Denial In The Lovely Bones

People grieve in different ways, when they have been hit with a tragedy. The novel, “The Lovely Bones,” by Alice Sebold, teaches us this similar lesson. By seeing the characters go through denial, anger, and acceptance, the author shows us how the Salmon family comes to accept the death of their daughter and no longer allow her passing to tear the family apart. All of the characters in the book “The Lovely Bones” experience denial in one way or another. Abigail Salmon, Susie’s mother feels denial in the worst way. When the police first tell her that her daughter is missing and possibly dead she quickly denies it and goes into her own bubble, some place where no one can reach her. With every growing piece of evidence she keeps denying the fact …show more content…
The whole Salmon family first begins their journey to acceptance when they are shown Susie’s elbow. It is a horrifying piece of evidence for the family; but before that they have refused to believe that she is dead. Jack comes to accept her death before Abigail, his wife. He knows she was dead and that nothing could bring her back, but Abigail was still clinging on to a small piece of hope. Instead, Abigail tries to find comfort somewhere else. She goes to Len Fenerman, the lead detective, because she believes him more than her husband. Buckley, Susie’s younger brother, is very young, so he doesn’t know what happening, he thinks that Susie has gone to friend’s house and would be back soon. “You won’t see Susie anymore, honey. None of us will. My father cried. Buckley looked up into the eyes of our father and did not fully understand.” (pg. 70) What he does not know is that she will never come back. Lindsey knows her sister is dead and goes into her room and through her things to find acceptance. Susie, along with her family, needs to accept the fact that she is dead. Susie refuses to give up on earth and all the milestones she is missing. Franny, her mother figure in heaven, tells her that she needs to accept the fact that she is dead and needs to move on. She cannot live in between and constantly get upset watching her family on earth. The whole family will be able to …show more content…
The grieving process is an emotional component that comes along with certain tragedies. Denial, anger, and acceptance are 3 of the stages that are all shown in “The Lovely Bones.” Throughout the novel, the readers witness the agonizing pain that the Salmon family goes through. Loss and sorrow is shown throughout the story, but what I believe the main point of the novel is that the dead need to let go of the living, just as the living need to recuperate from their losses as well. However this process cannot be done completely alone, or you will be forever stuck in on stage. People need to realize that they always have a support system of people looking out for them and willing to help, all they need to do is ask for