Narrative Conflict and Relationship in Ordinary People

Abstract

Central to Ordinary People are the social aspects of narrative, a theme that is relevant but subordinate to the individual in our first two movies. The three members of the Jarrett family are struggling to create narratives for themselves and their family that will enable them to survive, if not thrive, in the wake of the family’s recent traumatic events. Friction in the household is interpreted as stemming from the different directions their respective stories take. The trope of narrative construction works as a useful perspective for interpreting Ordinary People. It makes sense of Conrad’s plight and what he must do to rehabilitate himself; he cannot heal until he fashions a new and viable account for, and about, himself. For the narrative to affirm rather than deny life, Conrad will have to reconceptualize his past.