Homework Question on “The Lovely Bones”
Writer MUST have access to “The Lovely Bones” by Alice Sebold. Use the novel to add to the below question that has already been answered by another student.
For this assignment Times New Roman 12pt font is to be used.
- This is a discussion. Be detailed in your response, and make sure you reference back to the novel in your response of the other students answer.
- DO NOT restate what the other student has already said. You are adding to the response of what the student has said in a discussion format.
- Make sure you reference the material in your response in MLA formate.
Susie Salmon is walking home from school when she encounters Mr. Harvey, her next-door neighbor, and notices that he is looking at her strangely.
- Why does she follow him into the cornfield?
- Discuss how Mr. Harvey lures Susie to his secret hideout.
- What should Susie have done when she first encountered Mr. Harvey?
- What can young adults learn from the tragedy of Susie’s death?
Mr. Harvey set out to make himself less scary by asking how Susie’s folks were, to show that he was concerned about her parents. Susie was on her way through the cornfield (a shortcut to her home) when she encountered Harvey, and he piqued her interest with saying he built something “back here” (Sebold, p. 7. 2002). From speaking to her dad one time, he gathered that Susie’s father had raised his children with manners, and he depended on Susie to be polite and not be rude to the neighbors. When she tells him she must get home because her mother requires her to be home before dark, Harvey states, “it’s after dark, Susie” (Sebold, p. 7. 2002). I feel fell like he told her that to convey to her that she was already late and in trouble, what does a few minutes more matter? He was clearly a sociopath, and he could manipulate Susie into looking further into his “room.” I feel like Susie was doomed the minute her foot touched the ladder that led to the hole in the cornfield that is now her grave. Clearly, these few moments in the first chapter were the catalyst that drives the whole novel and sets the tone for it.
Upon encountering Harvey, Susie should have backed away and ran while yelling for help, for “stranger danger” should have been put into place. At the age of fourteen, Susie would not have been mature enough to have the coping mechanism that usually rape victims have, like seeking sympathy from their abuser and talking to them then convincing them to let her go.
Young adults should always be with a friend, never alone and stay in well lit, populated places, being weary of strangers and aware of their surroundings; however, the latter may be difficult in the age of phones being in their faces 24/7.
Homework Answer on “The Lovely Bones”
The protagonist in the story is raped and murdered in the first chapter. However, as we read through we realize that her point of vantage is in a location, she considers being home. The place Susie considers home has the sharp resemblance to a suburban high school. It is seen to be blessed with various playing fields and kids shooting studs (Sebold, 328). The place is also blessed with so many fanciful constructions and thus suits the description of ‘my heaven’.
In a nutshell, the place where she spends her living is so beautiful that she thinks it is a replica of what might be in heaven (Sebold,328)The relationship between the ladies and lads in school was awesome. There is no instance in which the boys would fight the ladies or make them feel less of people. Even teachers didn’t exist except for art classes. They had an awesome counselor known as Franny who had survived a gunshot.
The counselor dedicated all his life to taking care of girls with the belief that it is the greatest fulfillment he can ever achieve in life. The best thing about the school is that their ice cream shop never lacked a peppermint. That is to mean everything was ever provided and available (Sebold, 328)The book, ‘lovely bones’ present the reality that many have failed to embrace.