The Lovely Bones Symbolism Essay

The Lovely Bones Symbolism Essay
Susie lies there motionless while a large, corpulent man moves on top of her. She tries to escape by
thinking of her mother calling her for dinner or her baby brother trying to show her a picture. Yet, no
matter how hard she attempts to remove her mind from the situation, Susie cannot ignore the great,
shining kitchen knife now looming over her. In this opening scene from The Lovely Bones by Alice
Sebold, readers are immediately made familiar with the context of the novel. Susie Salmon, the
narrator, is murdered at the young age of fourteen by her sinister neighbor, Mr. Harvey. Susie then
reports on the happenings on Earth from a place she calls, the Inbetween–a kind of purgatory that
insists Susie and her family find closure. Throughout the novel, Sebold uses the cornfield, the
Salmons' porch light, and an icicle as major symbols to help develop the setting and the characters.
The first symbol readers are introduced to is the cornfield, a setting representative of loss. Before
Mr. Harvey decides to take Susie's life, he convinces her to visit the "clubhouse" he made for the
neighborhood children. He says, "'I've made a little hiding place,'" (8). In this moment, ... Show
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Sebold employs an icicle to symbolize Susie's wish for revenge. While Lindsey, Susie's sister, and
her friends are away at camp, they are asked to plan a murder, a game Susie says is played
frequently in heaven, and she always answers the same way. She says, "I always chose the icicle: the
weapon melts away," (125). Susie is saying, if given the opportunity, she would use an icicle to
murder someone. The reader is able to infer that she, of course, means Mr. Harvey. The icicle then
suggests her wish to avenge her own death and the fact that her murder will never be solved. Her
admission reveals that she wants to inflict the same pain upon Mr. Harvey, and by extension his
family, with which her family struggles to cope throughout the
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The Lovely Bones By Alice Sebold
In Alice Sebold's novel, The Lovely Bones, the Salmon family learns that their fourteen year old
daughter, Susie Salmon, has been raped and murdered. Because of this her father, Jack, sister,
Lindsey, and mother, Abigail, all go through their own respective journeys in order to accept this
ordeal. During this time of grievance for Susie's family, her father, Jack, believes that the person
responsible for the murder of his daughter is his neighbour, a man named George Harvey, and
reports this to detective Len Fenerman. However, Len Fenerman becomes too preoccupied with his
affair with Abigail to aid Jack with his suspicions. Meanwhile, Susie's younger siblings Lindsey and
Buckley, try to learn how to cope with the loss of one of their very own, without their parent's
attention to aid them. In The Lovely Bones, Susie's father, mother, and sister, all explore the theme
of grief by going on their own pathways through the five stages of grief; denial, anger, bargaining,
depression, and acceptance, in order to come to terms with the brutal murder of their beloved Susie.
The first member of the Salmon family that begins to show the first step of the five stages of grief is
Susie's father Jack. Jack begins to show his denial towards the death of his daughter through his
hope that she could possibly be simply missing. When evidence is presented to him and Abigail in
the form of a school book which most likely belonged to his late daughter, Susie later narrates, "'But
it could be

The Lovely Bones Research Paper
Tragic events happen to people around the world and everyone has their own ways to grieve and
cope. In the sad but eye–opening novel, The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold 14–year old Susie
Salmon is raped and murdered. The family is left to grieve, and readers see that the mother in the
story grieves in the worst way imaginable. First, the mother began to leave her family
psychologically, making Buckley feel neglected. Next, Abigail is selfish and drops her
responsibilities as a mother in order for herself to be satisfied not caring about how her son is
handling this ghastly circumstance. Lastly, she fails Buckley as a mother because he is left to learn
about what life is, all on his own. Abigail has every right to grieve in her own way, but her ... Show
An example is when "she would focus on him for a few minutes, and then she would allow herself
to drift away from her house and home and think of Len" (158). Her affair with Len is making her
ignore her own child when Buckley is attempting to talk to her. These are the most important years
for a child developmentally because they learn how to communicate and interact with others. If a
mother constantly disregards a child then they learn how to blend into shadows so they do not make
it harder for everyone else. If readers pay attention they will see how Buckley seems to fade into the
background. When they find out that their dad is in the hospital Abigail goes to grab "her coat and
keys and lipstick" and leaves Lindsey with Buckley (143). To her, grabbing lipstick to impress Len
is more important than bringing her frightened children with her. Putting her own selfish needs
above her children is unacceptable because they need a parent that can guide them through life's
hardest obstacles. Because Buckley has no control of where he is sent, he gets put with a friend's
family instead of being taken to see his severely injured father, leaving him to wonder how it will
end. Since Abigail is being insensitive to the people around her, Buckley has to struggle on his own
like an

The Lovely Bones Essay
Our narrator Susie Salmon is already in heaven. Murdered by a neighbor when she was only
fourteen years old, Susie tells us what it is like to be in her new place. "When I first entered heaven I
thought everyone saw what I saw. That in everyone's heaven there were soccer goalposts in the
distance and lumbering women throwing shot put and javelin. That all the buildings were like
suburban northeast high schools built in the 1960s." Later she learns that heaven is whatever you
truly want it to be and, sometimes, other people's version of heaven intercepts with your own. Susie
meets another girl, Holly, on her third day in heaven and they end up sharing their ideal home ––– a
duplex. Franny, their intake counselor, helps them adjust. As ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
It is evident that something has changed in the Salmon household. Susie worries most about her
gifted and petulant sister Lindsay. Lindsay is only one year younger but still is not told directly
about what's happened to Susie; instead she hears telephone snippets and bits of conversations
between her parents and the police. After hearing her father describe Susie's features, she asks her
father not to lie to her, so he doesn't; but even answering her question, he can't face the truth of his
words. Susie watches Lindsay sitting alone in her bedroom trying to harden herself. As the story
unfolds, it is clear that Lindsay carries the hardest burden, because no one will ever be able to look
at her and not think about Susie. By losing her sister, Lindsay is in danger of being robbed of
herself. It is insight like this that made me just love reading this novel. Perhaps it is because Susie is
narrating from heaven that she has a true and believable omniscient point of view. Because she
cares, all of the characters are explored equally and their motivations, reactions and actions are
clearly and evenly relayed. Not that she isn't capable of curling her lip in heaven, nor is she so
accepting that she doesn't try to make

