Mortality Quotes in Ordinary People

The book drops hints early on that Conrad's brother, Buck, is no longer with us. We can infer that he is dead, and not simply away at college, from the way Conrad doesn't want to think about it, but at this point, we don't know for sure.

Beth is probably talking about Conrad's suicide attempt, but she might also mean Buck's death—or maybe she's even referring to both. Both of her children have been touched with death, and she is unable to deal with it. She would rather go on vacation and ignore it.

Here is the first example of Conrad's aloof attitude toward his suicide attempt. He casually brushes it off, which is an avoidance tactic. But the thing is, by avoiding a problem, you never actually get past it. You just keep avoiding it and avoiding it and avoiding it.