The Lovely Bones: Characters

 I have recently finished reading The Lovely Bones. All in all, it was a really good book. However the book wouldn't be nearly as good if it weren't for the characters. Each character had an important role to play in this book. There were multiple complex characters, that developed over the course of the text. It was the whole Salmon family: Susie, Lindsey, Buckley, Jack, and Abigail.

 
Susie was the character that changed the most throughout the book. In the beginning of the book, she was a typical teenager. She attended school, had sibling drama, and even had a crush on Ray Singh. "He kissed me by my locker the day before we turned in our photos for the year book. When the yearbook came out at the end of the summer, I saw that under his picture he had answered the standard 'My heart belongs to' with 'Susie Salmon'. I guess he had plans. I remember that his lips were chapped" (Sebold 13). After Susie was killed, and went to heaven, she still missed her life on Earth. She spent most of her time watching her family, and Ray from heaven. She also was constantly wishing to still be alive. "I could not have what I wanted most: Mr. Harvey dead and me living. Heaven wasn't perfect. But I came to believe that if I watched closely, and desired, I might change the lives of those I loved on Earth" (Sebold 20). Susie was with her family in spirit, everyday. By the end of the book, Susie decided that it was time to let her family live their lives, and didn't keep as much of an eye on them. "I was done yearning for them, needing them to yearn for me. Though I still would. Though they still would. Always" (Sebold 318). As you can see, what was important to Susie at the beginning out the book, is different than what is important to her now. She used to be all caught up in the dramas of being a teenager, but now all she wishes for is to be with her family.

Buckley Salmon, and Lindsey Salmon are Susie's siblings. In the beginning of the book, they didn't know how to handle life without Susie there to support and guide them. "Of everyone in the family, 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. When people looked at Lindsey, even my father and mother, they saw me. Even Lindsey was not immune. She avoided mirrors. She now took showers in the dark" (Sebold 59). This quote shows how Lindsey was scared to look in the mirror since she would see Susie in the reflection. Buckley wasn't having an easier time with all of this either. "He wanted something neat, something that could explain death to a four- year- old. He placed his hand on the small of Buckley's back. 'Susie is dead,' he said now, unable to make it fit in the rules of any game. 'Do you know what that means?' Buckley reached over with his right hand and covered the shoe. He looked up to see if his answer was right" (Sebold 69). This is an important quote because it is the first time that Mr. Salmon knows that Buckley understands what was happening. Mr. Salmon and Buckley were playing Monopoly. Whenever Susie played Monopoly, she was the shoe. When Buckley covered the shoe with his hand, it was his way of saying that Susie was gone. After playing Monopoly that night. Buckley took the shoe back up to his room to keep as a part of Susie. By the end of the book, Lindsey and Buckley still think of Susie often, but they are still able to live their lives. "If I'm to be honest with you, I still sneak away to watch my family sometimes. I can't help it, and sometimes they still think of me. They can't help it" (Sebold 323).

Jack and Abigail Salmon are Susie's parents. They were a really tight-knit family until Susie's death. After Susie died, they had a hard time being in the same room together. "For three nights. . . [he didn't know] what to say. Before, they had never found themselves broken together. Usually, it was one needing the other but not both needing each other, and so there had been a way, by touching, to borrow from the stronger one's strength. And they had never understood, as they did now, what the word horror meant" (Sebold 20). In the middle of the book, Abigail Salmon left her family. She traveled across the United States, wanting to try and get rid of her problems. She missed major parts in Lindsey and Buckley's life. She wasn't there when Lindsey got engaged. However, towards the end of the book, Jack had a heart attack, and ended up in the hospital. She flew all the way home to make sure he was okay. Abigail was planning on going back to California, but she decided to stay. "My mother, for her part, was thinking moment by moment that she might be able to survive being at home again" (Sebold 316).