The Lovely Bones And Middlesex
Throughout The Lovely Bones and Middlesex, Alice Sebold and Jeffrey Eugenides, respectively,
articulate the emotional journeys that both of their characters endure when faced with grief.
Although they bear similarities, such as how both characters are able to move towards the idea of
acceptance, the differences between The Lovely Bones and Middlesex are clear in the paths that
each character takes in the various stages of grief to reach their destination of inner peace. Elisabeth
Kübler–Ross, a Swiss–American psychiatrist, studied the various stages of grief and describes them
as: "not linear; neither are they equal in their experience. People 's grief's, and other reactions to
emotional trauma, are as individual as a fingerprint." ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
The gene is not expressed until it travels three generations down to Calliope Stephanides, the
narrator. She identifies herself as female and is brought up as so until she hits puberty and male
traits start surfacing. These changes lead to the unveiling of Callie 's intersex nature. Callie flees out
of fear of rejection and creates a new male identity for herself as Cal, narrates the story in present
day as a 41–year old man.
The first step in moving towards acceptance is denial or isolation. Denial is a momentary defence
for oneself when faced with misfortune; it is the refusal to acknowledge the reality of the
circumstances at hand. In The Lovely Bones, Jack's reaction when initially dealing with his
daughter's death reflects on an aspect of grief in which he retreats into himself. As Susie watches
over her family, she begins to watch her father drift away and goes on by saying, "By the time my
father turned back to the living room, he was too devastated to reach out to my mother sitting on the
carpet or my sister's hardened form nearby. He could not let them see him" (Sebold 29). Jack's
response to his daughter's death is a desire to be alone, not wanting his family so see him as he sees
himself; fragile and weak. It is this isolation that what keeps him from facing the harsh truth of his
daughter's murder. He persists that "Nothing is ever certain" (Sebold 22) and

The Lovely Bones
The unfortunate circumstances that the Salmon family went through were depressing and a shock to
everyone, but, it made everyone look at their lives and what was truly important to them. In the
novel The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, Susie, Buckley, and Lindsey think that they will be
together forever, but after Susie is killed and no one knows what happened to her everyone decides
to respond in a different way. Some violent, some illegal and some are just out of the protection of
the family. But, Jack Salmon believes that Mr. Harvey is Susie's killer and has put it at the top of his
priorities to prove it. Their family did not only have to go through the loss of a loved one but after
Susie's Death they stopped communicating with one another, ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
Her parents, not realizing it, have cut both her and Buckley from something that they needed most,
their love and attention. Many would think that without this support she would become a rebellious
teenager but proves the opposite. She always aims to please her father, and with her impeccable
grades and physical abilities by being able to run for eight miles in the rain she never seemed to
disappoint him. Her main goal in many situations was getting home safely to him. After Susie's
death, Lindsey matures rapidly and starts to act like a parent to her younger brother and to her father.
After Jack Salmon was attacked and put into the hospital for trying to go after Susie's killer, Lindsey
goes to take care of him even after her mother tells her not to. She was always there for her family
even when their mother left them. But, the change in her family dynamic is what affected her the
most. "it was Lindsey who had to deal with what Holly called the Walking Dead Syndrome – when
other people see the dead person and don't see you." (Seabold 59) she now is seen as the dead girl's
sister, but with the help of her Grandma Lynn, she is able to keep her own identity alive. Her family
was very close before Susie's death but after her mom left Lindsey took charge of their household
which then she would sit "in her room on the couch [her] parents had given up on and worked on
hardening herself. [Taking] deep breaths and [holding] them. [Trying] to stay still for longer and
longer periods of time. [Making] [herself] small and like a stone. [Curling] the edges of [herself] up
and [folding] them under where no one can see"(29). She felt as though she was all by herself and
that this was their new life. Lindsey got engaged at a young age to a boy named Samuel Heckler, a
boy she met in high school, who she had lost her virginity to, her high

Lovely Bones
Lovely Bones is a book and a movie of fear and sadness, her parents with the detective try to find
out who killed her, but it is a long way ahead. The author of this book is Alice Sebold, but the
director of the movie is Peter Jackson. The release date for Lovely Bones is on December 11, 2009.
The main characters are Susie Salmon she is played by Saoirse Ronan, George Harvey he is played
by Stanley Tucci. Also an important character is her father Jack Salmon who is played by Mark
Wahlberg, the last important character is the detective Len Fenerman who is played by Micheal
Imperioli.
Lovely Bones the movie is about a girl named Susie Salmon who is raped and murdered. George
Harvey the neighbor of her parents who did this to her. Detective Len Fenerman is assigned to her
case and he helps find the killer also he gives support to the family. When George Harvey asked
Jack Salmon ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Harvey that he might know what happened to his daughter. He tells the detective but the detective
tells him that if he has no proof he cannot do anything.
In the field of criminology there are a lot of theories that explain why people commit crimes and
their motive. In Lovely Bones, the reason why Mr. Harvey commits his crime is because he became
obsessive over Susie. In the movie it says that he was trying to stop the urges to kill Susie by killing
cats and dogs. The theory that best connects to the plot of the movie is The Rational Choice Theory.
The Rational Choice Theory is the opportunity to commit a crime, it pays close attention to the
casual role of the situation that is about to happen, and it removes family, background and
everything else. Some cases the crime is created with the opportunity while you did nothing to affect
it. I think the Rational Choice Theory is one to have a connection

The Lovely Bones: A Comparison
Lovely Bones: A Comparison In the book The Lovely Bones a girl at the age of 14 Was rapped and
Murdered in a cornfield under the Earth by her neighbor, Mr. Harvey. Her name was Susie Salmon.
Her family is devastated, and Mr. Harvey is playing innocent. Susies' dad Jack Salmon is not doing
well. Abigail Susie's' mom leaves. She wants to escape she can't deal with pain anymore. Her
solution is to leave everything and start over. Susie is in heaven and she is trying to learn how to let
go ofThe Earth. The book and the movie characters are the same.The movie is easier to understand
because the viewers can see what the characters look like and how they deal with the pain. While in
book you have to read about how they feel about the situation.

The Lovely Bones Symbolism
While many books attempt to conquer the monster that is grief, most fail to properly convey the
topic to readers, however, The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold is a rare gem that handles it with
respect and grace, and its message resonates through all readers. In the novel, readers are introduced
to 14 year old Susie Salmon, who was murdered before the book begins. Susie spends her time in
heaven making friends and watching over her family, who are trying to come to terms with her
death, each in their own way. As the book progresses the readers become immersed in Susie's tale,
as each scene is designed to educate readers on the process of accepting loss. Sebold's masterpiece is
––one–– crafted with such care, and every detail aids her in her mission ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
Immediately after Susie's disappearance, before her death has even been confirmed, the children
from her school start to avoid it, refusing to even get balls that roll in it. Even if they've never met
Susie, the students know that she's gone, and the cornfield becomes a grim memorial to her death.
Cornfield mazes are so easy to become lost in and it is no doubt that the thought of entering and
losing their way, to never come out again, was lurking in their minds, more concerning than ever
before as Susie was missing. During all this, the police were digging for evidence, never bringing no
any good news, only proving that she's not coming home again. As each [item] What items? travels
from the cornfield the family, it only confirms the town's worst fears, Susie's dead, and their child
could be next.(Maybe work on the flow? Instead, u could put: The town's worst fears are confirmed
as each item travels from the cornfield; Susie is dead, and their child could be next.) The family is in
no better state than the town, each object brings them new ––dread–– Not the right word, try
something else., cementing the cornfield in their memory as the beast that swallowed Susie. Further
on in the novel, Lindsey joins the soccer team

