Ordinary People

Cal Jarrett is the second protagonist of Ordinary People. He is “forty-one, U.S. citizen, tax attorney, husband, father. Orphaned at the age of eleven” (7). Like the rest of his family, Cal craves order and control in his life and feels threatened when this feels impossible. He is a loving father and husband and grieves more openly for Buck than Beth and Conrad do.

Cal grew up in the Evangelical Home for Orphans and Old People from the age of four, even though his mother didn’t pass away until he was 11. He never had a father figure in his life until he met his mentor, Arnold Bacon, as a young tax attorney. However, when Cal decided to marry Beth, Bacon cut off all contact with him because he felt that Cal was sacrificing his career to pursue a family. With no father figure to model his own fatherhood after, Cal is insecure about how to be a supportive parent.

Cal’s primary conflict with his family is feeling like he has to choose between supporting Conrad and supporting Beth, and he is unable to make a decision. Cal prioritizes safety, which leads him to avoid conflict and take action toward fixing the root of their family’s problems. When Cal starts seeing Dr. Berger, he talks about how he feels like he is on the fence, stuck between the two of them. Eventually, he tells Dr. Berger, “I’m not a drifter. I’m not on any fence. I’m not any of those things. Except maybe a lousy husband and father” (147). Cal admits his insecurities about his role in the family and is finally able to move toward healing his relationship with Conrad.

After Beth leaves, Cal sits down with Conrad and the two of them are honest with each other at last. Conrad admits, “You know, I used to figure you for a handle on everything. You knew it all, even though you grew up alone, with nobody looking after you—” (258). Conrad finally sees the humanity in his father: He is not perfect, and his difficult upbringing still affects him. However, Cal is a dynamic character who is changed for the better by the end of the novel.

Beth, the matriarch of the Jarrett family, maintains the image of the perfect wife and mother. She is “[s]o beautiful in every detail that men and women both like to look at her” (25), and Cal is still madly in love with her after 21 years of marriage. Her relationship with Conrad, on the other hand, is far from perfect. Conrad feels that Beth has always hated him, and he has spent his entire life doing all he can to earn her approval. Beth’s desire for perfection often seems against the nature of family life; for example, she lashed out when Conrad and Buck were children for making messes, and she refuses to visit Conrad after his suicide attempt because she feels it was an attack on her.

Though Cal loves Beth, he is still aware of her flaws. As Beth acts coldly toward Conrad and strives to rebuild their image as a perfect family, Cal begins to wonder if his motive for never committing adultery was truly out of his love for her or out of his fear of her. As the novel progresses, Cal begins to doubt whether it is in Beth’s nature to forgive. As the grief cracks Beth’s perfect image, Cal sees that: “inside, what he has glimpsed is not order, but chaos; not practicality at all, but stubborn, incredible impulse” (254). This realization is the final blow to their fractured marriage, and the fight that follows is the last they have before Beth leaves her family.

Dr. Berger is the psychiatrist assigned to Conrad following his eight-month stay at the hospital. He is described as having “dark skin, dark crinkly hair sprouting in tufts about his face, a body that hunches forward, an elongated question mark” (38). His most distinguishing characteristic is his piercing blue eyes. His age is hard to determine; “[h]e could be twenty-five, he could be forty” (41-42). He is eccentric at first, and certainly not the type of psychiatrist Conrad was expecting to work with. However, he is exactly the kind that he needed. Dr. Berger immediately establishes that he doesn’t find control useful, making him a foil for the Jarrett family.

Before long, Conrad begins to look forward to his sessions with Dr. Berger. They help him feel better, and he soon comes to view Dr. Berger not only as his doctor but as a friend. Dr. Berger feels the same way about Conrad, and this friendship allows for another layer of trust between them. Dr. Berger is reliable and not afraid to push Conrad to allow himself to feel. He helps Conrad discover the root of his emotional blockage, and he also helps Cal decipher his relationship issues with Beth. He is a kind and caring physician who treats mental health as a real problem that needs real solutions.

Joe Lazenby was Conrad’s best friend and a friend of Buck’s when he was alive. Lazenby is on the swim team with Conrad and is always quick to offer him a ride and include him in the friend group. He is the only one who stands up for Conrad and remains loyal to him, even when he is pushed away. Lazenby pushes Conrad to open up and share his grief, saying, “I don’t know why you want to be alone in this, but I wouldn’t shit you, man. I miss him too” (181). Conrad’s inability to share with Lazenby shows the nonlinear nature of grief, and their reconciliation at the end encapsulates the growth Conrad undergoes. Lazenby remains a supportive character from start to finish, and he is eager to repair their friendship when Conrad shows up at his house in the Epilogue. With this, Lazenby represents the value of friends and community while grieving.

Jeanine Pratt is the new girl in school who catches Conrad’s eye the very first day he sees her. Jeanine has peach-colored hair and is a gifted singer who “has applied for a music scholarship to the University of Michigan [and] takes private voice lessons” (101). Several months after they meet, Conrad finally works up the courage to ask her out. Not long after that, they become boyfriend and girlfriend. Jeanine and Conrad share a love of music, but they also provide much-needed emotional support to each other. Conrad finds comfort in feeling needed by Jeanine and tells her things that he normally keeps to himself. Likewise, Jeanine finds a confidant in Conrad with whom she can discuss her parents’ divorce and her past.

Jordan “Buck” Jarrett’s presence haunts the Jarrett family. Buck was 14 months older than Conrad and was considered the perfect child, and Conrad modeled himself after him. He had the same interests and the same friends, and he pushed himself to excel in academics. In some ways, Buck is a foil for Conrad because he “never worried about anything” (144), while Conrad is anxious and eager to please. Buck was more reckless and free-spirited than Conrad, who prefers order and safety, like their father.

Buck drowned in a sailing accident, and in the wake of his death, Conrad did everything he could to become Buck. This was an impossible task and culminated in Conrad’s suicide attempt. Thanks to Dr. Berger’s therapy sessions and connecting with others, Conrad learns to forgive himself for surviving when Buck didn’t and to embrace his own identity, and not his brother’s.