Judith Guest's Ordinary People: Internal & External Conflicts as They Result from the Suppression of Emotions

"What we say is important...for in most cases the mouth speaks what the heart is full of."--Jim Beggs. Literature, as far back as it can be dated, has been progressing towards this very notion of articulacy. Through the civilizing process, literary texts have mirrored how societies--and individuals within a society--have moved from battling conflict using external, physical forces to fighting, increasingly, with internally conceived methods, such as knowledge, social mannerisms, and communication. From the epic of Beowulf to even the most contemporary piece of literature, conflict is an unavoidable facet of human life. A significant difference to note, however, is that the battles fought in Beowulf's time are a different kind of battle than the battles fought in the majority of contemporary literature. This change is largely due to the long and continuing process of human civilization. The needs of today's society are vastly different from the needs of the society during Beowulf's time. Different needs produce different battles and, therefore, require different weapons with which to compete. In a contemporary novel by Judith Guest, entitled Ordinary People, it is this very notion of expressiveness around which the storyline builds upon when each of the characters attempt to appear to be something different from what they really are by suppressing their emotions. The characters tried to fight what was natural by suppressing how they really felt and, resultantly, internal and external conflicts developed.

A tragedy struck the Jarrett Family when their eldest son, Jordan (Buck), drowned in a boating accident. Up until his brother's death, Conrad Jarrett was a socially healthy and physically active 17 year-old high school student, growing up in a wealthy suburban neighborhood. Each family member responded to the fatality differently; yet one similarity in all of them was that their response was something different from who they really were and what they truly felt. As a result of the varied and thus, at times, clashing approaches taken by each character in an attempt to heal from this tragedy, conflicts took rise between the characters. In reaction to the tragedy, which he had to bear witness to, Conrad built up a defensive shield to block off any release of emotion or of feelings. Consequently, this led Conrad to further discourses, including both, internal and external, conflicts.

One of the most significant conflicts in Ordinary People is the internal conflict that Conrad battles against himself. Throughout the novel, he struggles in trying to appear "normal", so to please everyone around him. However, it is very obvious that he, himself, is not pleased. The novel opens with his recent release from a mental hospital, which he was admitted to after a failed suicide attempt. The novel continues by slowly revealing what prompted his suicide attempt and, thereby, begins to depict the internal battle Conrad fights against himself in an effort to achieve self-forgiveness and "normality".

"The hammer blows of guilt and remorse. He has no weapons with which to fight them off."(107) Conrad feels regretful for how he has affected everyone around him. Furthermore, he sees the release of emotion as a privilege that he does not feel he deserves. Therefore, he denies himself of his strongest weapon--his ability to articulate and communicate what he is feeling. His thoughts reveal, "[in] bed, he waits for sleep. He cannot get under until he has reviewed the day, counted up his losses. He must learn more control, cannot allow himself the luxury of anger." (69) Rather than expressing what he feels, Conrad plays a role of someone "normal"--someone in control of himself. The reality, however, is that control is not what he possesses, but instead, suppression is the vice that he bears. The suppressed emotions consume his thoughts and produce, at one point in the novel, nightmares of feeling trapped in a place that has no escape. (70-71)

Near the end of the novel, Conrad's meetings with Dr. Berger, his psychiatrist (and close friend), help him to exhibit emotions and feelings. He progresses from feeling trapped and isolated to feeling that he is able to escape and find a way. Upon this realization, Conrad expresses, "[that] box, I feel like I've been in it forever. Everybody looking in, to see how you're doing. Even when they're on your side, they're still looking in. Like, nobody can get in there with you...[but] sometimes I can get out of it, now."(127) Conrad moves from feeling shame, regret, and isolation to feeling that he can, sometimes, get out of feeling as though he is trapped in a box. Ultimately, Conrad achieves an even greater discovery. "The distance between people. In miles. In time. In thought. Staggering, when you think about it. Communication. The bridge between the distances."(172)

It is a long and hard struggle before Conrad makes this breakthrough. Before he achieves any glory, many external conflicts take rise and he must overcome those battles, as well. The most difficult external battle is the conflict between Conrad and his mother, Beth. Emotionless, her character conveys the image of perfection because she refuses to show anyone otherwise. She is a social elite in all perspectives and a woman who concerns herself with triviality and the things that define social status in the public eye. The only ways that other characters throughout the novel describe her is by her appearance,