1. Plot Summary
The story of The Lovely Bones begins on December 6, 1973. Susie Salmon, the narrator, has been raped and murdered by her neighbor, George Harvey, and is telling the story from her Heaven. Harvey has lured Susie into a cornfield where he commits his crime, leaving behind only an elbow as evidence. He has a plan to dispose of her body, so he “[takes] the waxy orange sack of [her] remains to a sinkhole eight miles from [their] neighborhood,” where he knows they will disappear forever (51). A month after Susie’s murder, her father, Jack, begins to suspect Mr. Harvey. The police say that there is “no good reason to suspect the man,” and they give up on Susie’s case (134). Two months after her death, Susie’s funeral is held. Her grandmother …show more content…
In the heat of the investigation, Jack also becomes overwhelmed and has a heart attack so his wife flies back home to be with her family. While she is home Susie watches “[her] parents fall back in love” (280). Seeing her family back together and happy once again helps Susie find peace in Heaven. She lets her physical life go and finally moves on. After she comes to terms with her murder, Mr. Harvey is killed in an unfortunate accident that Susie cannot help but take credit for. She knows that she has saved other girls from going through what she went through and she wishes everyone left on Earth a “long and happy life” …show more content…
Sebold exposes both positive and negative characteristics for each of them, however, the positive descriptions are more prominent. Susie is a young girl who searches for peace within her Heaven. Along her journey, she shows that she is caring and inquisitive by nature. While these traits seem positive, she proves they also have a negative effect on her life and ultimately lead to her death. She cares for all people and does not want to hurt Mr. Harvey’s feelings. While walking through the field she sticks around to talk with him even though it does not feel right. She is also eager to learn new things, so she is “no longer cold or weirded out by the look he had given [her],” instead she becomes curious to learn more about the hole he built in the field (9). This is the moment that Harvey kills her and sends her soul to Heaven. From the second she arrives there, she is angry with herself and her killer. She wants revenge and is prepared to do anything possible to make Harvey regret his actions. She becomes so consumed by this hatred that she realizes it is up to her to make a change. She begins to look at things from a different perspective and find the positive in every situation. She quickly learns that with a positive attitude her heaven can now include “all [her] simplest desires but also the most humble and grand” (325). This allows Susie to let go of her physical life and live in the
The story of The Lovely Bones begins on December 6, 1973. Susie Salmon, the narrator, has been raped and murdered by her neighbor, George Harvey, and is telling the story from her Heaven. Harvey has lured Susie into a cornfield where he commits his crime, leaving behind only an elbow as evidence. He has a plan to dispose of her body, so he “[takes] the waxy orange sack of [her] remains to a sinkhole eight miles from [their] neighborhood,” where he knows they will disappear forever (51). A month after Susie’s murder, her father, Jack, begins to suspect Mr. Harvey. The police say that there is “no good reason to suspect the man,” and they give up on Susie’s case (134). Two months after her death, Susie’s funeral is held. Her grandmother …show more content…
In the heat of the investigation, Jack also becomes overwhelmed and has a heart attack so his wife flies back home to be with her family. While she is home Susie watches “[her] parents fall back in love” (280). Seeing her family back together and happy once again helps Susie find peace in Heaven. She lets her physical life go and finally moves on. After she comes to terms with her murder, Mr. Harvey is killed in an unfortunate accident that Susie cannot help but take credit for. She knows that she has saved other girls from going through what she went through and she wishes everyone left on Earth a “long and happy life” …show more content…
Sebold exposes both positive and negative characteristics for each of them, however, the positive descriptions are more prominent. Susie is a young girl who searches for peace within her Heaven. Along her journey, she shows that she is caring and inquisitive by nature. While these traits seem positive, she proves they also have a negative effect on her life and ultimately lead to her death. She cares for all people and does not want to hurt Mr. Harvey’s feelings. While walking through the field she sticks around to talk with him even though it does not feel right. She is also eager to learn new things, so she is “no longer cold or weirded out by the look he had given [her],” instead she becomes curious to learn more about the hole he built in the field (9). This is the moment that Harvey kills her and sends her soul to Heaven. From the second she arrives there, she is angry with herself and her killer. She wants revenge and is prepared to do anything possible to make Harvey regret his actions. She becomes so consumed by this hatred that she realizes it is up to her to make a change. She begins to look at things from a different perspective and find the positive in every situation. She quickly learns that with a positive attitude her heaven can now include “all [her] simplest desires but also the most humble and grand” (325). This allows Susie to let go of her physical life and live in the