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Analysis Of The Lovely Bones

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From the very beginning, the lavish lifestyle of the characters easily gives away the setting of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The extravagant parties, happy-go-lucky tone, and embodiment of the American Dream are all prominent in the novel and help capture the spirit of the Roaring Twenties. Even the universal themes carry the representation of an era when people loosened their morals. Thus, the time period serves as the backdrop for the characters to act out the events, plot, and meaning of the book. Just as F. Scott Fitzgerald effectively illustrates the setting through characterization, events, tone, and theme, so does author Alice Sebold. Written in 2002 but taking place during the 1970s, her novel, The Lovely Bones, takes readers on a journey back in time when Americans were oblivious to the atrocities that humans were capable of. As the story progresses, readers get a sense of what the Seventies were like. The Lovely Bones paints a picture of the 1970’s in terms of the emergence of the feminist movement, the evolution of motherhood ideology from the 1950’s, and the transformation of rural lands into urban areas.
Sebold portrays the 1970’s by developing the character of Ruth Connors, who represents the rise of the feminist movement. From the beginning of the novel, Ruth is a closed-off and intelligent girl whose love of art and literature makes her stand out from all the other student. It becomes apparent to readers that she holds unconventional views over
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