The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

What if death was painless to bear? What if people never cared whether they lived or died? For protagonist Susie in The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold she struggles with her unexpected and unfortunate murder as she seeks closure and euphoria. King Hamlet in Hamlet by William Shakespeare was also murdered and aspires to move on although can only gain peace once his killer is dead. Twain stories are centred on seeking revenge and coping with reality. Susie’s family copes with her murder and try to discover closure in finding out who killed her. King Hamlet’s son also strives to find closure although Hamlet is given the ultimatum by King Hamlet's ghost to murder his killer as the only way to move on. While both protagonists are in similar situations, their circumstances are somewhat different. The characters in these stories experience various obstacles when they come to experience the actualization of death and learning to cope with their emotions. The struggle of trying to accept death as the inevitable is clearly developed in both literary works. This is made clear through the unjustified murders of Susie and King Hamlet and their return in the afterlife, as well as the grief those around them face, and the strenuous search for closure.

Death is one of the most illuminated themes in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Readers are first familiarized with the theme of death when introduced to King Hamlet's Ghost. Hamlet witnesses his father's ghost; who explains to him what has happened since his death. “I am thy father's spirit, Doomed for a certain term to walk the night And for the day confined to fast in fires Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature Are burnt and purged away” (1.5.14-18). King Hamlet’s return from the afterlife to discuss his own murder, this being the origin for the theme of death in Hamlet. Hamlet's father reveals to Hamlet that it was Claudius who killed him. Ultimately, it is the words and actions of King Hamlet’s ghost that motivates Hamlet to kill Claudius. Their conversation displays the theme of death and is the main cause for havoc further in the play. Soon after, the guards protecting the castle notice a ghost constantly appearing and make the connection that it resembles King Hamlet. “What, has this thing appeared again tonight?” (1.1.26). This explains that King Hamlet’s ghost did come back from the afterlife; it was not just a figment of grieving Hamlet’s imagination. The ghost’s presence is essentially responsible for the advancement of the play’s plot.

Without King Hamlet coming back from the afterlife, the multiple deaths that followed would not have not occured. The afterlife displayed in Hamlet carries great importance in the play and shows effective relevance to how Susie used her role as a “ghost” in The Lovely Bones. The Lovely Bones is also centered around a theme of death. The book is narrated by a deceased girl named Susie, from heaven. The book is based around her sharing the story of her death, making her a character relatable to Hamlet's ghost. Susie is in heaven while she is trying to cope and understand her sudden death, similar to Hamlet. “We had been given, in our heavens, our simplest dreams” (Seabold 18). In The Lovely Bones, it is implied that in the afterlife you live on and continue to grow. Susie and King Hamlet use their advantage of being ghosts to figure out who murdered them and reach out to their families in different ways. Susie’s encounter with the living in The Lovely Bones are with her father. They do not speak, however he sees herwhen he’s with their neighbour Mr. Harvey, Susie’s killer. Ultimately, Susie’s father now knows the truth about what he has done. “But I came to believe that if I watched closely, and desired, I might change the lives of those I loved on Earth” (Seabold 40). The main characters make it evident that they were not ready to leave earth. They return in the afterlife to help their loved ones and seek revenge on those who have done them wrong. The return of the protagonists from the afterlife brings forth intense emotion for both themselves and those around them.Each character in Hamlet portrays grief in contrasting ways, including some who are not even affected by what is going on around them. Some people’s emotions are illegitimate. Hamlet is extremely emotional as his father has died. He is angry and sad especially since he feels very alone. “Good Hamlet, cast thy nightly colour off…” (1.2.68).

Gertrude tries to push Hamlet to believe it is time to move on from his father's passing. Gertrude seems to have moved on fairly quickly after the death of King Hamlet, showing no emotion or grief for her late husband. “Thou know’st ‘tis common- all that lives must die…” (1.2.71). It becomes evident that Gertrude is not mourning her husband’s death and feels no sympathy for Hamlet. She conveys the impression that she is glad King Hamlet is dead and is moving forward by doing what's in her best interest. Claudius, King Hamlet’s brother, tries to hide his true emotions throughout the play. He claims he is grieving his “dear brothers death” (1.2). Claudius portrays a role of showing concern at times about what is upsetting Hamlet: “What it should be, more than his father’s death…I cannot dream of” (2.2). Here Claudius reveals how arrogant and deceiving he really is. Contrarily, Ophelia has strong emotions after the death of her father Polonius; she goes mad. Ophelia is weak and cannot cope with the thought of no longer having a male authority to guide her life. Hamlet’s grieving characters are comparable to what Susie’s friends and family went through after her death. The mourning of Susie’s parents seemed endless. They felt they would probably never get over her death, and is one of the most tragic experiences of their life. The Lovely Bones builds its plot through the grieving of each character. Susie, the deceased, along with her friends and family, all suffer because of her traumatic death. In the novel they learn to cope with these circumstances. Susie’s father displays his grief as he is unable to find peace after his daughter’s murder, until her killer is caught.

