Alice Seabold's purpose in writing The Lovely Bones is share her portrayal of heaven, warn others that tragedies do exist, and to give hope to those that have been inflicted with pain from the death of a loved one. George Harvey is put in t he story to caution others of dangerous predators. She shows that there are those kinds of people out there that appear innocent, but are actually criminals or murderers. Children, especially, should be aware of of strangers.
There is a twist in Seabold's heaven compared to most people's imagination of heaven. Most people believe that heaven is a place with God and all the other descriptions of it that are written in the Bible. In Susie's heaven you can look down upon Earth anytime, continuing to be with your loved ones as as they live their daily lives. Also, she does not mention a hell. Seabold probably believes either that humans are ultimate good and are undeserving of eternal suffering, a hell does not exist, or that people that are generally considered moral go to heaven.
"These were the lovely bones that had grown around my absence: the connection- sometimes tenuous, sometimes made at a great cost, but often magnificent- after I was gone." (p363)
In the quote, it is clear of the meaning of the title. Even though tragedies are unavoidable, she hopes that the victims will be able to see a new light and hope for the future. Though Susie's bones and memories of her were symbols of heartache, they were able to result in something good. Through her death, her family and friends depended on each other for support and new relationships were formed. Ruth and Ray, who were loners found friendship with one another. Lindsey leaned on Samuel's shoulder and eventually were engaged. In the end, both the one in heaven and those on Earth learned to let go of each other. Though the story started out horrifically, it was able to end beautifully.
I think that her purposes were well achieved. I think that if someone who has just gone through a mourning period and read this, he would feel less burdened. He would have hope that his loved one is in a better place. Also, thinking that he are being watched by that loved one he would strive to live his life to the fullest in attempt to make that person happy.
Pick a character that interested you. Describe the character in depth.
In my opinion, the most interesting character in the story is Abigail Salmon. She represents how a typical person would respond to the death of a loved one. Being a mother, Susie's death must have affected her the most. To know that the child that came out of her body, that she nurtured, and gave the best to is gone was devastatingly painful. It was a scar that could never heal even with time. She falsely believes that by running away, her problems will vanish into thin air. She takes radical action in traveling thousands of miles to the West Coast to escape what haunts her.
Though I did not understand while I was reading this, there appears to be something intriguing about her. Jack calls her "Ocean eyes", not because they are blue, but because once you look into them you seem to drown in emotion. I wonder what she has or experienced that cause her eyes to arouse such feelings in others. While Susie was playing with her camera one day, she captures a picture of her mother sitting on the porch. Susie realizes that her mom looks different; for the first time she looks like Abigail. That means that she normally puts up a mask to not reveal her true self.
Abigail Salmon stirred my emotions by making me angry while I was reading. I could not help but feel disapproval towards her. She has an affair with Len Fenerman using pain to justify her actions. She later returns to her husband without ever telling him of her involvement with the police officer. She also leaves her children for seven years, not taking on the responsibilities as a mother. Her immoral behaviors, though not as extreme as Mr. Harvey's, made her stand out among the other characters.
What are the weaknesses of this book, in your opinion?
Though this book is a national bestseller, it has failed to meet my high expectations. It is unable to capture my attention. I was only interested in the first chapter where the murder takes place and then the rest of the book was a drag. I had to force myself to continue; once I actually fell asleep while reading it. Seabold puts in too many unnecessary details that do nothing, but make the story longer. Susie, the main character is not given enough action either; all she ever does is sit at the gazebo and gaze down upon Earth.
Even though Seabold puts a twist in the story, I think that there are parts that are unrealistic. Since the story seemed to be a rational one that could possibly happen in real life, I think that the idea of having Susie return to Earth in Ruth's body is awkward. It is also useless because all she does is make love with Ray; she does not even communicate with her family. The parts where Ruth sees spirits leaving Earth and writing down the descriptions in her diary was weird. It made me think that Ruth was insane.
Though the story begins with suspense, the ending is a flop disappointment. It is not anywhere near what I had expected. I had imagined a scene where the police officers are restraining Mr. Harvey and handcuffing him after finding solid evidence against him. They bring him to the Salmon's house where he is interrogated for his crimes. He confesses of his methods of killing his victims. The sirens attract neighbors that surround the house. In the end though, Mr, Harvey dies by falling on an icicle. That was a pathetic death. Though karma gets him, his one life does not compensate for all those that he had taken.
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