The Lovely Bones Essay Example

currents to reproduce.

Both the salmon and Susie embark on seemingly impossible journeys to ensure the survival and identity of their species. Unlike typical girls who experience common milestones like first kisses and break-ups, Susie must grow up in an alternate way to define herself. Similar to the salmon, she must swim against the odds and take a different route to reach her desired destination of self-knowledge and identity.

Susie can choose another path – observing her family and friends from afar. By keeping an eye on what they do when they think nobody's looking, she notices how they change and adapt. At first, she hopes to find answers to her questions through them, but as she sees them returning to their normal lives and dealing with their grief, she also confronts the answers she's been avoiding.

Susie values the omniscience she possesses as it aids her in discovering and comprehending herself. Constantly observing, she uncovers various fragments of clues that allow her to rebuild the world she left behind, a world that must continue to progress despite her absence. By accepting this realization, Susie finds peace within herself. The reappearance of Abigail, Susie’s mother, after learning of her husband Jack’s heart attack prompts Susie’s significant insights. Susie muses, “I had begun to wonder if this was what I had been waiting for – my family to reunite, not with me but with each other in my absence.”

Susie’s grandfather’s advice to not worry because "you’re so close" foreshadows her eventual realization about herself and her life that was tragically ended by violence. Although Susie has gained some understanding and acceptance of her situation, the

novel’s conclusion suggests that her transformation is not yet complete. This is evidenced by Susie’s response to the discovery of her charm bracelet by a couple: "Almost. Not quite. I wish you all a happy life."

"Susie is releasing her obsession with earthly matters as she realizes that her search for identity cannot be fulfilled on Earth alone. She understands the necessity of seeking answers elsewhere and heeding Franny's counsel to relinquish the longing for specific solutions and to relinquish her attachment to Earth."