The Lovely Bones :)

by Alice Sebold

Alice was born in Wisconsin but grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia. After high school she enrolled at Syracuse University where all her troubles began.

Alice was raped while walking home through a park just off campus. When she reported the crime the cops told her she was lucky, for a young woman had been murdered in the same location not too long before.

• After college and after some harsh times with drugs, Sebold published her first novel. That novel was actually a memoir of her rape that had begun as a ten page writing assignment for school. She wrote the story Lucky to tell her story of how she was lucky to be alive!

After Lucky, Alice wrote this novel, The Lovely Bones, because it related to her story but was actually based on the girl who was not so lucky. She chose these harsh topics, for she feels the crime is real and quite possible in this world.

Basic Plot

-This story is about a fourteen year old girl named Susie Salmon who was raped and then murdered. She tells her story from heaven as she watches over her family and friends in the real world and the many ways they cope with her death along with their struggle to live on without her and try to find her murderer.

Original Publication

-This book was originally published in 2002 by Little, Brown and Company and Alice Sebold.

-Then in 2009 director Peter Jackson released the Lovely Bones movie based off of the story.

Major Characters

• Susie Salmon-The Fourteen year old girl who was raped anmurdered and serves as the narrator of this novel.
• Jack and Abigail Salmon-The parents of Susie. Jack shows the greatest grief and guilt for his oldest daughter's death while his wife leaves them after Susie's death to get away.
• Lindsey Salmon-Susie's sister is seen as the mini Susie by all those who see her, yet she lives her hurt in silence. She feels she must always give off a strong image to those affected by Susie's death because she is now the oldest child.
• Buckley Salmon-Susie's four year old brother serves as the character who is oblivious to what is going on around yet in the end there is an apparent change as he steps up to help his dad and sister with their grief.
• Mr. Harvey-Susie's murderer or the antagonist in the story.

Major Character Traits

-Susie was a jealous sibling who "...tried to pee on top of Lindsey in her carrier"(Sebold 7). As the oldest she was always jealous of her siblings special treatment.

-Abigail and Jack are both weak because her mom "...packed her bags for California,"(Sebold 220) and left New Hampshire behind whereas Jack had a "...heart attack"(Sebold 258).

-Lindsey is the strong character or the protagonist because she has to put up with all the talk about her sister and hold her own. "Her eyes were dry"(Sebold 125).

-George Harvey, the antagonist is very disgusting in the way his mind works and he kills woman. "Your mine now"(Sebold 12).

Setting

-There are two major settings in this novel.

-One is Susie's hometown in Pennsylvania where her murder occurs and she watches over most of her friends and family. "...in the cornfield by our house it was dark and snowing..."(Sebold 6).

-Another is Susie's heaven where "...blocks were turquoise and orange"(Sebold 16).

Themes

• The main theme in this novel is grief. Basically it's how each character in the novel responded so differently and how each one coped with Susie's death. "And they had never understood, as they did now, what the word horror meant"(Sebold 21).
• Another theme is Love and Acceptance. This is seen when Susie's mother has an affair with the detective then has to escape only to come back when Jack truly needed her.

Symbols

• The major symbol in this story is Susie's Pennsylvania charm that her murderer had taken off her bracelet then desposed of only to be found again. This symbol represented the search for Susie and the hope that they could get over her death.
• Another symbol is the gazebo, because it represents life for Susie where she gets to watch over her family and friends on earth. "I would sit in the gazebo and watch"(Sebold 40).
• The shoe from monopoly is also a symbol of Susie.

Motifs

• A motif in this story is the number 5 that her murderer keeps seeing throughout the novel because it is the fear of him getting caught just like Lindsey in her number 5 jersey almost learned his secrets.

READ IT??

• For girls I definitely do recommend reading this book it was very addicting to read plus it opens your eyes to the possibility that that could be you!
• Guys i dont really believe you would enjoy it because it truly is a girly book!

The Lovely Bones

Works Cited

PinkMonkey. "The Lovely Bones- SYMBOLISM/MOTIFS/IMAGERY/SYMBOLS by Alice Sebold Study Guide." PinkMonkey.com-450 Free Book Notes,Study Guides,Chapter Summary,Online,Download Booknotes. 19 July 2007. Web. 08 Dec. 2010. <http://www.pinkmonkey.com/booknotes/monkeynotes/pmLovelyBones35.asp>.

Sebold, Alice. The Lovely Bones: a Novel. Boston: Little, Brown, 2002. Print.