-Photographs pause time and capture one moment, and the truth of the image captured is not questioned.
Throughout the novel, photographic images are one focus – particularly the pictures that Susie took of Abigail and Susie’s school picture before her death.
-Susie’s photo of Abigail serves to liberate her from her roles as mother and wife. In the photograph that Susie takes of Abigail as she looks out over the lawn, before the family is awake, Susie sees her mother as the true Abigail, who she thinks of as her mother – stranger. The camera has the ability to capture the moment when Abigail is her true self.
-For each person that sees Abigail’s photos, they have different reaction. After Susie’s death, Jack (father) develops some of the other rolls of film and fines pictures of Abigail “putting on her mask” as he comes home from work.
-Makes them an easy target for tragedy (Susie’s death). The mask of motherhood and marriage disguises the real Abigail and is most visible in the photographs Susie look of her. These photographs also have the power to elicit strong emotional responses from the character that views the photograph. Also there are no family photos indicating a lack of cohesion in the Salmon family.
-The other photo that plays an important role is Susie’s school photograph. Len Fenerman keeps a copy of the photo in his wallet as an unsolved case; Abigail keeps a copy in her wallet that she rarely looks at; and Ray keeps a copy that he buries in a volume of Indian poetry, only to discover it again when he goes to college.
-For Len it represents his failure to deliver, justice, and in the end he writes “gone” on the back indicating his acceptance that the dead are no longer with them.
-For Abigail, Susie is her first daughter and the one who originally made her a mother; the picture makes her feel as though she was punished for not wanting Susie. In the end she leaves her picture at the airport symbolizing her transition out of the trauma of Susie’s death.
-Ray, Susie’s picture is an image of the girl he first loved, and the first lips he had kissed. The photo represents Susie’s absence from Ray and Abigail’s lives and the absence of her body.
- As the novel continues, the characters that posses the portrait change their reading of it, symbolizing their ability to move on from the trauma of Susie’s death.
Memory:
- Is vital to Susie and the people she watches. They are important to Susie because of her memories and all she has left of her own life on earth. The memories of others are also significant to Susie because in heave she can see what people on earth are thinking.
- Ex.: Watching George Harvey’s memories of his mother giving her insight into his disrupted childhood and into the reasons he is a killer. She can also see that he makes an effort not to kill children by killing smaller animals. Susie knows she lives in the memories of the people who knew her. In heaven, she watches for the moments when people think of her and when they speak of her.
-She realizes that she belongs in their memories and doesn’t always need to be spoken about.
Construction and Destruction
-There are a number of places constructed in the novel. First is the underground room Mr. Harvey builds to kill Susie. In addition to that Mr. Harvey makes dollhouses for a living. He also constructed a tent Jack. Although Mr. Harvey enjoys construction, he also enjoys the act of destruction: he kills and destroys the bodies of small animals and of girls and women. The sinkhole where Mr. Harvey deposits Susie’s body is a physical manifestation of this theme; it is the “mouth” and “throat” of the earth and can swallow and destroy items.
-Even when developers fill the sinkhole, it is late said that it can swallow cars whole. The construction of surrounding neighbourhoods and industrial lots are in the background of the story and allow the author to represent the changing environment of the characters as they cope with Susie’s death and build a new life. Both destructing and constructing are representatives of surviving grief and loss for all of the characters. In the end, Lindsey and Samuel and literally and figuratively build a new life after Susie is gone.
Surviving Grief:
-Jack finds himself so absorbed in loving Susie he has to remind himself to give his love to the living.
-Lindsey wants to live away from the shadow of Susie
-Buckley wants to be let in on the secret of Susie’s death, when it happens he is able to let himself miss her and honor her.
-Abigail pulls away from her family because of Susie’s trauma. Comes home realizing she may have done more damage leaving them in a time of need.
The Power of Photographs:
-Photographs pause time and capture one moment, and the truth of the image captured is not questioned.
Throughout the novel, photographic images are one focus – particularly the pictures that Susie took of Abigail and Susie’s school picture before her death.
-Susie’s photo of Abigail serves to liberate her from her roles as mother and wife. In the photograph that Susie takes of Abigail as she looks out over the lawn, before the family is awake, Susie sees her mother as the true Abigail, who she thinks of as her mother – stranger. The camera has the ability to capture the moment when Abigail is her true self.
-For each person that sees Abigail’s photos, they have different reaction. After Susie’s death, Jack (father) develops some of the other rolls of film and fines pictures of Abigail “putting on her mask” as he comes home from work.
-Makes them an easy target for tragedy (Susie’s death). The mask of motherhood and marriage disguises the real Abigail and is most visible in the photographs Susie look of her. These photographs also have the power to elicit strong emotional responses from the character that views the photograph. Also there are no family photos indicating a lack of cohesion in the Salmon family.
-The other photo that plays an important role is Susie’s school photograph. Len Fenerman keeps a copy of the photo in his wallet as an unsolved case; Abigail keeps a copy in her wallet that she rarely looks at; and Ray keeps a copy that he buries in a volume of Indian poetry, only to discover it again when he goes to college.
-For Len it represents his failure to deliver, justice, and in the end he writes “gone” on the back indicating his acceptance that the dead are no longer with them.
-For Abigail, Susie is her first daughter and the one who originally made her a mother; the picture makes her feel as though she was punished for not wanting Susie. In the end she leaves her picture at the airport symbolizing her transition out of the trauma of Susie’s death.
-Ray, Susie’s picture is an image of the girl he first loved, and the first lips he had kissed. The photo represents Susie’s absence from Ray and Abigail’s lives and the absence of her body.
- As the novel continues, the characters that posses the portrait change their reading of it, symbolizing their ability to move on from the trauma of Susie’s death.
Memory:
- Is vital to Susie and the people she watches. They are important to Susie because of her memories and all she has left of her own life on earth. The memories of others are also significant to Susie because in heave she can see what people on earth are thinking.
- Ex.: Watching George Harvey’s memories of his mother giving her insight into his disrupted childhood and into the reasons he is a killer. She can also see that he makes an effort not to kill children by killing smaller animals. Susie knows she lives in the memories of the people who knew her. In heaven, she watches for the moments when people think of her and when they speak of her.
-She realizes that she belongs in their memories and doesn’t always need to be spoken about.
Construction and Destruction
-There are a number of places constructed in the novel. First is the underground room Mr. Harvey builds to kill Susie. In addition to that Mr. Harvey makes dollhouses for a living. He also constructed a tent Jack. Although Mr. Harvey enjoys construction, he also enjoys the act of destruction: he kills and destroys the bodies of small animals and of girls and women. The sinkhole where Mr. Harvey deposits Susie’s body is a physical manifestation of this theme; it is the “mouth” and “throat” of the earth and can swallow and destroy items.
-Even when developers fill the sinkhole, it is late said that it can swallow cars whole. The construction of surrounding neighbourhoods and industrial lots are in the background of the story and allow the author to represent the changing environment of the characters as they cope with Susie’s death and build a new life. Both destructing and constructing are representatives of surviving grief and loss for all of the characters. In the end, Lindsey and Samuel and literally and figuratively build a new life after Susie is gone.
Surviving Grief:
-Jack finds himself so absorbed in loving Susie he has to remind himself to give his love to the living.
-Lindsey wants to live away from the shadow of Susie
-Buckley wants to be let in on the secret of Susie’s death, when it happens he is able to let himself miss her and honor her.
-Abigail pulls away from her family because of Susie’s trauma. Comes home realizing she may have done more damage leaving them in a time of need.