A Great ChangeOld Historical Criticism Essay

Courtney StiefvaterMay 17, 2013

1

The 1970s was a period of continued change and growth for the United States.

Minority groups continued to fight for equal treatment and the United States continued to

play a part in world affairs. Many books written in this decade were written and

interpreted differently. Most of them were about the Vietnam War but people didn’t want

to read about it because they didn’t want to experience it again. So authors like Judith

Guest wrote about other things like teen suicide. Some would interpret the book as

having nothing to do with a certain person or group but the way I believed it was about

the United States society and its struggles through the Vietnam War and post-war. These

struggles contributed to the changing of society and the way they deal with it. Teen

suicide ties in with this because they go through the same subconscious thought as the

1970’s society’s.

In Judith Guest's Ordinary People, Conrad and Calvin Jarrett go through the

struggles of their lives. Conrad is the son of Calvin and Beth. Conrad was involved in a

boating accident with his brother, Buck, which left Buck dead. A year later, Conrad tried

to commit suicide but failed. He was forced to spend time in a hospital. At the beginning

of the novel, he has been out of the hospital for a month. He is trying to get his life back

on track but has no motivation and feels little purpose in life. He then begins to see Dr.

Berger to help him recover from the traumatic event. Conrad begins a steady relationship

with Jeannine Pratt and rebuilds some of his old friendships.

Calvin is the father of Conrad. He blames himself for most of the negative things

that occur in his family. He is married to Beth, who just wants to move on from the past

event that happened and not dwell on it. This attitude conflicts with Calvin, who thinks

that the family needs to talk about the past. This drives a wedge between them and

eventually Beth leaves.

2

In this novel, a major theme that runs throughout is the importance of

communication. Conrad and Calvin go through this in different ways.  Conrad was able

to realize he no longer has self-control and heals himself by having a particular session

with Dr. Berger after learning that his friend Karen from the hospital had committed

suicide. Conrad was scared that he would end up like Karen and kill himself. So when he

went to his therapy session, Dr. Berger helped him.

“‘Ah, God, I don’t know. I don’t know, it just keeps coming, I can’t make it stop!’

‘Don’t, then.’

‘I can’t! I can’t get the through this! It’s all hanging over my head!’

‘What’s hanging over your head?’

‘I don’t know!’ He looks up, dazed, drawing a deep breath. ‘I need something, I want

something---I want to get off the hook!’

‘For What?’

He begins to cry again. ‘For killing him, don’t you know that? For letting him drown!’”

(Guest 205,206)

Dr. Berger helped Conrad release the thoughts he was holding on to. Throughout their

conversation, Conrad kept blaming himself, even after Dr. Berger told him all the logical

reasons as to why he didn’t kill his brother, Buck. “‘You were on opposite sides of the

boat...And he was a better swimmer than you. He was stronger, he had more endurance.’”

(Guest 206) Eventually Conrad realizes that he shouldn’t feel guilty at what happened. So

when he does realize this, he becomes closer with Jeannine. Conrad formed a close

3

relationship with Jeannine Pratt throughout his therapy. She was new to the school this

year and didn’t know what happened to Conrad the year before. But she eventually finds

out. One night after the therapy session Conrad released his thoughts about the accident,

he was with Jeannine and her brother, Mike. They end up going to her room towards the

end of the night. Later on, Jeannine tells Conrad about why she moved here. After she

told him about the boy, she asked him about his suicide attempt;

“She turns his arm up. The fingertips of her other hand brush lightly against the scar on

his wrist.

‘Did it hurt?’

‘No,’ he says. ‘I don’t think so. I don’t remember.’

‘Would you rather not talk about it?’

‘I don’t know. I’ve never talked about it. To doctors, but not to anyone else.’” (Guest

231).    

He then is able to open himself up to her and talk about things that he does not speak to

anyone else about. He talks about why he did it and that he doesn’t feel the same way he

did when he decided to kill himself.  This communication allows him to get back into the

“ordinary” life he once had. Throughout the novel, Calvin and Beth have obvious

communication problems, especially regarding the overwhelming issues in their family.

