Conflict In Judith Guest's Ordinary People

Ordinary People by Judith Guest is a novel about both Conrad and Calvin Jarrett. Throughout this novel there are several conflicts, because it is focused on two different people the conflicts are specific to a certain person. The main concern in this story in about Conrad and whether he will be okay and recover after his suicide attempt. Not only is the novel about Conrad it is also about Calvin. Calvin's story is more about Beth. He wants to be able to make amends with her. The biggest problem though is the communication between these two. They believe in two totally different things, Calvin believes that it needs to be resolved by talking it through while Beth thinks they should just move on because it is the past. As I read the story I tried to put myself in the main character's shoes so i could understand what the character was going through. Reading this novel caused me to rethink things and really decode conversations …show more content…
Con looked up to Buck and tried to be like him, and he is forced to create his own identity after Buck dies. Linked to issues of alienation and loneliness is the search for identity. Buck's death has forced Cal and Con to examine their own lives. Each man is forced by circumstance to modify his identity, as the familiar roles they had played in the family vanished when Buck died. Beth's refusal to understand that life has changed for the family leads her to flee instead of transforming herself, suggesting the importance of changing one's opinion of one's self in the face of difficult situations. Con repeatedly that he knows who he is, but he is trying so hard to hide his feelings that he represses his identity, too. It is only after Con expresses his feelings that he begins to understand who he really is. Cal is also prevented from expressing his feelings; his inability to connect with Beth forces him to discover who he is and what he