Ordinary People (1976) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

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Characters/People edit see section history

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• Conrad Jarrett: Conrad is the main character and narrator. We meet him after he has been released from treatment after having tried to commit suicide stemming from survivor's guilt after the sailing accident that killed his older brother.
• Calvin Jarrett: Conrad and Buck's father. He is the other narrator of the story, as we see from his point of view as he desperately tries to keep his floundering family together.
• Jordan 'Buck' Jarrett: The Jarretts' older son who was beloved by everyone. Prior to the beginning of the story, Buck died in a sailing accident, which Conrad survived.
• Beth Jarrett: Conrad and Buck's mother, Calvin's wife. Her relationships with both her son and her husband are very strained as a result of what the family has been through.
• Dr. Tyrone Berger: Conrad's therapist after being released from the hospital. Conrad grows close to Berger in a way he can't be close to his parents.
• Jeannine Pratt: Conrad's girlfriend, his one grip on normalcy. As they bond over the dark secrets in each of their pasts, they grow more capable to move on with their lives.
• Joe Lazenby: Conrad and Buck's childhood friend and teammate, he is Conrad's closest friend.
• Karen Susan Aldrich: Karen was a friend of Conrad's in the mental institution. Conrad attempts to be friends with her after they are released, but it proves too difficult for her.
• Dr. Crawford: We see Crawford only in Conrad's memories. He was Conrad's doctor in the institution.
• Kevin Stillman: Conrad's teammate on the swim team who is constantly antagonizing him. He is a diver on the swim team.
• Ray Hanley: Cal's partner as a tax attorney. He has two daughters with his wife, Nancy, the oldest of which is Valerie, who has grown up and moved out. Years before, Nancy left Ray as a result of an affair with a secretary, through which Cal supported Ray. Now, through Cal's problems, Ray must support his longtime friend.
• Howard Butler: Conrad's grandfather, Beth's father.
• Ellen Butler: Conrad's grandmother, Beth's mother. Calvin speculates that Beth's harshness is a product of her mother's personality.
• Van Buren: Conrad's teammate on the swim team.
• Truan: Conrad's teammate on the swim team.
• Donald Genthe: Conrad's teammate on the swim team. His parents are Ed and Marty, friends of the Jarretts.
• Ward and Audrey Butler: Beth's brother and his wife. They live in Texas, with their children, Charlie and Kerry. Cal and Beth visit them for a few days to get away from their trying lives.
• Coach Salan: Conrad's swim coach at Lake Forest High School. He is uncomfortable with Conrad's situation and treats him harshly.
• Suzanne Mosely: A classmate of Conrad's. She is very insecure and people make fun of her. Conrad tries to befriend her.
• Mr. Faughnan: Conrad and Jeannine's choir director at Lake Forest High School.
• Arnold Bacon: Calvin's law professor, who served as a father figure. He does not appear directly in the story, as he died several years earlier.
• Cherry: Cal and Ray's secretary in their law office.
• Carole Lazenby: Joe's mother. She is a friend of Cal and Beth's.
• Mike Pratt: Jeannine's little brother, eleven years old.
• Leo: A friend of Conrad's in the mental hospital. We see him only in Conrad's memories.
• Robbie Clay: A friend of Conrad's in the mental hospital. We see him only in Conrad's memories.
• Ed and Marty Genthe: Friends of Cal and Beth. Their son, Donald, is Conrad's teammate.
• Mac and Ann Kline: Friends of Cal and Beth. Mac is an English professor at Lake Forest College. It is implied that they have a son on Conrad's swim team, but Conrad never mentions him.
• Phil and Sara Murray: Friends of Cal and Beth.
• Miss Mellon: Conrad's English teacher. Conrad thinks she is a nice person and has something of a crush on her.

Quotes edit see section history

• “Nobody’s role is simple, these days. Not even a kid’s. It used to mean minding your manners, respecting those who were bigger than you, treating each day as a surprise package, waiting to be opened. Not anymore. So what’s changed? Not enough surprises? Too many, maybe.”

• “Haven’t lost your sense of humor after all but your sense of identity is what seems to have been misplaced. No. Wrong. You don’t lose what you never had.”

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• The fear behind the fear of losing people is that there might have been something you could have done to prevent it.

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• “Like she can’t love you enough. Like she loves you as much as she’s able. Perspective, kiddo, remember? Maybe she’s afraid, maybe it’s hard for her to give love.”

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• He begins to cry again. “For killing him, don’t you know that? For letting him drown!”

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• So truth is in a certain feeling of permanence that presses around the moment. They are ordinary people, after all.

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• Because it has always been easier to believe himself capable of evil than to accept evil in others.

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• Like the loss of Jordan, his elder, his light-hearted son, the one who never worried, who believed they would all live forever. Two sons, Jordan and Conrad, born fourteen months apart. One now deceased.

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• To have a reason to get up in the morning, it is necessary to possess a guiding principle. A belief of some kind. A bumper sticker, if you will.

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• “Geez, if I could get through to you, kiddo, that depression is not sobbing and crying and giving vent, it is plain and simple reduction of feeling. Reduction, see? Of all feeling. People who keep stiff upper lips find that it’s damn hard to smile.”

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• You can’t feel pain, you aren’t gonna feel anything else, either. And the world is full of pain. Also joy. Evil. Goodness. Horror and love. You name it, it’s there. Sealing yourself off is just going through the motions, get it?”

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• Not since the summer before last and an unexpected July storm on Lake Michigan. He had left off being a perfectionist then, when he discovered that not promptly kept appointments, not a house circumspectly clean, not membership in Onwentsia, or the Lake Forest Golf and Country Club, or the Lawyers’ Club, not power, or knowledge, or goodness—not anything—cleared you through the terrifying office of chance; that it is chance and not perfection that rules the world.

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Setting & Locations edit see section history

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• Lake Forest, Illinois: The Jarretts live here and this is where most of the story is set.
• Evanston, Illinois: Cal's law practice is located here, as is Dr. Berger's office.
• Lake Forest High School: Conrad's high school.
• Skokie, Illinois: Karen's hometown.

First Sentence edit see section history

Series & Lists edit see section history

Preceded by Loving / Living / Party Going, and followed by The Shell Seekers.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Judith Guest (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Awards edit see section history

• Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize (1976)

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: PZ4.G954 Or
• Dewey: 813.54

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Adult themes: family dysfunction, loss of son/brother

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Literature & Fiction › Literary
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Contemporary

Movie Connections edit see section history

• Ordinary People (1980) (IMDb): Starring Mary Tyler Moore, Donald Sutherland, Judd Hirsch, Elizabeth McGovern and Timothy Hutton (in an Oscar-winning role). Directed by Robert Redford.

Books That Cite This Book edit see section history