The Lovely Bones and Speak
Throughout The Lovely Bones and Speak Alice Sebold and Jessica Sharzer respectively express the
emotional journeys and boundaries faced by their characters. Both authors explore this idea through
the restriction of their protagonist; however, they both express their journeys with the help of a
secondary character. Different approaches are used by the authors, Sebold tells the story from the
past whereas Sharzer provides a day–by–day diary of the emotional journey faced by Melinda. Both
use the conclusion of their texts to heighten their characters emotional journeys. Sharzer's ending
provides a sense of relief and triumph, and Sebold creates a sense of happiness and acceptance.
Aided by devices, notably symbolism, metaphors, narrative ... Show more content on
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Sebold uses an omniscient narrator (Susie) in which she retells her story through the use of
flashbacks express Susie's emotions and thoughts. Sebold starts the novel with a flashback 'inside
the snow globe' that lives on her father's desk is 'a penguin wearing a red–and–white–striped scarf.'
Susie is 'worried' for the 'penguin' as he is 'all alone'. However Susie's father told her that the
penguin 'has a nice life' and is 'trapped in a perfect world' this provides an insight into her emotions
and how diligently Susie is worries and is concerned by others. This allows readers to gain a
connection and understanding into the character created by Sebold. Sharzer also utilises the use of
flashbacks to communicate the anguish and pain caused by Melinda's rape. The use of images to
retell Melinda's rape are placed throughout the film through the use of dark lighting, and fast cutting
the viewer's attention is quickly drawn and left with the feeling of pain and hurt which then led to
Melinda screaming in pain and angst. The use of high and tight angles over Melinda, usually in tight
spaces is Sharzer's representation for the world in which Melinda lives. Full of fear, secrets and pain,
Melinda is restricted because of her emotions. The flashbacks provide the viewers with vital
information into the Melinda's rape this is accompanied with Melinda's unreliable first person
narration allows viewers to feel sympathy for Melinda but also allows the audience to understand
the

The Lovely Bones Analysis
While reading "The Lovely Bones," by Alice Sebold a reader cannot help but notice how Susie's
exile away from her home estranges her from her family at first, but allows the family to come
closer together at the end. The way Susie is enriched and isolated at times allows for connections to
form. Within the book, Susie has several different moments that allow the reader to know how she is
feeling and whether she is far away from her family or right next to them. First of all, Susie talks
about how when a soul leaves a body on Earth the soul will run by a living person and touch them.
When Susie's soul leaves her body on Earth, she accidentally touches Ruth. From this moment on
into the rest of the novel Ruth always thinks about Susie, even when she moves to New York. Later
on in the book, Ruth and Ray start to meet up before and after school on the shot put concrete to talk
about Susie. While Ruth and Ray discuss how much they think about and miss Susie, Susie
eavesdrops into their conversation and listens to everything. She describes hearing her name from
Ruth's mouth and getting chills down her spine. This moment in the book makes Susie enriched
throughout the story by staying connected. It is almost like all three of the friends are sitting side by
side on the concrete altogether, but in reality Susie is just Ray and Ruth's friend from the In
Between. Another example of Susie being completely enriched in the story is when Jack Salamon
looks down at his six year old son

Brief Summary Of Lovely Bones
"Lovely bones" is about a girl named Susie Solomon who got murder in December 6, 1973, when
she was fourteen years old. The story begins when she was walking home from her school while her
new neighbor/murder Mr. Harvey who was waiting for her at the corn field. When he saw her, he
asked her to come and see something he built for the little kids, he built it under ground. When they
crawled inside the hole underground, he told her to take off her clothes and he raped her. When she
screamed for help, no one could hear her but still Mr. Harvey balled up her hat and smashed it into
her mouth after he raped her, he told her "say you love me" she has to say and he killed her
afterwards. Susie is now watching him, her family, her one & only crush Ray from heaven, she is
watching how her brother Buckley which is 5 years old suffering without his big sister also her
middle sister Lindsey. She is watching life continues without her, her friends trading rumors about
her disappearance, her killer is try to cover over his crime and removing any evidence that could
lead to the cause of her death or his crime. Susie had a best friend at heaven her name was Holly
who is her roommate and is watching with Susie life on earth. As Susie walking in heaven she met
all the victims that ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Harvey–I managed that and I kept saying that word a lot. Don't. And I said please a lot too". This
quote is representing a tone, a tone that the author Alice Sebold created it. She created a scary,
intense tone. The author Alice Sebold was trying to get her readers into the story, she want us to feel
like we were there and watching what was happening. Susie was screaming the whole entire time
and she was trying to save herself from Mr. Harvey. At that moment, I felt like I was there and
watching it to the point where I kind of cried and was really said for Susie. She was about to fall in
love, but her murder didn't gave her a chance to fall in love, with her first love, who gave her first

The Lovely Bones Dualism Essay
Director of the Lovely Bones,Peter Jackson successfully turned words on paper into a visual
masterpiece.The Lovely Bones is a dramatic thriller that depicts the beautiful life and tragic murder
of Susie Salmon. Through dualism along with specific blocking techniques and changing
background noises,Peter Jackson portrays the fallacy that is feeling safe in the suburbs,the
connection people have with their earthly possessions,and the falsehood that doing good things will
lead to a good life. Suburbs are often described as the safest place on earth,but there in the safest
place,Susie would meet her demise.No one would have ever suspected that a serial killer lived just a
few doors down..Peter Jackson uses a seemingly friendly neighborhood murderer

The Lovely Bones By Alice Sebold
The Lovely Bones (2002) by Alice Sebold, details the rape and murder of 14–year old Susie
Salmon, and the various grief reactions of her family and friends. John Bowlby (Worden 2009)
developed the Attachment Theory to describe humanity's need to form attachments to each other,
and the effects of breaking those bonds. When those bonds are broken, the resulting psychological
response is grief. In Funeral Psychology and Counseling, Ralph Klicker (2007) discusses the
absence of "rules" in the grieving process. Individuals feel grief differently because their world
perceptions are so varied. Every person comes from different backgrounds, educational settings, and
experience life in different manners. Some people may feel anger, guilt, or shame ... Show more
content on Helpwriting.net ...
At this time, the family begins to break apart. Jack's grief is manifested in experiencing guilt. As her
father, he feels he should have been there to protect her. His job is to protect his family and he feels
a sense of shame that he wasn't able to prevent her murder. In an effort to deal with the guilt, he
throws himself into the investigation, even going so far as to stalk the man he believes killed Susie,
his neighbor George Harvey. His emotions range from rage to disbelief, and when he loses faith in
the police, begins to take matters into his own hands. He also tries to bring his family closer
together, and becomes more overprotective to his other two children, Lindsey and Buckley, to
compensate for his inability to protect Susie. While Buckley, who is four years old when Susie is
murdered, doesn't fully comprehend her death (only that she is suddenly absent), Susie's sister
Lindsey, a year younger, is a gifted student who understands fully, and begins to isolate herself. The
surrounding characters see her initial reactions as denial. When her school's principal, Principal
Caden, attempts to comfort her, she lashes out and pretends to not understand what he is talking
about when he expresses her condolences for her loss. Her effort to hide her grief protects her from
the pain, which is amplified from the pitying looks she receives everywhere she goes. People treat
her differently because she looks so much

