Values in Literature

Throughout history, authors have included their own personal values intheir stories. The values included in their novel demonstrate to readers the author’s perspective on certain values. The values incorporated in literature have become a great way to communicate to readers the importance of functioning different values and how they affect the lives of different characters. The novels The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley are great examples of how the struggle through adversity can reform ones values causing them to also gain the appreciation for new ones. In life, situations can cause ones values to change. In The Lovely Bones the values of a character were altered after a life changing situation. After the murder of his 14 year old daughter Susie, Jack Salmon’s values on life had changed forever. Thinking he could never move on, Jack finally found acceptance eight years after Susie’s death “Last night it had been my father who had finally said it, ‘She’s never coming home.’ A clear and easy piece of truth that everyone who had ever known me had accepted. But he needed to say it”. Here Jack Salmon realizes that even without his daughter, life goes on. His struggle to find acceptance allowed him to learn to appreciate his life instead of despising it for the fact that his daughter is gone. This adversity had caused him to reform his values once he gained the closure he needed. Though his values were altered, Jack also learnt to cherish others. The quote above in addition, demonstrated to readers Jack’s new found ability to have faith. At first it was not easy; the death of Susie led him to take it upon himself to find the killer. Soon this obsession had taken over him and it became the sole thing he focused on. To stop and find the closure he so badly needed took courage. The audacity he had to find peace soon gained him the value of faith, faith that life goes on even if it meant without Suzie. From The Lovely Bones, readers

Cited: Sebold, Alice. The Lovely Bones. Unabridged ed. New York: Hachette Audio, 2007.Print Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. Boston: Public Domain Books, 1993.Print.