Susie Harvey Case Study

Susie Salmon was 14 years old when she was murdered by a man in her neighborhood. She was walking home from school, taking her path through the cornfield when Mr. Harvey had seen her, and invited her to take a look at what he had built underground. However, he had ended up making her uncomfortable--sitting too close, and touching her. She tried to scream and get out but she knew it wasn’t going to end well for her, whether she did what he told her to do or not. He had told her his parents wanted a virgin and touched her inappropriately. In that moment, she ascended into heaven and she felt alone. She ended up finding another girl he had also murdered, Holly, and they stuck with each other through their entire journey. All Susie really wanted

In the fall of 76, Fenerman surveys the evidence against George Harvey, recovered from his house. He knows that Jack Salmon was right about Harvey, but, there is no record of Harvey anywhere. Susie felt bad for detective Fenerman because he couldn’t solve the case in time, which made him feel guilty. By this time, Lindsey was already 21 and she just got engaged to her long-term boyfriend Samuel.They burst into the Salmon house, tell their story, and announce their engagement. Everybody is overjoyed and they celebrate. During the celebration, Buckley sees Susie standing under the clock and almost says her name. As time passes, Susie gets bored and starts riding in Philadelphia trains, watching people, dreaming of her life before. One day, Buckley, now in the 7th grade, had come out with a box of clothes. Jack had seen them and said he couldn’t use them because those were Susie’s. Buckley had said he could use them if he wanted to. Buckley gets mad, telling his dad to get over Susie and be there for his living family. Jack hears a voice inside him say, "Let go, let go, let go" and then he collapses. Buckley runs to get his Grandma Lynn. Jack suffered a heart attack and is in the hospital. Buckley is in bed, consumed with guilt. He prays to Susie to save

Two hours later Jack wakes up, thinks about Lindsey and Buckley, and watches Abigail sleep. Susie comes into the room, but she isn't sure if they will be able to see her. Abigail wakes up when Jack starts talking to Susie. She lies on the bed with Jack. He tells Abigail he thinks Susie was in the room. They make up, and she agrees to stay home. They kiss and cry together. Around the same time, Fenerman is going to the hospital and gives Jack and Abigail Susie's charm he’d found a while back. He tells them that the police have been able to connect Harvey with other murders. Abigail hadn't realized that Harvey actually is Susie's killer. Susie can see Mr. Harvey driving on the road toward the Salmon house, and she can see Lindsey inside the house, alone. When he's almost there, a cop stops him, and asks him to leave the neighborhood, so he does. Then, Mr. Harvey is driving toward the sinkhole, remembering that he'd put a dead body there. He suddenly passes out, and as this happened, Susie “ fell to Earth. “