The Lovely Bones Essay: The novel ‘The Lovely Bones’ was written by Alice Sebold, an American writer. She made her literary mark by this debut novel which was published in 2002 and became a bestseller. The story is about a teenage girl named Susie who was raped and killed on her way home from school. After being killed, Susie goes off to heaven and the book is written from Susie’s point of view as she watches from heaven. The painful experience leaves a psychological scar in her mind. The story is based on an important theme of grief that her friends and family go through in an attempt to cope with their loss. The death of a loved one results in a state of trauma which the family members try to deal with in different ways.
The story takes place in a small town in Pennsylvania, where any such crime seems unlikely to happen and people usually lead a happy life. But the brutal murder of Susie shattered the easygoing life of the town. Susie finds it difficult to let go of what has happened to her and can’t forget her family, friends, and her life back on earth. For a long time, her body remains untraceable, and her murderer is not identified and punished. This also makes her after-life in heaven very difficult and stressful.
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The Lovely Bones explores how an untimely death of a loved one impacts and affects others in different ways. In the novel, Susie’s death causes her mother Abigail to distance herself from her family completely whereas her father Jack becomes obsessed with finding the killer. The other characters that seem to have the hardest impact on Susie’s death are Lindsey Salmon, the younger sister of Susie, and Ruth Connors, a friend of Susie.
The Lovely Bone is a novel that catches the attention of readers from the very opening lines. The book begins with the narration by Susie Salmon, who has been dead for quite some time. Throughout the story, Susie talks about her experiences in heaven and the connections that she feels with friends and family members that she left behind on earth. Heaven is not perfect for Susie because she still bears the pain of the devastating experience that happened to her. Susie’s experience of heaven as conceptualized by Alice Sebold doesn’t relate to commonly-held cultural or religious interpretations of the afterlife. As per the author, heaven is a complex yet progressive world in which the soul continues to grow and develop towards maturity. It is interesting to note how Sebold explains the supernatural connection Susie has with the people on earth and how the book ends with a new perspective of these supernatural aspects.
Susie not only follows her family’s journey through grief but also goes through her progress as her family begins to heal up and tries to move on. She gradually lessens her grip to influence them and remains happy with the small ways to communicate with them. Susie finally reaches a state of mind to accept that everything must happen in its own time and becomes ready to move on in her afterlife.
In the novel, Susie knows what everyone does and thinks and she shares her feelings with the readers. This is a very unique way of storytelling by describing all the character’s thoughts and actions. This allows readers to understand the characters better and they can explore the story deeper. By getting a broader picture, it helps us to analyze the story in a meaningful way.
Short Essay on The Lovely Bones
The novel ‘The Lovely Bones’ is the debut novel by American author Alice Sebold. The story became popular soon after it was published in 2002 due to its unique storytelling technique. The story is narrated by the protagonist of the story Susie who is already dead. Susie reveals the fact that she was raped and murdered by her neighbor and shares her story from heaven. This theme immediately draws the attention of readers and can leave a deep impact as the story unfolds.
The story is a blend of hard reality and supernatural aspects. On one side there is love, hatred, and crime and on the other side, there is a description of afterlife desires and expectations. The main theme is the grief that surrounds each character, especially those who are close to Susie. Another theme of good versus evil has also flowed throughout the story which involves the Salmon family dealing with the impact of evil and allowing goodness to flow out. This theme also emphasizes how much we need each other at the time of severe emotional stress. We feel helpless when someone dies, but the author uses the story and characters to tell us that with acceptance we can recover ourselves.
The title of this story is very typical but significant. It refers to the lead character Susie Salmon, the young girl who is brutally raped and murdered as the story reveals in the beginning. After her death, her body is not traceable so the bones refer to hers which her family and the police search. As she is very innocent and vulnerable under the attack, they are described as lovely.
The story is so popular among readers but it has also faced some criticism from different sections of society. Some of them feel the story is too frightening and depicts violence through the rape and murder of a teenage girl. Few people find the description of heaven as per Susie is not aligned with the traditional version of heaven and questions some religious aspects.
FAQ’s on The Lovely Bones Essay
Question 1.
Is ‘The Lovely Bones’ based on any true incident?
Answer:
The author of the book, Alice Sebold, once stated that the story was partially based on a real rape and murder of a young girl in Norristown.
Question 2.
What is the year of publication of the book ‘The Lovely Bones’?
Answer:
The book ‘The Lovely Bones’ was published in 2002.
Question 3.
What is one special aspect of the novel ‘The Lovely Bones’?
Answer:
The special aspect of the novel is the unique way of storytelling through the narrative of a dead person.
Question 4.
What does the title of the book ‘The Lovely Bones’ suggest?
Answer:
The title of the book ‘The Lovely Bones’ refers to Susie Salmon, a lovely young girl who was raped and murdered and her family searches for her body or bones.
Question 5.
How does the author describe her own version of heaven through the story ‘The Lovely Bones’?
Answer:
The author, Alice Sebold tells about an afterlife in which the spirit can grow towards maturity which is quite different from traditional versions of heaven.