Metaphors In The Lovely Bones
My children´s book "Sarah´s First Sandcastle" is a metaphor of The Lovely Bones, which is why it
addresses the context, content, language and choices of that book. However, there are some
differences between my children´s book and The Lovely Bones, but that made my book have my
special touch.
"Sarah´s First Castle" is the metaphor of The Lovely Bones because it is about a little girl´s first
sandcastle that was destroyed by a wave. Therefore, the ocean represents the evilness of Mr. Harvey
and the power that he felt when he easily killed Susie. The sandcastle represents the fragility of
Susie and how delicate and beautiful she was, and the little girl represents the desperation, and
anguish of Susie´s mom. But it does not only talks about ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net
...
Also a difference that my book has a more appropriate language designed for kids while the Lovely
Bone has violent scenes and words that are not appropriate for children. A similitude is that both
books are about death however I talk about death in a metaphorical way and The Lovely Bones talk
about death directly. I represented death with the destruction of the sandcastle caused by the ocean.
Another similitude is that I use the same principal characters as The Lovely Bones and that the
context of the story is almost the same( it wouldn't be the same because my book is written in a
metaphorical way). Is like they are the same stories but in parallel

Internal Conflict In The Lovely Bones
A well–written story involves important topics that are interesting for the reader, but also
incorporates strong emotions. Susie Salmon, a fourteen–year–old girl, is raped and murdered by a
neighborhood man. She tells the story from her point of view in heaven as she watches her family
grieve over her loss and search to find her killer. In The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold creates a
suspenseful novel that explores rape through the victims eyes while also telling a heart–wrenching
story with conflict, imagery, and plot twists. The internal conflict of this novel causes the reader to
feel sympathy for the main character, Susie. When Susie is raped and then murdered, she goes to
heaven. When she is there, she is so wrapped up in her family's life, she can not move on. She is
stuck in a different heaven, where she can't see any of her family that has passed, and all she sees is
Earth. Susie's counselor in heaven, Frannie, gives her some advice: "'If you stop asking why you
were killed instead of someone else, stop investigating the vacuum left by your loss, stop wondering
what everyone left on Earth is feeling,' she said, 'you can be free. Simply put you have to give up on
Earth"' (Sebold 120). Susie wants to see the real heaven, where she could forget the past, and be
filed with joy. However, to her this seems impossible.. This internal conflict of letting go of Earth to
have a peaceful afterlife, holds her back from exploring what is actually out there. Alice Sebold
creates a

The Lovely Bones Film Analysis
The Lovely Bones
"The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold became very popular after it was first released on December
26, 2009, in New Zealand. Although, the film did not reach the United States until January 2010 it
still was a major hit from the books that was already selling in stores. The book was written by Alice
Sebold and became an automatic best–selling novel around the world in 2002. This film basically
alerts the audience of watching their surrounding closely and never to trust anyone. Once the
audience watches the film all the way through, it is sure to fill the room with plenty of emotions and
tears will be shed.
The film is really showing the audience how a young girl gets murder gruesomely by a man that she
thought she could trust. Once the neighbor murders Susie he tries to go on with his life as of nothing
happens and no one grows suspicious of him. Susie was stuck in a universe where she could watch
over her family and also the man who brought pain to her family by taking her life. She then has to
decide to continue to get revenge on the man who took her life or let her family heal from her
disappearance. Some audience will try and say the film is over played, but the film has a deeper
meaning to it that should be noticed and acknowledge.
Susie was an inspiring photographer in the making of the years she was able to have on earth. The
film shows how Susie was a teenage girl who was always happy and also had a little crush on a
senior classmate. The same day her

The Lovely Bones and Beloved Essay
A comparison of the ways that the dead affect the living in the novels Beloved by Toni Morrison and
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.
In the novels that I have chosen to study, several themes are prominent in both. Both novels deal
with a brutal murder of a young female, and the impact surrounding her death. They also deal with
the idea of the dead, directly or indirectly communicating with the living. The novels address the
theory that 'ghosts' cannot move onto the next life until they have resolved unfinished business on
Earth. The idea that the living are tied to those who die and untimely death is also present in both
novels. As well as these themes which are present in both novels, the novels also share a similar non
linear ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Both books deal with the emotional affect that the dead have on the living. First, in The Lovely
Bones, in the moments immediately after Susie's death, her soul rushed towards Heaven and, as it
did so; it touched a young girl called Ruth. Ruth was sensitive to this presence and despite not
having known Susie well from that moment she became intrigued by her life and her death and
began to form what would become a strong and eternal link between herself and the dead girl. As
Ruth reaches adulthood she becomes sensitive to the dead and to the vibrations that exist in places
where deaths had occurred. This affect is not only emotional but life changing; Ruth ultimately leads
the police to seriously consider Mr. Harvey as the key suspect in Suzie's murder. As Ruth is sensitive
to those who have passed on, Susie is sensitive to those who remain living. She can read their
thoughts, knows their motives, their emotions and their desires. She can remain close to those she
loved, she watches over them and occasionally, when they are in a receptive mood, they can feel her
presence. These episodes are explained in an extremely gentle manner by Sebold and in such a
matter of fact way that it is impossible to doubt the veracity of what we are told.
Sethe's language is also used to express the emotional effects of her daughter's death and troubled
past. Instead of using the words "remember" and "forget," Sethe uses the words "rememory" (both a
noun and a verb here) and

