62 pages • 2 hours read
Judith GuestOrdinary People
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1976A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Essay Topics
Guest employs the use of a third-person point of view to tell the story but alternates between Conrad and Cal’s perspectives. How does this technique emphasize the theme of family and identity in the novel?
What stance does Ordinary People take on mental health and society’s relationship to it? In what ways has society’s relationship with mental health changed since the publication of this novel? In what ways has it stayed the same?
Compare and contrast Beth and Conrad, including their grieving processes and their relationships with Cal.
The idea of control is a major theme throughout the novel. How does Conrad’s idea about control change after he begins meeting with Dr. Berger?
How does forgiveness intersect with the various forms of grief exhibited by Conrad, Cal, and Beth?
Describe the relationship between Cal and Bacon. How did Bacon influence Cal’s relationship with his sons? Be sure to include the positive and negative aspects of this influence.
Cal discovers toward the end of the novel that Beth’s appearance of perfection is actually “chaos; not practicality at all, but stubborn, incredible impulse” (254). Elaborate on this, tracking Beth’s presentation of perfection and instances where chaos breaks through.
Cal and Conrad both struggle with identity. Do they succeed in finding out who they are by the end of the novel?
What does the novel have to say about society’s idea of a “normal” or “ordinary” family?
Describe the parallels between Conrad’s mental health recovery and his coming-of-age arc.
