99 pages • 3 hours read
Alice SeboldThe Lovely Bones
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2002A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Essay Topics
Compare and contrast the novel’s treatment of adult relationships with those of Susie’s generation. Why do you think Sebold chose to portray Lindsey and Samuel’s relationship in such an idealized fashion?
Sebold devotes a portion of the novel to exploring George Harvey’s childhood and inner thoughts. Why does Harvey kill, and why do you think Sebold includes this information?
The novel seems to argue that with great trauma comes healing, and reconstruction follows destruction. How does Sebold support this argument, and do you agree with her assessment?
How does the novel depict parenthood? Discuss the various parents in the novel and whether you think they are good parents. Use evidence from the text to support your position.
How does guilt manifest in the various characters, and how does it drive their actions?
The Lovely Bones is set in the 1970s and 1980s in suburban Pennsylvania. Why do you think Sebold chose this setting? How does the setting relate to the themes of the novel?
Susie Salmon narrates the novel in the first person from heaven, even addressing the reader at some points. Although this choice of narration shares many qualities with the third person omniscient, Susie is a character in her own right. Why does Sebold choose to narrate the story this way, and what does it add (if anything) to our understanding of the story?
Discuss Abigail’s decision to leave her family. Why does she make this choice, and do you think her actions are justified?
Several characters note that, although Mr. Harvey is “odd,” he does not seem like a murderer. How does Harvey attack his victims, and how does he avoid capture? Why do you think he specifically kills young women?
At the end of the novel, Sebold leaves the cause of Harvey’s death ambiguous. Do you think that Susie had a hand in Harvey’s death? Discuss how your answer ties into the concepts of revenge and closure.