Archetypes In The Lovely Bones
The Lovely Bones written by Alice Sebold, tells the story of the Salmon daughter, crush, student and
most importantly a young fourteen year–old girl, Susie who is raped and brutally murdered by her
neighbour Mr. Harvey on December 6th, 1973. This event left a struggle for those who love her on
Earth in addition with anger as her family is left with no answers of the murderer's identity. Once
Susie dies, she is not fully in Heaven and experiences a state of "in–between" as her point of view is
told from above recounting the events that unfold on Earth over a series of years after her passing.
In this process, her father Jack becomes obsessed with her murder investigation drifting away from
his wife who eventually has an affair and abandons ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
The protagonist is fourteen years old when she is raped and murdered thus the story is told in her
perspective as she watches everyone on Earth from Heaven. Susie is shown as a reluctant hero
because she has to sacrifice her life however is not ready to let go to her life on Earth with her loved
ones. Susie provides a fresh perspective on Earthly happenings, and on how the dead and the living
interact with each other. From Susie's personal Heaven, she encounters the world she left behind
changes and settles into a new place. She realizes that she does not belong anymore as a member on
Earth thus she grows up into her heavenly adult figure leaving all her childhood memories back on
Earth. Susie is portrayed as a hero because she achieves her transformation in a painful way, yet
fulfils watching her peers live life and search the puzzle of her death. Although the protagonist is not
able to let go of Earth, she eventually moves on with her life in Heaven but her spirit once came
back to Earth and made love with Ray Singh through Ruth Connor's body. In addition, when her
spirit came to Earth she ensured that her murderer, George Harvey will not kill another innocent
soul again by ending his

Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones
In Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones Susie Salmon, the narrator and protagonist, is murdered. The
story takes place over years following her death and tells the story of her and her family as they
adjust to life (or lack of, in Susie's case). At times the situations depicted in the novel are very grim,
but along with the more melancholy situations are joyous ones. The family grows and changes in
many ways, but one character in particular stands out; Susie's younger brother, Buckley Salmon.
Throughout the course of the novel, Buckley Salmon learns to Forgive. At the novel's beginning,
Buckley is only 4; too young to say for sure he is any certain way, but because of this, we are
offered a glimpse into the development of Buckley's character. Buckley

Lovely Bones Metaphors
In the last chapter of Alice Sebold's novel, Lovely Bones, the main character Susie Salmon looks at
the events that have transpired because of her death, and happy with the outcome, is finally able to
be at peace. Through the use of metaphors and tone Sebold describes what Susie sees as she says
goodbye to her family for the last time.
In the first and last sentence of the quote Sebold uses a metaphor to describe the pieces of Susie's
life that remain with her friends and family while she is in heaven. One of these bones is the
friendship between Ruth, a friend that Susie reached out to just before her spirit left Earth, and Ray
who was her last crush. The two are brought together in search for the murderer of their beloved
friend Susie when

Lovely Bones Themes
"The Lovely Bones" is a novel about a girl who is tragically murdered, and the struggles her family
goes through. The story explores themes of bonding, loss and handling grief. Susie Salmon, the
narrator, tells the story from her perspective in heaven. The majority of the plot revolves around
Susie's family and friends as they cope with her death. In the book, Susie is shown as a silent
spectator that only shows herself briefly most of the time, in the book she almost possesses people
and forces her emotions on them. Susie and Ray kiss in the hallway pre–death in the book, but in the
movie they only kiss after Susie is reincarnated as Ruth. The movie never shows the memorial
service in which Lindsey faints at the sight of Harvey, the murderer.

Summary Of Hamlet And The Lovely Bones
Norman Cousins once said, "The tragedy of life is not death, but what we let die inside of us while
we live". The way people cope determines how one will live their life and what will come of it.The
way one copes is how they effectively deal with something difficult. The quote applies to people
throughout their lives that may have faced several tragedies and shows that what happens to them
after is dependent on how they choose to deal afterwards. One could either let hope and joy die out
or try to move on. The choice a person makes foreshadows how they will continue their life and
what will come of it. In the play, Hamlet by William Shakespeare and the novel, The Lovely Bones
by Alice Sebold, both involve horrific tragedies and had many characters left to decide how they
would handle what happened.. All of the characters were affected by one time commonly
overlooked causes that led to a lot of grief and heartache. Each character coped with the tragedy in
their own way and each character has their own outcome.The actions the characters of Hamlet and
The Lovely Bones took when coping determined the overall outcome of their life.
In the play Hamlet, all of the characters are affected by the murder of King Hamlet,.King Hamlet
was murdered by his brother Claudius leaving behind a son, a wife, and a kingdom. After his
murder, Gertrude, his late wife, found love in his brother and his son Hamlet grieved for an
extensive time. Instead of dealing with his feelings effectively, Hamlet went in a disastrous path. His
hurt and anger led him to lose his temper on multiple occasions and do reckless things. Although it
is understandable that he was upset when he found out his father had been murdered, if one was to
have that type of behavior and thinking for a prolonged amount of time, it could lead to a self
destructive path and cause problems in life and make it harder to recover, which is what happened to
Hamlet. After building up resentment and hatred towards is uncle, Hamlet decides that he wants to
kill his uncle and goes to speak to his mother. While speaking to his mother, he saw a movement
behind the curtain and without thinking stabbed Polonius to death. (3.4.23–25). Hamlet used the
coping mechanism

Essay on Lovely Bones
Though intriguing, heaven can sometimes be a fear. People try to imagine what it might be like to
leave this Earth, and soon they slowly come spiraling back down from their mountain of clouds, and
realize that is incomprehensible to imagine such an event. Due to this inability to fully grasp the
meaning of the after life, people have begun to have different perspectives on what heaven means to
them. Some fear death, while others invite it into their lives either out of curiosity or hope. As for
Susie Salmon, she neither feared death nor encouraged it. Her murder was an unexpected one, but
George Harvey was the only one expecting this moment for weeks. The Lovely Bones (novel by
Alice Sebold and movie directed by Peter Jackson) ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
But for those capable of surpassing this difficulty, it can be quite amusing and intriguing to visualize
one's own heaven. To some, it might mean open fields of green. To others, it could similarly be the
same house they have been living in for years. The beauty of imagination is that no one will ever tell
you that you are wrong in your mental imagery. As a powerful tool, imagination continues to
impress those willing to allow creativity to flood the mind, escaping reality completely. When
reading the novel, readers can incorporate Sebold's descriptions of heaven, and adjust them
accordingly so that they fit into a vision that seems right to the reader. This ability to create an entire
world inside one's head is remarkable, and it is even more astonishing to make connections between
a fictional character's world, and one's own. Novels give a reader an opportunity to mentally
visualize events and situations that an individual would normally never find the time to think about.
"Two days later, Franny's map led me to a field that I had always walked by but which, though
beautiful, I'd left unexplored. The drawing had a dotted line to indicate a path. Searching nervously,
I looked for an indentation in the rows and rows of wheat. Just ahead I saw it, and as I began to walk
between the rows of paper dissolved in my hand. I could see an old beautiful olive tree just up