Calvin tries to help Conrad adjust after being hospitalized, however, Beth wants to move

past and forget it ever happened. She believes that Calvin should stop apologizing to

Conrad.  Having lost the ability to communicate with each other because of the

4

completely different opinions they have over what they should do, their relationship came

to a halt. Beth abruptly leaves Calvin and Conrad. Calvin eventually informs Conrad

about this and ultimately brings father and son back together. This relationship was one

of the main ways Guest wrote this novel. “Working through the mind of Conrad, I had

the feeling that the story written solely from his point of view would soon become whiny

and self-serving. He needed someone to help him, someone who could bring a degree of

maturity and insight to the problems. I chose his father...”(Guest). Guest needed another

viewpoint to add to Conrad’s and eventually it led to Calvin having a life of his own that

was separate from that of his son’s. Guest does this in a phenomenal way by adding the

theme of communication to Calvin’s marriage.

Another major theme in this novel is healing. Guest shows healing of her

characters in different ways. At first Conrad did not know what his purpose was in life

when he came home from the hospital. He had not sense of direction coming from a place

where there was an everyday routine planned out for him. He didn’t have to think. Once

he came home, he tried going back to his old routine of going to school, swimming, old

friends; but he was unable to. Then Conrad starts seeing Dr. Berger twice a week. This

conflicts with his swimming but eventually Conrad decides to quit swimming. Dr. Berger

helps guide Conrad to talk about what has happened. He eventually starts to focus on

school and his work. The conflicts with his mother continue to grow but not resolved. He

patches up the relationship with his father and in the end; Conrad learns that he cannot

replace his dead brother. He can only be himself and is prepared for whatever might

come. Along with this, Calvin and Beth’s relationship is trying to go throw a healing

process of its own but their conflicted opinions get the better of it all and the healing

5

inevitably fails. Beth leaves to go to Europe but a divorce is never talked about.

Throughout the book, Conrad talks about his good friend, Lazenby. Lazenby was really

close with Conrad before Conrad went to the hospital. But once he came back to school,

he wasn’t the same; Con had quit swimming and didn’t want to talk or associate with

anyone. After one of the swim meets, Conrad started a fight with one of his other friends,

Stillman. When Conrad went back to his car, Lazenby joined him and they talked for a

short time. Conrad suggests that they should talk and they do. “’Laze,’ he says, ‘we’re

still friends.’ ‘Are we?’ Lazenby’s voice is flat, strained. ‘Look, I don’t know why you

want to be alone in this, but I wouldn’t shit you, man, I miss him, too.’” (Guest 168)

They ended saying their goodbyes but still feels like they aren’t as close. But by the end

of the book, Conrad realizes that he needs his friends to be with him. So he goes over to

Lazenby’s house and they end up resolving their friendship like nothing happened.

These themes are supported by how Guest writes this book. She has someone lose

pretty much everything and forces them to climb back up to their former selves and

shows that people can be themselves again. With life problems, we are ordinary people.

The 70’s were an extremely interesting time period. Filled with crisis, new

technology, and great entertainment. The timely events of the 60’s, including war and the

changing society, seemed certain to continue in the 70’s. Many of the 60’s ideas gained

wider acceptance in this new decade. A presidential impeachment and the ending of a

war impacted American life and culture. Advances in civil rights, women’s movements,

space exploration, and the growing disappointment in the government were major trends

throughout the decade. By the end of the decade, people changed from the beginning of

the decade.

6

        Before June 17, 1972, all everyone knew about the word “Watergate” was nothing

more than an office and a nice apartment complex in Washington, D.C. As a result of a

burglary, it came to be known as where the greatest political scandal occurred. It would

greatly impact the life of President Richard Nixon. One night, a security guard at the

Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C., discovered a piece of tape on the lock of the door

that led to the Democratic National Committee.  This foiled break-in attempt at the

Watergate scandal was part of a larger campaign by Nixon supporters to tarnish the

reputation of Democratic candidates and the Democratic Party. Democratic candidates

were harassed, subject to negative campaign ads, and on two separate occasions the

National Democratic Headquarters were broken into. As soon as the attempted break-in

at Watergate Hotel scandal became known, president Richard Nixon ordered the entire

affair covered up. It became clear that the Nixon presidency had been involved in serious

manipulation and abuses of power for years. Millions of dollars coming from Nixon

supporters were used to pay for the cover-up in an attempt to hide the truth from

Congress and the American people. The investigation into Watergate scandal revealed

that Nixon knew about the break-in from the beginning and that he was involved in the

cover-up as it progressed. In the early stages of the Watergate scandal almost all of the

media reported the break-in as a minor story with little national significance. This was

until two young reporters, Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward who were working for the

Washington Post began to dig deeper into the mystery. Woodward and Bernstein

uncovered one of the significant stories of the twentieth century. They became the

catalyst in forcing the first presidential resignation in American history. As the Watergate

scandal investigation began, testimony revealed that there was a taping system that was

installed to record conversations in the Oval Office, Camp David, the Cabinet rooms, and

7

Nixon's hideaway office. Nixon argued that the tapes contained only private

conversations between the president and his advisors. The Supreme Court did not agree.