The Lovely Bones: Chapter 17

I am almost done reading The Lovely Bones. Susie's sister Lindsey is now twenty-one, and her boyfriend, Samuel, and her just graduated from college. Samuel and Lindsey were riding a motor cycle, heading home, when it started pouring rain. They got off the bike, led it to some underbrush to keep it dry. They left the bike while they ran deeper into the woods, looking for a dry spot. "And then, through the thick weeds and darkness both of them saw the broken window panes that ran along the top of an old Victorian house. . . They looked at each other, and my sister said what they were both thinking. 'It's dry!' "(Sebold 235).

They entered the house and found that nobody was home. Samuel insisted that they explore the house. Samuel loved all the craftsmanship and detail put into the house. Samuel declared that he wanted to own this house. He got down on one knee, and proposed to Lindsey. She was surprised and said yes. Samuel and Lindsey were about 10 miles from Lindsey's house, and since they both knew her dad was anxiously waiting for them, they ran home. Once inside the Salmons house, Lindsey and Samuel told her dad that they were engaged, and he was overjoyed! " 'I'd say,' he managed, standing up to shake Samuel's hand, 'that I couldn't wish for a better son-in-law.' " (Sebold 245). Watching from heaven, Susie was ecstatic. "But that moment I ran around my heaven like... a chicken with its head cut off! I was so happy I screamed over and over again. My sister! My Samuel! My dream!" (Sebold 241). Everyone in the family was excited for the both of them. I predict that there will be an amazing wedding for them.

Checkpoint #3: Reading Skills

I am over half way done reading The Lovely Bones. I have a couple of questions about what I have read so far. Did Mr. Harvey actually have a wife? In the beginning of the book it said that he had a wife, who died many years ago. "Mr. Harvey was a single man who, it was said, had meant to move in with his wife. She had died sometime before this" (Sebold 63). This quote makes it sound like Mr. Harvey had a wife, but I found another quote, that goes against this.
" 'What did he say about the tent?'
'That he built it for Leah, his wife.'
'I remember Mrs. Stead told Abigail his wife's name was Sophie,' my father said" (Sebold 65). This makes me question whether or not Mr. Harvey actually had a wife. I predict that Mr. Harvey just made up that he had a wife, to use as a cover story. I think he used the names of previous people he had killed, to use as his wife's name.

Another question I have is- Why won't the police investigate Mr. Harvey more, since Mr. Salmon is pretty sure Mr. Harvey killed his daughter? " 'I have something I need to say on behalf of the station and myself.'
'Yes.'
'We need you to stop making calls about George Harvey.'
'But. . .'
'I need you to stop. There is nothing, no matter how much we stretch it, to connect him to Susie's death. Howling dogs and bridal tents are not evidence.'
'I know he did it,' my father said.
'He's odd, I agree, but as far as we know he isn't a killer.' " (Sebold 133). This quote shows how the police are going to stop investigating Mr. Harvey since they don't have any evidence against him. I predict that the Salmon family, all on their own, will gather enough evidence to prove Mr. Harvey's guilt. The police will then arrest Mr. Harvey for killing multiple people and animals. "Sitting down, she braced her body with her arms and then kicked once, twice, three times with both feet until the window smashed- a muffled cracking" (Sebold 177). In this quote, Lindsey, Susie's younger sister, broke into Mr. Harvey's house, and found her first solid piece of evidence. This is the quote that helped me make the prediction.

While reading this book, the bond between Susie and Lindsey is very similar to the bond between Kate and Anna Fitzgerald, in My Sister's Keeper. Lindsey misses Susie a lot, and memories of the time they spent together, just come flooding back to her. "She couldn't stop the memories slamming into her. Every one had a brutal report. Buckley riding on my shoulders down the stairs. Our mother steadying me as Lindsey looked on, jealous that I could reach, with the silver star in my hands, the top of the Christmas tree. Me sliding down the banister and asking her to join. Both of us begging the comics off our father after dinner. All of us running after Holiday as he barked and barked. And the countless exhausted smiles awkwardly dressing out faces for photos at birthdays, and holidays, and after school. Two sisters dressed identically in velvet or plaid or Easter yellows" (Sebold 179). This quote shows just the beginning of how much Lindsey misses Susie. They shared a lot of good memories. The same is for Kate and Anna Fitzgerald in My Sister's Keeper. At the end of this book, Anna dies in a car accident, and Kate is flooded with memories of the times they shared together. Whether they were at the hospital for one of Kate's treatments for her leukemia, or at home, they spent the majority of their time together. "And then, as if we conjured her, the last picture was of Anna. It had been that long since we'd used the camera, plain and simple. She was on a beach towel, holding out one hand to the photographer, trying to get whoever it was to stop taking her picture. My mother and I sat at the kitchen table staring at Anna until the sun set, until we had memorized everything from the color of her ponytail holder to the pattern of fringe on her bikini. Until we couldn't be sure we were seeing her clearly anymore" (Picoult 423). This quote shows how much Kate misses Anna. In both of these books, the sisters have a strong bond.