The Lovely Bones
The Lovely Bones is a bone chilling film about a 14 year old girl, Susie Salmon, who was murdered
by her creepy neighbour. Susie watches over her friends, family and her killer from a place called,
"The In–between", which is located between heaven and earth. She watches over them because she
has unfinished work to do; kiss a boy from her school that she has a crush on, and to indicate to her
family who her murderer is. From start to finish, this film is full of suspense, drama, heart pumping
activity, love between a father and daughter, humour and the love between a teenage boy and a
teenage girl. I personally enjoy watching films about murder so I believe there are more strengths
and positive things about this film than weaknesses and ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
I find that there is just enough thrill to keep the audience entertained and awake in the movie theatre,
but not so much to scare anyone and keep them awake for the rest of the night. The film has great
visuals (the footage of 'the in– between' and they way that the film showed susie after her death next
to her murderer, George Harvey, who was basically bathing himself in mud and Susie's blood after
committing the crime) which really catches the eye and gives the audience a better grip on what is
happening in the film. Even though the film is just over two hours long, the film doesn't bore you or
feel like it's dragging on. The film involves lots of symbolism and an example of this is; the charm
off of Susie's bracelet, it symbolises her own life and her murderer plays with the charm every time
he thinks of the day he murdered Susie Salmon. The director, Peter Jackson, uses symbolism to help
the audience understand what is going on and who the film is talking about at the time. The use of
voice over was really useful because the protagonist, Susie, would be telling the story throughout
the film and would say things as if they were a poem. For example; when Susie was describing how
everyone she knew down on earth were moving on with their lives while she was still stuck between
heaven and earth with her body locked in a safe in her murderers basement, she described the living
as, 'The Lovely Bones', "These were the lovely bones that had grown around my absence. The
connections, sometimes tenuous, sometimes made at great cost, but often magnificent, that
happened after i was gone. And I began to see things in a way that let me hold the world without me
in it." By using voice over

Mr Harvey In The Lovely Bones
In Alice Sebold's novel The Lovely Bones, Sebold constructs a story that readers are instantly drawn
into with the different elements of raw emotion that follows with it. The novel follows Susie
Salmon, the narrator of the novel, who is coming her way home from school when she comes across
her neighbor Mr.Harvey. Mr. Harvey convinces Susie into letting him show her an underground
dugout he made but while in the hole Susie realizes going down alone was a mistake and when she
tries to leave Mr.Harvey rapes and murders her. This act sets the tone and the storyline for the rest of
the book. After Susie dies she moves to a place where she is trapped between earth and heaven.
Susie isn't allowed to go to heaven because she can't until she is ready ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
Her biggest disappointment becomes the fact that she cannot no longer experience living. Even
though Susie has the ability to want, wish, and desire things she understands that it doesn't mean
she's alive. Though she is in a place different from earth they have a connection to each other. The
connection is Susie's heaven gives an earthly impression, and she can even engage in activities as
she did on earth like playing with dogs, living in a house, and the consumption of food. Susie's
heaven gives her another chance to experience the physical attributes as if she was alive on earth.
The changing of her body and the physical environment seem to point that "physicality seems the
defining characteristic of life." (Sebold 56). This is the nature of human experience and condition.
The most significant experience of being human comes from life and death which creates these two
questions. The Lovely Bones focuses on more of the impact and how Susie's friends and family
were taking her death rather than the murder itself. Susie watched as a person closest to her went
through an emotion that usually accompanies grief: anger. Anger is experienced universally and are
exposed by people grieving though a death where harm was inflicted. Susie's father, Jack took it the
hardest. It first he was too

Sebold's The Lovely Bones
Like many viruses, unexpressed emotions go into dormancy as they are buried alive and come forth
later in much uglier ways. This sentiment correlates in Sebold's, The Lovely Bones which places 14
year old Susie Salmon gazing upon her grieving family as they deal with the spontaneous loss of
herself while obscuring in the knowledge of the ruinous source. With only one tragic flaws being
naive, Susie gets left sexually assaulted and viciously murdered within the hands of Mr. Harvey; a
common neighbour to the family. The awareness of suspicions rose upon him, yet nothing of solid
proof had been able to come forward and convict due to the lack of evidence within the case. As
much as Susie urged fighting back to the events placing on earth, nothing

The Lovely Bones Character Analysis
Imagine having a perfect family a wife and three kids also after a short 13 years having your eldest
child viciously torn away from you, in the story the lovely bones this is exactly what happened to
Jack salmon. Jack is having to deal with the trauma of losing his firstborn child on top of trying to
keep a grasp on his wife. With Jack's wife running off to California and his daughters offender on
the loose, Jack struggles with keeping a steady head. Jack copes with this trauma by seeking revenge
to the culprit Mr. Harvey. Jack takes time to move past this in his life but soon learns to hold his
family closer than ever before. We can all learn from what Sebold illustrates to us in jack's character
about dealing with trauma. A picture perfect family a husband an a wife with two girls and one boy.
They lived in the suburbs of Pennsylvania where the people were friendly. Anyone could see Jack's
and Susie's bond, they bonded over many things but the biggest had to be building the boats in the
bottle. All the kids were supposed to grow up in the same neighborhood going to the same school
and live the same life but all that changed when Susie never came home after school. What happen
in the cornfield disrupted everyone's way of life, nothing would ever be the same.
Jack had found a new passion passion for revenge and greed. Jack had known from early on ... Show
Some of these may be healthy and some may be unhealthy, which clearly for the most part Jack
Salmon's way was unhealthy. However, right or wrong each path eventually leads to a healthy place.
At least for those involved in Suzie's tragic story. As each character dealt with the tragic loss of life
in different ways, in the end they ended up reunited and able to move on and live their lives. As
Suzie described it, "These were the lovely bones that had grown around my absence." (Alice
Sebold,The Lovely Bones,

Analysis Of The Lovely Bones
Hailey Baker
Mrs. Drozkowski
Film and Literature
December,15 2017
The Lovely Bones outline
I. Introduction
The book was published in 2002. The movie came out in December 2009 and the genre is a novel.
The genres of this movie are fantasy, thriller, and drama.
This book was chosen to be made into a movie because the book was too dark and because the book
was very popular and everybody was reading the book.
II. Biographies Author Alice Sebold has been writing for 20 years. She writes genres of American
Writer as well as literary fiction. She also writes memoirs. She wrote 3 books called the Lovely
bones, Lucky, and Almost Moon in 2007.
Director Peter Jackson was born in New Zealand. He has been a filmmaker for 33 years. Peter
directs films with high fantasy and juvenile fantasy genre. His accomplishment in film is the Lord of
the Rings trilogy, Bad Taste, and the remake of King Kong.
III. Overview of the Book/Film Plot (internal or external conflicts) The Lovely Bones is about a girl
named Susie Salmon, a 14–year–old girl who was raped and murdered by her neighbor Mr. Harvey.
When her family learns of what happened they grieve for a long time. The person who grieves the
most is Susie's dad. He goes on a rampage trying to find and prove that Mr. Harvey is the one who
committed the crime. He ends up going to the emergency room after going to the cornfield to see if
George Harvey was there. His family is notified and his wife comes to see how he is and to hear
what