The court ordered the president to release the tapes. The Nixon tapes were released in the

1970s and contained 18 minutes of silence that have never been explained. All Nixon

wanted was to gain an advantage and win the election but because of the Watergate

Scandal, he didn’t get to. “…Nixon had sought to build a legacy for himself based on

historic achievements in foreign policy. Over the years he built up an idealized image of

himself as a Great Man of History…His deed, he imagined, would shape the destiny of

nations, bring about peace, and redound to his glory. It was not to be.”(Logevall 45). In

mid-1974, the House of Representatives approved the articles of impeachment against

President Nixon.

        The Vietnam War was a very costly war. It not only affected those in battle, but it

left behind long-term problems for the United States. The Vietnam War affected the

United States more negatively than it did positively. Due to the major need for supplies,

weapons, and equipment for the war, factories that were usually used for the making of

consumer goods and services were converted to make all these necessities. Even though it

helped people in need for jobs during the war, it was useless at the end. There was no

more need for the supplies and weapons for the war. The factories that were left empty

after the conversion did nothing but decline the shopping rates of consumer goods, thus

hurting the United States economy. The Vietnam War was very expensive for the United

States. Much of the United States’ money went to aiding the war. Because of this, the

American dollar became weak, and during this time, inflation increased. The massive

spending and climbing interest rates did nothing but hurt the United States economy.

Another effect in the 70’s was the energy shortage that impacted the United States

8

economy. There were several events that brought about the energy crisis and one of them

was the dramatic rise in energy consumption. The United States, in proportion to its

population, was consuming a huge percentage of the world’s energy. At the same time,

oil production declined leading to the country to depend on foreign oil. In 1973, the

United States was placed under an OPEC embargo, which was created in the 1960 to

unify and protect the interests of oil-producing countries. One of the most immediate

effects of the embargo was a dramatically increasing energy price as a result to the

limited supply and high demand.

        The protesting of war and civil rights in the 70’s were becoming a big deal but the

women were quickly getting tired of the discrimination that was brought upon them in

these protest groups. Even when Congress passed several civil rights laws in the 60’s to

end job discrimination based on gender, race, religion, and nationality: employers still

ignored it. “Few women were able to find jobs other than as teachers, nurses, maids, and

secretaries. Those who did earned only fifty-nine cents for every dollar similarly

qualified men made at the same jobs.” (Richards 60,61). Employers didn’t want women

to take the jobs that white men, who seemed better fit to do the work, could do. They felt

that women were inferior to them and discriminated them because of that. Society still

undervalued women. So the women decided to fight back. A dramatic transition from the

late 1960’s to early 1970’s had occurred and one of them was women’s liberation. “[Late

1960’s] The Women’s Movement has virtually no impact on youth values and attitudes.

[Late 1970’s] Wide and deep penetration of Women’s Liberation precepts is

underway.”(Segall 120) Women wanted change and the youth were willing to help and

change. There were several occurrences in the 1970’s that supported this. The National

Organization for Women (NOW) celebrated its fiftieth anniversary of woman suffrage in

9

1970. Their way of celebrating was a Women’s Strike for Equality. Fifty thousand

women (Richards 62) marched in New York City and another 100,000 held rallies in 42

other states. On college campuses, there were “Take Back the Night Vigils”(Richards 62)

that protested sexual violence against women. In 1970, Kent State University went from

being an unknown college campus to a university at which four students were shot and

killed while protesting the United States’ invasion of Cambodia. This was caused by the

Ohio National Guardsmen suddenly firing their rifles and pistols in “self defense”

because other students were provoked by the speeches of the people expressing their own

opinions about the invasion so they started throwing objects at them. College campuses

around the United States have students who do express their idea either for or against the

government or of other concerns they might have about their world.

Living in the 1970’s was where one experienced a unique culture. The 1970’s

consisted of mood rings, lava lamps, Rubik’s cube, sea monkeys, smiley face stickers,

and pet rocks which captured the imagination of Americans during this decade. Hippies

and their fashion from the 60’s continued into the 70’s and eventually mainstreamed.