I can personally connect to Lindsey in The Lovely Bones. Even though I don't know what it feels like for your sister to be murdered, I do know what it is like to have a sister who died. Just like Lindsey, I'm going through a grieving process, where memories will just start flooding back to me. Whether it is from a vacation, being in the hospital ,or just day to day life. I could look at a picture for a while, and remember every part of it. I also feel like my sister is watching over me, in a similar way that Susie watches over her family.

There is also a connection between The Lovely Bones and this article. I agree with this article when it says, "What happens to one impacts the others in some way. . .siblings share a genetic, familial bond that ties them emotionally and invites conscious and unconscious identification." I think this quote connects the book because Susie's death impacted Lindsey and their younger brother, Buckley.  After Susie died, their parents didn't pay as much attention to Lindsey and Buckley. They just sort of kept to themselves. This article overall connects to the book because they both present the topic of the loss of a sibling, and how it can be hard for the whole family.

The Lovely Bones: Overview

I am half way through The Lovely Bones now. I like this book, although it is a little slow moving at times. The protagonist's name is Susie Salmon. She was 14 when she was killed by her next door neighbor, Mr. Harvey. Susie was on her way home from school one afternoon, when she ran into her neighbor, Mr. Harvey. Mr. Harvey seemed friendly enough, so when he insisted on showing Susie his little clubhouse, she willingly followed. This little clubhouse he built was underground. Since Susie was so curious, the thought of escape never ocurred to her. " 'This is neato!' I said to Mr. Harvey. . . I hadn't used the word neato in pubic since elementary school" (Sebold 9). This quote shows how cool Susie thought this little clubhouse was, that Mr. Harvey made underground.

Susie was killed that night in the cornfield, in the hole that Mr. Harvey called his 'clubhouse'. Susie's parents called the police that night to report that Susie was missing. "In the hours I was murdered, as my mother made phone calls and my father began going door to door in the neighborhood looking for me, Mr. Harvey had collapsed the hole in the cornfield and carried away a sack filled with my body parts" (Sebold 49). A couple of days later, one of  their neighbors' dog's found Susie's elbow. This and a few other clues, indicated to the police working on the case, that Susie Salmon was dead. A few days later, a memorial service was held for her. "They walked into the cramped vestibule of our church. I wanted to snake up my father's back, circle his neck and whisper in his ear. But I was already there in his every pore and crevice" (Sebold 109). After the memorial service, Mr. Salmon becomes aware that Mr. Harvey could have murdered his daughter. How will Mr. Salmon prove to the police that Mr. Harvey is the murderer?

The Lovely Bones: Links and Displays

 I have just started reading The Lovely Bones, written by Alice Sebold. So far, it is a very good book. Susie Salmon, is the main character in the book. One night on her way home from school, she was stopped by her neighbor, Mr. Harvey. Mr. Harvey insisted on showing her a little hang- out place that he had built. Since they were neighbors, and Susie's parents had talked to Mr. Harvey before, she followed him. He had dug up a hole in the ground, that was the size of a little room. "It was awkward to get into, that much he admitted once we were both inside the hole. But I was so amazed by how he had made a chimney that would draw smoke out if he ever chose to build a fire that the awkwardness of getting in and out of the hole wasn't even on my mind. You could add to that that escape wasn't a concept I had any real experience with" (Sebold 9). 

