1. Ordinary People By Judith Guest
“…Experiences need to be integrated into the whole of one’s life in order to outlive them and break their spell of shame and rage.”
-Judith Guest, June 2014,
on what she wished for some of the characters she creates.
Ordinary People
By Judith Guest

2. About Judith Guest Born in 1936 in Detroit, Michigan
Graduated from Royal Oak Dondero High School in 1954
Studied English and psychology at the University of Michigan and graduated with a BA in Education in 1958
Married her college sweetheart
Got a job teaching first grade in Garden City, Michigan
Got pregnant and had a baby boy (all within 14 months)

3. About Judith Guest She first began writing at age 10 (in secret)
She continue writing as a young newlywed and mother (still in secret)
Continued teaching and had two more sons
In 1970, she wrote a short story and sent it to a national contest, where it won 60th prize out of 100
Her reward was the book One Way to Write Your Novel by Richard Perry
After reading the book, she spent three years writing a novel, eventually quitting teaching to focus on her writing

4. Ordinary People
When she finished Ordinary People, and began submitting it to publishers, the first publisher turned it down.
The second publisher sent a rejection letter saying, “While the book has some satiric bite, overall the level of writing does not sustain interest and we will have to decline it.”
The third publisher, Viking Press, held it for eight months and then decided to publish. It was published in 1976.
Other novels she later had published (by several publishers) include Second Heaven, Killing Time in St. Cloud, Errands, The Tarnished Eye, White in the Moon, Second Heaven, and A Different Life.

5. Ordinary People Summary
Ordinary People tells the story of a year in the life of the Jarretts, a wealthy sub urban family coping with the aftermath of the death of the eldest son, Buck. Six months after Buck’s death, the younger brother, Conrad, attempts suicide. Conrad is committed to a psychiatric hospital for several months, after which he returns home and attempts to resume his life.

6. Ordinary People Summary
Conrad’s mother deals with the trauma by attempting to maintain an almost maniacally perfect household and family. His father, a successful tax attorney, encourages Conrad to see psychiatrist Dr. Tyrone Berger.
With Berger, Conrad slowly uncovers some of the sources of his depression, which include identity crisis and survivor’s guilt.
Conrad’s father begins seeing Berger, as well, and begins to understand how the traumatic events have led to a strained marriage and a mid-life crisis.

7. Ordinary People Characters
Conrad Keith Jarrett: Son of Beth and Calvin, “Con or “Connie” to friends and family. Celebrates his 18th birthday midway through the novel. Like his late brother, he is a good swimmer.
Calvin Jarrett (“Cal”), 41: Cal’s professional success has enabled him to provide a comfortable life for his wife and sons. This was a source of pride for him, as he had grown up in a Detroit orphanage, never knowing his father. His mother died when he was 11.
Beth Jarrett, 39: Beth is a homemaker who has long kept the Jarrett household neat and well-organized, so much so, it seems almost neurotic. She plays golf and is very active in the community.

8. Ordinary People Characters
Jordan “Buck” Jarrett: The son who died in the sailing accident. Con’s memories depict him as a daredevil but also a natural leader.
Dr. Tyronne Berger: The psychiatrist who helps Conrad work through his issues.
Dr. Crawford: A psychiatrist at the hospital who helped him. Conrad trusted him as the only doctor who really understood him, and he referred Con to Berger.
Jeannine Pratt: A new student at Lake Forest who eventually becomes Conrad’s girlfriend. Like him, she has a dark episode in her recent past.
Arnold Bacon: Calvin’s mentor and father figure in college and law school He died a few years before the story.

9. Ordinary People Characters
Joe Lazenby: One of Conrad’s friends, who drives him to school. He is one of the few friends who realizes Conrad is still having trouble.
Kevin Stillman: A member of Lazenby’s carpool and the swim team’s diver, he can be very insensitive.
Carole Lazenby: Joe Lazenby’s mother and a friend to Beth Jarrett.
Ray Hanley: Calvin’s law partner and longtime friend. Calvin had consoled Ray seven years earlier during a time when his wife, Nancy, had left him over an extramarital affair.
Nancy Hanley: Ray’s wife, who is very disillusioned about marriage.

10. Ordinary People Characters
Cherry: She is 19 and is Ray and Calvin’s current secretary.
Howard: Beth’s father. Very jovial, often speaks in clichés.
Ellen: Beth’s mother. Her outward cordiality masks critical tendencies similar to those of her daughter.
Karen Susan Aldrich: A fellow patient at the mental hospiital and friend to Conrad.
Mr. Faughnan: The choir director at Lake Forest.
Coach Salan: The Lake Forest swim coach. Conrad does not like him.

11. Major Themes Grief and the different ways people deal with it
Family dynamics
Suicide
Survivor’s Guilt
Despression

12. Stylistic Choices
Chapters alternate between the perspectives of Conrad and Calvin
Written in third person limited omniscient narration entirely in the present tense.