Ordinary People Book Report

The novel that I have chosen for my culminating performance task is Ordinary People by Judith Guest. I have chosen this novel based on a spontaneous impulse which attracted me to the title of this novel. While the list of pre-screened pieces was being dictated, as soon as I heard the title Ordinary People, I had the sudden desire to search it up to find out what the novel is about. After having read a summary of the novel and several reviews on it, I knew that I had to choose this book for my task. What truly interests me about this novel is its subject matter. The novel is about a pair of brothers who were at one time extremely close, but are suddenly torn apart by a tragedy. This appeals to me because I myself, have two brothers, both of which I am very close to. By being in a similar situation as to that of the protagonist, I feel that I will be able to sympathize for the protagonist and I will understand what he is going through much better than those who do not have similar close-knit relationships with their siblings. Another thing that interests me about this novel’s genre is the fact that it is a …show more content…
Through the reviews and summaries I have read, I also hope to get an insight into the darkness behind depression and I anticipate to learn what depression really is and to cut the stigmas tied to depression and mental illness. In my culminating performance task, I plan to compare and contrast Ordinary People with Shakespeare’s Hamlet. These two literary pieces share a common theme of tragedy. I plan on analyzing how each protagonist reacts to a tragedy in their family, how they cope with the sudden changes in their lives and how depression has changed not only their outlook on life, but their behaviour and