Mr. Harvey showing Susie his "clubhouse"



 

When Susie entered the underground hole, Mr. Harvey talked to her for a while, and offered her a coke, and said he had built this as a neighborhood clubhouse. Out of no where, Mr. Harvey grabbed a knife, and killed Susie. That night, Mr. Salmon called the police to report that Susie was missing. "He gave the police my blood type, had to describe the lightness of my skin. They asked him if I had any identifying features" (Sebold 20). When Susie was killed, she went to heaven.


Susie in heaven


Almost everything she wished for she got, except to live again. Susie has a best friend, who also is her roommate, named Holly. Holly and Susie have an intake counselor named Franny. "We had been given, in our heavens, our simplest dreams" (Sebold 18). From Susie's heaven, she can see everything that is happening on Earth. She experiences the grief that her family has to go through, and the long process it takes for the police to find her killer.


Holly and Susie

The Lovely Bones: Movie Trailer

 

 

The Lovely Bones: Film vs. Book 

 

 

Book Reviews

This link leads to multiple reviews about The Lovely Bones. This website also includes a synopsis of the book, along with a couple of excerpts from the book.

 

 

 

The Lucky One: Overview

Now twenty- seven years old, and a retired marine, Logan Thibault sets out on the adventure of a life time. It all started on Logan's way back to his camp, from his morning run. He saw a photograph sticking out of the ground. He picked it up, thinking it could be important to somebody. Logan asked around the camp, and hung it up on a bulletin board. However, no one claimed it. Logan put it in his pocket, and it has been there ever since. The photograph is of a young female at a fair.

Logan's friend Victor keeps insisting it is a lucky charm. Ever since Logan put the picture in his pocket, he has been winning poker games and surviving deadly events. " 'Do you remember the firefight? The one where Jackson and the others died when the Humvee blew up...You saved my life.'
'No, I didn't. I just hauled you back.'
'Thibault, I followed you. When you jumped from the Humvee. I was going to stay, but when I saw you go, I knew I had no choice.'
'What are you talking ab-?'
'The picture,' Victor interrupted. 'I know you carry it with you. I followed your luck and it saved me.' " (Sparks 99)

After leaving the marines, Victor convinced Logan to search for the woman in the photograph. Logan, along with his dog, Zeus, walked all the way from Colorado to the small town of Hampton, North Carolina. Once Logan found Elizabeth, it wasn't smooth sailing from there. Logan applied for a job on Nana's (Elizabeth's grandmother) farm working in the dog kennel. Nana trains dogs for a living. She was in much need of Logan's help. Logan found a little house to live in. He also had to  continuously put up with Elizabeth's ex- husband Clayton. Clayton didn't approve of Logan dating Elizabeth and building a strong relationship with their son, Ben. Clayton's family name in town is very big, so he can pretty much get away with anything, even breaking into Logan's house. "The blanket was the first giveaway. There was a tiny ridge in the blanket, caused by someone who didn't know how to tuck in the covers military fashion- something few, if anyone, would have noticed. He noticed. The clothes in his drawers showed similar disturbances: a rumple here, a sleve folded the wrong way there. Not only had someone entered the home while he'd been at work, but he'd searched thoroughly... All right, so Clayton wanted to cover his tracks. But there was still more to this than met the eye. And it had to do with Elizabeth" (Sparks 253 & 254). Clayton likes to control Elizabeth's life, so when Logan came along, it caused some problems.

Towards the end of the book, Elizabeth finds out the full reason why Logan came to Hampton. At first she was shocked, and wanted nothing to do with him anymore. She believed he was a stalker and could not be trusted. "Though she heard him plainly, she couldn't comprehend the words. She waited for more, and the steady silence that followed, she realized she found them... chilling somehow. The hairs on her arms pricked, and she took another step back. 'Who are you?' she hissed. ' What do you want from me?' " (Sparks 334). This definately put a wrinkle in their relationship. Elizabeth and Logan worked through it though, and it made their relationship stronger.

