves Beth’s illusions in ashes, as shown when she acknowledges reality for once in her “cripple” comment. The reality of her emotional turmoil causes her to seek more illusions, which is why she needs to leave the family. Her problems are going in circles; she is leaving her home for Europe like she did when Conrad was in the
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