"Susie is dead," he said now, unable to make it fit in the rules of any game” (Seabold 138). It becomes evident that explaining Susie’s death to to her younger brother is her dad’s way of admitting to the problem and striving to move forward. Susie’s sister Abigail understands that this is a time of grieving for her family and worries about coming home late as she does not want to deepen her parent’s concern. This expands on the seriousness of Susie’s death and the way it impacted her family. "We ran home for you, Mr. Salmon" (Seabold 80). Abigail shows her consideration for how everyone is feeling which is why she explained that she ran home. Susie’s passing has shaken her parents so much so that they now have fears of losing their other children. Her loved ones are emotionally torn apart as everyone is very fragile and broken. Mr. Harvey, Susie's murderer can be compared to Hamlet’s Claudius. Both men are vain, selfish, and long for power and control. They are both villainous characters who fake their grief. They merely pretend to be affected by the loss of Hamlet and of Susie. When Mr. Harvey says "I'm sorry for your loss" (Seabold 42), it is clearly ingenuine as his and Claudius’ words have no meaning or truth in them as they are extremely skillful liars.The grief throughout both works was a very unfortunate series of events that each victim's family had to go through .These emotions could have been avoided without the unfair murders of both King Hamlet and Susie.King Hamlet's murder was completely unjustified. The experience of such betrayal, from his own brother, is shocking. King Hamlet’s murder proved to be unfair for both him and his son. It destroyed Hamlet’s self worth most. “To be or not to be—that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles And, by opposing, end them” (3.1.64-68).

Hamlet feeling so poorly begins questioning life itself and its initial purpose. He is in a very confused, frustrated and in a sad state of mind. He understands it is unfair, however realizes that death is inevitable. Everyone’s day will come. “Not a whit, we defy augury. There is a special providence in the fall of a sparrow. If it be now, 'tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come. The readiness is all. Since no man of aught he leaves knows, what is 't to leave betimes? Let be” (5.2.233-238). Hamlet has a hard time dealing with the death of his father and enters a state of deep depression. While murder is always unjustifiable, it is easier to find reason and motive regarding King Hamlet's murder than Susie’s is. Hamlet’s power and authority was sought after, placing a target on his back. Susie’s murder, however, cannot be explained as anything other than an act of pure evil.Overall, Susie was angry that she was killed. She wished she was still alive. Her murderer was evil and selfish, and it is sad that she had to suffer the consequences. Susie’s murder was entirely irrational as she was attacked for no reason. Her death was gruesome as she was beaten and raped by an individual much stronger and more barbaric. He took something very special and sacred to her, and turned it into something terrifying. “I held the part of him that Mr. Harvey had forced inside me. Inside my head I said the word gentle, and then I said the word man.” (Seabold 128).

Susie explains how scared she was, and how disgusting and disappointing it was to have her perspective on intimacy changed. Susie’s murder too unfair for her family. They had to undergo great heartache and struggle for no reason. Susie’s killer had absolutely no motive. “...And they had never understood, as they did now, what the word horror meant.” (Seabold 46). Susie’s family never truly could understand what horror meant or felt like, until they lost their daughter. They broke down in more ways than one. Their recovery was a long and gruelling process. Susie and King Hamlet were killed solely because of two other individual’s ownagendas and evil desires. It is for this reason that both Hamlet and Susie are so strongly committed to having their killers feel the same pain as them. They have strong desires for their murderers to be killed also. King Hamlet demands his son to murder his killer so that he can move forward and cope with his death. The ghost is angry with his situation’s unfortunate circumstances and seeks revenge. He felt very betrayed by his brother, who stole his throne and wife. “O horrible, O horrible, most horrible! If thou hast nature in thee, bear it not. Let not the royal bed of Denmark be A couch for luxury and damnèd incest. But, howsoever thou pursuest this act, Taint not thy mind, nor let thy soul contrive Against thy mother aught. Leave her to heaven And to those thorns that in her bosom lodge To prick and sting her.” (1.5.87-95).

The ghost is angry with Gertrude's incest however asks of his son to only get revenge on Claudius. King Hamlet's greatest desire for Claudius to die is solely so he can move on and go to heaven. “Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.” (1.5.31). King Hamlet’s ghost is trying to help Hamlet understand how important his duty to murder Claudius is and why he deserves to be killed. Susie also tries to cope with her death from heaven. She despises her killer for all that he has done to her and those around her. She feels he must die for her to be able to move on. The death of Mr. Harvey would signifie closure for Susie. Like King Hamlet, Susie thinks that it is only if her murderer is killed that she will find peace and be able to move on. "I could not have what I wanted most: Mr. Harvey dead and me living. Heaven wasn't perfect." (Seabold 40). Susie explains that her experience was traumatic and unsettling. She wants to protect other women from becoming future victims of Harvey’s. This further explores the relation between Hamlet and The Lovely Bones, as both protagonists explain how their murders took place and showing more relevance to why they hated their killers so much. “He reached into the pocket of my parka and balled up the hat my mother had made me, smashing it into my mouth. The only sound I made after that was the weak tinkling of bells.” (Seabold 82). This upset Susie because she feared Mr. Harvey wouldn't get caught and possibly live on to continue killing women. She wanted Harvey dead and found it to be very unfair that he continued to live instead of her. This is similar to the desired death King Hamlet wished upon Claudius. Claudius completely stole King Hamlet’s life out of pure jealousy and gained power, which he did not deserve. In conclusion, While both protagonists are deceased by murder and strive to find closure in their deaths, they come from completely different circumstances.

After all Susie’s killer ultimately dies due to falling off a clif, this differs from Claudius's death since he was murdered. Perhaps both authors wanted to allow their readers see how death is coped with from different perspectives and how emotion is being used behind motives. This was a very effective addition to the stories because they allow readers observe how they would feel in those situations. The struggle of trying to accept death as the inevitable is clearly developed in both literary works. The unjustified murders of Susie and King Hamlet become clear due to their return in the afterlife, as well as the grief those around them face, and the strenuous search for closure. It becomes evident how important the theme of morality is to these authors and how symbolic it is for both murderers to see death. Here it is revealed that the power of fate in the universe will always come forth and closure will prevail.