`` Lovely Bones `` By Alice Sebold
"The dead are never exactly seen by the living, but many people seem acutely aware of something
changed around them" (Sebold 94). In the novel, "Lovely Bones", by Alice Sebold, the author
illustrates the descriptions of the protagonist's, Susie Salmon, a fourteen year old, after her death and
her relation with the living. Susie was brutally hurt and killed from a new neighbor, Mr. Harvey,
who was never discovered for his numerous crimes. Sebold presents various settings where the
protagonist, Susie Salmon, initiates to adjust with her new home in heaven after her terrifying
homicide and maintains a connection with life on Earth without her. An important factor of this
novel is that the setting is very unusual, since, Susie describes the life on Earth from the heaven she
has created, which she can't leave until she is more than certain that her family will be happy and
accept her depart. Susie portrays her own growth throughout heaven as she continues to grow
mentally, combining her adolescent notion and her growing maturity acquired in her heaven. Sebold
creates a setting that is an important ingredient into the theme and changes in characters, since, it
shows many factors of the plot and it refers to the loss and depression that Susie 's loved ones felt
after her death. In various novels, the setting is a very important factor, because it is very influential
in the understanding of the story; however, in many novels it 's strange to have a narration outside of
the living.

Susie Harvey's The Lovely Bones
In the book The Lovely Bones, Susie Salmon a fourteen–year–old girl gets raped and murdered in a
cornfield and in a sink–hole, her murder Mr.Harvey, her neighbor had built. He dismembered her
body parts and took her charm bracelet. Susie's father tried to find her murderer with the case
detective Len. When Jack, Susie's father helps Mr. Harvey build a tent out of sticks he gets a
suspicious feeling Mr. Harvey murdered her daughter and Mr. Harvey noticed so he told him it's
time for him to leave. His other daughter, Lindsey breaks into Mr. Harvey's house and rips out a
page of his journal. The Lovely Bones' in the movie and book had many similarities but had huge
differences. For instance, in the book, Susie Salmon and Ray had kissed in the

The Lovely Bones Essay
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold is a fictional book about 14 year old girl Susie. On her way
home from school on a late afternoon she was lured into a hole on the ground by George Harvey.
Mr. Harvey was her neighbor and convinced Susie to come into the hole. While she was inside he
began to give her a "tour". Since the hole was very small it took a few minutes for George to show
Susie what was in the hole. He claimed that he built it as a "clubhouse" for the kids in the
neighborhood to hang out in. After being there for some time Susie realizes that she must go and
that's when George Harvey blocks the door. She then begs him to let her go as she grows frightened.
He then tells her to take her clothes off because he wants to make sure she's still a virgin. When
Susie tries to run he grabs her then she falls. Mr. Harvey then begins to touch her eventually raping
her ,as Susie slowly dies inside losing both her virginity and innocence. But that's not all Mr .Harvey
gangs Susie with her hat her mother made her; and on December 6th, 1973 Susie Salmon is
murdered. ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
She watches how her family deals with her death and how each one differently cope with her
disappearance. Although the only evidence the police finds is her elbow they assume she's dead
from all the blood on the earth. But her family disagrees strongly. Specially her father who fights
hard for years on trying to find evidence on a possible suspect. He sees Mr. Harvey as suspicious
from a strange feeling he gets when he's around him. One day George is building a tent and Jack
(Susie's dad) joins him and begins to talk to him, that's when he notices that Harvey is very

The Lovely Bones Film Analysis
Statement of Intent: I was inspired to write this piece after seeing the onscreen film adaptation of the
novel. It made me think about many things surrounding grief and acceptance. The way the
characters really brought the story to life and conveyed a variety of messages to the audience, really
made it a compelling story, and one that I wanted to portray in a very positive light – so that is
exactly what I did.
The famous saying goes; "Opposites attract", and in the case of 'The Lovely Bones', this statement
could not be more spot on. Although Peter Jackson directed the on screen version of 'The Lovely
Bones', Alice Sebold is the author of 'The Lovely Bones' which, since its release in 2002, has sold
over two million hard back copies ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
This on–screen drama carries us over mountains and into deep ruts, leading us all around. It ushers
us through the afterlife of Susie through her own words and imagery. The use of first person
narration throughout the film really brings it to life. The fact that Susie is 'with us', and us with her,
creates such a personal and unique journey for every individual that watches this film.
Throughout the film, Susie looks down upon her shattered family from her special place in the
'unknown'. She sees her dad (Mark Wahlberg) tear apart at the seams, piece by piece, stitch by stitch.
Her mum (Rachel Weisz) leaves the family home in the hope of finding solace some place else.
Susie begins to find connections to her family. Simply unexplainable connections. The relationship
between Susie and her father is reason enough to go and see this film. The magnitude of love a
father can have toward his daughter is more than evident in this film – the onscreen chemistry of
Wahlberg and Ronan adds an additional sentimental element to this masterpiece. Watching Susie's
father's connection remain robust as ever, despite her physical self no longer being with him, is true
magic. We share in his rollercoaster of emotions and understand his need to reconcile. Time to
grieve. Time to heal. Time to be.
As the film continues to toy with our emotions, Mr. Harvey begins to

Dealing with Grief in the Lovely Bones
The characters in Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones are faced with the difficult task of overcoming
the loss of Susie, their daughter and sister. Jack, Abigail, Buckley, and Lindsey each deal with the
loss differently. However, it is Susie who has the most difficulty accepting the loss of her own life.
Several psychologists separate the grieving process into two main categories: intuitive and
instrumental grievers. Intuitive grievers communicate their emotional distress and "experience,
express, and adapt to grief on a very affective level" (Doka, par. 27). Instrumental grievers focus
their attention towards an activity, whether it is into work or into a hobby, usually relating to the loss
(Doka par. 28). Although each character deals with ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
She only goes through the motions at work and does not develop emotionally while away. It is when
she arrives back with her family that Abigail finally begins to grieve and connect with her family
again. Although Abigail's actions affect each family member, Buckley is the only one reluctant to
accept her back into their family so quickly. Buckley's resistance causes Abigail to realize
everything she had missed. Despite Buckley's young age when Susie first disappeared, his life is
greatly affected by the loss. He is extremely angry and resentful towards his parents. Buckley feels
that his relationship with his father is shadowed by his inability to move past the loss of Susie. The
tension between them peaks when Jack tells Buckley he cannot use Susie's old clothes in his garden,
but it is not simply about the garden. The garden is symbolic of new life and growth in the future
and Susie's shirts symbolize her existence. Although Susie's clothes would no longer be intact, they
would become part of the garden, just as Susie will always be part of the family even though she is
no longer with them. This scene is also important for Jack and Buckley's relationship because
Buckley finally tells his father how isolated he feels. Abigail and Buckley's relationship, on the other
hand, is not so easily patched. Buckley is bitter that his mother missed so many important events in
his life. The