At the very end of the book, a major event occured. Clayton was drunk and came over to Elizabeth's house. He suggested that they go out on a date, for old times sake. Elizabeth said no, then Clayton threatened to get full custody of Ben. Ben overheard this conversation and said he would not go to live with his dad. He charged outside into the rain, and ran up to his unstable treehouse. Logan, Clayton, and Elizabeth ran after him. When Logan, Clayton, and Ben were on the bridge, it collapsed and the three boys fell down into the river below. Logan grabbed hold of a stick and got out. Zeus, Logan's dog, grabbed hold of Ben, and together they swam towards shore. However, Clayton wasn't so lucky. He died in the river, that day. "But when all was said and done, Keith Clayton would be remembered by her with unequivocal gratitude. She could never forget how he'd carried her when she fell that day. Or in the end, he'd died trying to save their son. That counted for something. That counted for a lot, and despite his other failings, that would always be how she chose to remember him" (Sparks 384).

The Lucky One: Theme & Summary

The central message or theme that is present in The Lucky One is that everything happens for a reason. This theme develops throughout the course of the book because in the beginning of the book, Logan Thibault is in the marines. After he turned twenty-three, he deployed to Kuwait as a part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Logan decided to join the military, since his dad had served with the marines for twenty-five years. His dad went into the marines as a private, then worked his way up to being a sergeant. Two years after leaving the marines, Logan's dad died of a heart attack, when Logan was fifteen.

There were many rumors spreading around the camp where Logan was stationed, about the next move. The only way that Logan could calm his nerves was to go for long runs. He preferred to run in the morning, when it was still cool outside. On the way back to his tent from one of his morning runs, he spotted a photograph, half buried in the dirt. "He brushed off the dust, clearing the image, and that was the first time he saw her. The blonde with the smile and the jade-colored mischievous eyes, wearing jeans and a T-shirt emblazoned with the words LUCKY LADY across the front. Behind her was a banner showing the words HAMPTON FAIRGROUNDS. A German shepherd, gray in the muzzle, stood by her side. In the crowd behind her were two young men, clustered near the ticket stand and a bit out of focus, wearing T-shirts with logos. Three evergreen trees rose in the distance, pointy ones that could grow almost anywhere. On the back of the photo were the handwritten words, 'Keep Safe! E.'" (Sparks 25). At first, Logan almost put the picture back down, but then he realized that someone must be missing this picture. When he returned to camp, he hung the photo on a message board near the entrance to the computer center, thinking that someone would see it and claim it. A few days later, he saw the photo still tacked to the board. He took it down and put it in his pocket.

It was that night, when Logan had his first win while playing poker. While Logan, and his friend Victor, were on their way back to their tent, Victor said he thought the picture was bringing him good luck. " 'You found that picture for a reason. No one claimed it for a reason. You took it today for a reason. Only you were meant to have it.' " (Sparks 27).Even from the beginning of the book, things are happening for a reason. This is all tying back to the central theme of this book.

Logan's luck continued after the night he won poker. He carried his lucky picture in his pocket, with him, everywhere he went. He survived many deadly battles, and beat the record for the number of bombs survived. "It was just that kind of place, and nearly everyone had heard the story of Tony Stevens, a marine from the Twenty-fourth MEU- Marine Expeditionary Unit- who'd survived nine bombs. One of the major newspapers had written an article about him entitled 'The Luckiest Marine.' His was a record no one wanted to break. [Logan] Thibault broke it. By the time he left Ramadi, he'd survived eleven explosions" (Sparks 97).When Logan left the marines, he went back to his home state, Colorado. It wasn't until Victor told Logan, that he owed something to the woman in the picture who saved his life, did Logan set off to find her. He walked all the way from Colorado to the small town Hampton, with his German shepherd, Zeus, in search of the woman in the picture. Logan's hard work eventually paid off, when he found her.

Elizabeth is a single mother of an eight-year-old son, Ben. Elizabeth and Ben live with her grandmother, on her farm. "Nana", as they call her owns a dog training business. She has a "Help Wanted" sign in the window, and Logan applies for the job. Elizabeth and Logan eventually fall in love, and face many challenging times. With every challenge they face, their relationship becomes stronger than ever.
 
Had Logan not gone for a run and found his lucky picture, he might not still be alive, or with the love of his life. Everything happens for a reason.