Analysis of the Lovely Bones
Ellie Fotakis
In Alice Seabold’s novel The Lovely Bones, she depicts the journeys of a family’s struggle to face the murder of their daughter/sister. Seabold uses descriptive imagery and symbolism to show the harsh realities of each family member’ struggle. Susie plays a very important role in the family’s lives; her murder and their deep love for her is the reason her family cannot move on. Susie continues to try and contact her family any way possible to help them solve her murder and maybe allowing them to find closure to move on. Susie’s rape and murder was unheard of during the 1950’s it was not an easy crime to prove and it continue to be today as many rapists do not even set foot in jail. In The Lovely Bones on page 245 “…wavering line that tied my sister to my father. The invisible cord that can kill,” this symbolism shows the families bond to Susie is like cords that bind them all together in an unbreakable bond. This is a major shift within the novel due to the fact the cords are wavering meaning it is a sign for the family to move and that it will be ok. I can relate to losing a family member to murder and how painful it is to try to move on from the fact that a loved one is gone due to another human life, not because of old age or an illness. I believe the way a person dies effects how the family can move on peaceful and that we will have to face a death a certain way
In Alice Seabold’s novel The Lovely Bones, she depicts the journeys of a family’s struggle to face the murder of their daughter/sister. Seabold uses descriptive imagery and symbolism to show the harsh realities of each family member’ struggle. Susie plays a very important role in the family’s lives; her murder and their deep love for her is the reason her family cannot move on. Susie continues to try and contact her family any way possible to help them solve her murder and maybe allowing them to find closure to move on. Susie’s rape and murder was unheard of during the 1950’s it was not an easy crime to prove and it continue to be today as many rapists do not even set foot in jail. In The Lovely Bones on page 245 “…wavering line that tied my sister to my father. The invisible cord that can kill,” this symbolism shows the families bond to Susie is like cords that bind them all together in an unbreakable bond. This is a major shift within the novel due to the fact the cords are wavering meaning it is a sign for the family to move and that it will be ok. I can relate to losing a family member to murder and how painful it is to try to move on from the fact that a loved one is gone due to another human life, not because of old age or an illness. I believe the way a person dies effects how the family can move on peaceful and that we will have to face a death a certain way