Men supported longer hair and bellbottom pants, platform shoes, earth shoes, clogs, and

gypsy dresses became the fashion. The music of the 70’s became mostly about disco but

rock was still at it as well with music by Aerosmith, David Bowie, John Lennon, and

Bruce Springsteen. One of the highest grossing film ever, Star Wars, premiered in the

seventies along with Grease, The Godfather, Jaws, and Rocky. Television came of age in

the 70’s with Saturday Night Live, The Brady Bunch, Sesame Street, and Happy Days.

Social movements that were visible on college campuses impacted the American people,

especially the students.

10

The 1970’s was a time in advancing the American ways of life through events like

war and scandals and being able to grow from them. The end of the Vietnam War and the

Watergate Scandal provoked people to voice their own opinions about these events.

College students were a part of these protests. They impacted not just other peers but the

United States as a whole. Other protests about Women’s Liberation hit streets and

politics. Women impacted the way men viewed them. The same arguments are still going

on today in the United States but most men have gained more respect for women. The

Vietnam War and the Watergate Scandal affected the 1970’s politically, economically,

culturally, and socially.

The 1970’s was a decade of change. The lives and ideas among people were

changing in a good way. The beginning of the decade was a rough time for most people

because of the Vietnam War going on and protests by the people. But by the end of the

decade, People were starting to change and enjoy what they have and Judith Guest’s

Ordinary People portrays this.

Conrad is the book's main character next to his father Calvin. Conrad goes

through a hard time in his life where he believed that he had contributed to the death of

his brother. He felt terrible about it and felt like nothing was important anymore. So he

tried to commit suicide. The 1970’s start out its decade in the middle of the Vietnam War.

It is a pretty depressing time for not only the United States but for the Vietnamese. The

people of the United States run protests to end the War and just want all the fighting to

stop and eventually it does in 1973.

After the ending of the Vietnam War, the United States needed to gain control

again. At first it didn’t seem like they could, just like how Conrad felt like he still

couldn’t through life after his failed suicide. The United States was in a rough place, the

11

economy was poor due to the over abundance of empty warehouses full of unused war

supplies and weapons. The economy we in a very poor state and the people were feeling

that impact. Unemployment and high demand for oil are examples of the state of the

economy. Conrad went through great struggles like a friendship ending and ending a

sport that he loved. People thought he wasn’t going to accomplish much but he started to

see a therapist that greatly impacted his life. He was guided to express his feelings and to

communicate. The United States guided itself into a new way of life and the economy

changed and the culture changed. The people went from being unhappy with the

decisions the government was making about the Vietnam War and their contributions but

once they overcame that and ended the war, all that was left was to move further and that

is what they did. Just like Conrad moving on with his life becoming a new person and

becoming friends with one of his close friends again and being able to share his feeling

with someone other than his therapist.

The 1970’s was a decade of growth and change. Not only did it change for the

decade but also expanded to today and the movements that were successful helped shape

the United States. The 1970s was a period of continued change and growth for the United

States.

12

Annotated Bibliography

Guest, Judith. How I Wrote "Ordinary People": The Author Of The Bestselling Novel Discusses How She Handled The Challenges Of Establishing A Point Of View, Avoiding Sentimentality, And Finishing A Piece Of Writing. Writer 120.8 (2007): 24. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 14 Mar. 2013.

       In this article, Guest talks about how she wrote the book “Ordinary People”.

Guest goes in depth on how she developed the character, Conrad. She also explained why characters are the way they are. Guest described her writing styles and the way she developed a concept for the book.

Guest, Judith. Ordinary People. New York: Ballantine Books, 1976. Print.       

In this book, Conrad and his father, Calvin, go through personal and equal life struggles. They have common problems involving lack of communication and family healing. One develops a relationship to help him get through his struggle and one goes through difficult situations that inevitably end.

Logevall, Fredrik, and Andrew Preston. "Nixon in the World: American Foreign Relations, 1969-1977." Oxford University Press, Inc., n.d. Web. May 2013.

This book gives great in depth information about Nixon’s term in office. It helped me establish major changes between decades.

Richards, Marlee. America in the 1970s. N.p.: Lerner Group, 2010. Print.               This book talks about exactly what the title says, America in the 1970’s. It talks about the women liberation and the Watergate scandal. It give a whole lot of information about the 70’s. I found it very informing and resourceful.

Segall, J. Peter, and Robert M. Pickett. Student Political Involvement in the 1970s. Port Washington, NY: Kennikat, 1979. Print.

       This book talks about the student political involvement in the 70’s. It is useful to

me because it compares it to the late 60’s and it goes in depth of what exactly changed throughout the decade.

13