Examples Of Hope In The Lovely Bones
There are two major themes that are continually being presented throughout the novel "The Lovely
Bones", these themes are grief and hope. This essay will analyze how different individuals from the
Salmon family cope with the death of a family member and their way of advancing with their lives.
Losing someone close to you is tough, especially if it's a family member. Abigail Salmon is the
mother of Susie that she loses early in the novel, this has affected her actions and way of living her
life and even pursuing teenage dreams. Since Susie didn't arrive for dinner Abigail still kept her
hope up that nothing unusual had happened and that her daughter was in safe hands. Successively
she started becoming worried and made phone calls to neighbors ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
None reacts likewise, but they contrast their own personality when grieving where some for
example deals with it through actions and others by ignorance. They all have one aspect in common,
death is inescapable and coping with it is difficult. You become trapped in some sort of darkness full
of emotions where you don't know how to feel or even how to react. Death is something everybody
is going to encounter at some point despite wealth or health. By grieving you advance in life ready
to confront different challenges without your loved one by your side. Alice Sebold made this clear
through displaying how people shift and that it isn't always something negative, but that it also could
lead to better points in life. This could be developing as a human being and becoming less fragile to
these types of

The Lovely Bones Surviving Grief
The Lovely Bones: Surviving Grief–DRAFT Grief. This five letter word alone contains a wave of
emotions, associated with sorrow. The Lovely Bones by Alice Seybold: surviving grief, illustrates
Susie Salmon, a young girl and her loved ones who fight for justice of Susie's murder by, the
pedophilic, diabolical Mr. Harvey. Susie is there with the family watching them from heaven. One
of the themes that are executed throughout the novel is the concept of surviving grief. It is a
challenge for many who have lost loved ones and must learn to overcome their loss by using
different coping mechanisms and symbolizations. Sebold shows how coping with grief is heard
because humans hold emotional bonds with each other and as a result of The Lovely ... Show more
content on Helpwriting.net ...
In order to overcome the grief of someone is dead that is truly dear to them they generally replace
lost ones with new relationships with others. Susie's loved ones replace her with others such as
Abigail, whom had an affair with the detective Len Fenerman, "she needed to drive the daughter
out"(Sebold 152). When Susie was alive Abigail and Susie would always be together, but afterwards
Susie's death Abigail is getting distant from the family. When Abigail is with the family it reminds
her of Susie and the whole surviving grief and the whole coping with grief continues. When Abigail
is with Len she forgets that she has to grief, and forgets everything that is going on. The family
symbolizes that Susie is still part of them, and reminds Abigail about Susie's murder when with
family. Jack replaces Susie with Susie's brother, Buckley "you are important to me kiddo" (Sebold
68). Before Susie's death Jack used to be more affectionate toward Susie's than other siblings but
after Susie's murder, Jack started to spend more time with Buckley and replace Susie with Buckley.
Jack replacing Susie with Buckley symbolizes , Buckley would be another Susie so he does not have
to grief another, by having the opportunity to still have Susie inside of

Lovely Bones Analysis
Imagine having dreams, aspirations, goals, and hopes for yourself and the people around you, but
then having it all taken away. Imagine being a young adult and having to find a way to cope with
this while being lost in the in–between. Imagine watching your family struggle, yet you are on the
sidelines, unable to help. This is a especially so in The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold. The story
follows the protagonist, Susie, who was raped and murdered by her neighbour. She goes to heaven
and watches her family grow up without her. Her death sends a shock to her family and friends;
some taking the news easily, others having a harder time. Susie experiences several key moments of
realization that assists with her eventually coming of age, such as coping with the fact that she is
dead, watching her family suffer without her, and finally finding a way to reach her own happiness
and moulding her own path.
Susie lives in a world where she is beyond life and must quickly come to the realization that she is
no longer amongst the living and she must cope with this fact. "'People grow up by living,' I said to
Franny. 'I want to live.' 'That's out,' she said to me. 'Can we at least watch the living?' 'You already
do.'" (Sebold 19) She wants to have the opportunity to grow up like a normal girl, yet she cannot
because she is dead. Susie is not able to detach herself from her previous life. She misses her family
to the extent where she cannot purely accept her death. "'When the dead are

The Lovely Bones Symbolism
"My name was Salmon, like the fish: first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on
December 6th, 1973." (Sebold 1) Alice Sebold draws readers in from the first line of "The Lovely
Bones". It becomes very apparent what the major conflict is going to be. The protagonist Susie
Salmon has been raped and murdered by Mr. Harvey. The book explores Susie's experience after her
tragic and untimely death, as well as her family's life after she is gone. Sebold dives deep into the
Salmon family's journey through grief, love and acceptance, specifically through her use of
symbolism and point of view.
In "The Lovely Bones" the use of symbolism enables readers to explore the emotions the characters
are going through as well as providing a deeper ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Susie is the narrator of the book, using a first person perspective. Something unique about her
perspective is that is is omniscient. As usual with a first person perspective, readers get to know
about Susie's emotions, feelings, thoughts, and actions. As she is in heaven, Susie gets to see all the
other characters actions, feelings, emotions and thoughts. This gives readers the power to observe all
characters as if it was third person point of view but also gives the benefits of seeing it from a first
person perspective. Such as, Susie's opinion of what is happening on earth as well as readers being
able to feel her personal and emotional connection she has to them. We are able to see Susie's
journey of accepting her own death and dealing with her own grief of not being with her family. We
also are able to see the family's journey of accepting that Susie was murdered and dealing with the
grief of her loss. We get to see how the other character's lives play out after Susie is gone. From
having the point of view come from Susie in heaven, we get to have a look at something we don't
typically see. The dead needs to move on just as much as the living does.
Themes of love, acceptance and grief are evident through Alice Sebold's use of symbolism and point
of view. The uniqueness of the point of view adds depth to how the reader is observing the story.
The symbolism provides a deeper meaning to important events in the book."The Lovely Bones"
could be a relatable book for many families that have gone through the grieving process. The point
of view also adds a glimmer of hope that the deceased family member is still with us at all times.
The book allows readers to see a very personal family

The Lovely Bones: A Comparison
The Lovely Bones: A Comparison The lovely Bones is a book and a movie. The story was written
by an author names Alice Sebold. The Lovely Bones took place in the early 1970's, where a 14 year
old girl was murdered. The girl's name was Susie Salmon, she was murdered at a cornfield by a man
who she should have not trusted. There are many similarities and differences in the book and movie.
One difference is that the book and movie had two different charm bracelets. In the the book it was a
keystone and in the movie it was a little house. Another difference was ahd elbow was found in the
books, while in the movie Suzie's hat was found instead. Both the book and the movie, Lindsey
breaks in Mr. Harveys home and took something that might help with

The Lovely Bones Symbolism Essay

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The Lovely Bones Symbolism Essay