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Conrad Jarrett
Conrad is the protagonist of the novel. He is the youngest son of Calvin and Beth Jarrett; his older brother, Buck, dies in a sailing accident before the novel's plot begins. Ordinary People…
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Calvin (Cal) Jarrett
Calvin, who is called Cal throughout the novel, is father to Conrad and Buck and husband to Beth Jarrett. A childhood spent in an orphanage fuels Cal's deep desire to care and provide…
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Beth Jarrett
Beth is mother to Conrad and Buck and wife to Cal Jarrett. She is the envy of many characters in the novel; she is physically attractive, driven, and a perfectionist. Her reaction to hardship…
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Dr. Berger
Conrad's psychiatrist. He is wildly different from Dr. Crawford or any of the other staff members from the hospital in which Conrad was kept for three months. Though off-putting in his appearance and mannerisms, Berger's…
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(Joe) Lazenby
Lazenby is one of Conrad's oldest friends; the two have known each other since early childhood, and both are members of their school's swim team. Besides Cal, he is the character who is most proactive…
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Minor Characters
Jordan (Buck) Jarrett
Conrad's brother; Beth and Cal's son. Though he only appears in flashbacks and secondhand references, Buck is arguably the most important character in the novel. His death in a sailing accident triggers the emotional hardship through which the Jarretts struggle throughout Ordinary People.
Jeannine Pratt
A relatively new student at Conrad's school, Jeannine is Conrad's love interest. She sings in the school choir with him, and she is treated as an angelic figure for much of the novel. However, her troubled past enables her to help Conrad work through his own.
(Kevin) Stillman
Another of Conrad's friends, and a fellow member of the swim team. Though the two are supposed to be friends, Stillman often antagonizes Conrad, and the two come to blows near the climax of the novel.
Dr. Leo Crawford
Conrad's main counselor during his time in the mental hospital. Like Buck, Crawford himself never appears in the novel. But his care sets a precedent to which Conrad, his family, Karen, and Berger react in their journey to recovery.
Arnold Bacon
Cal's former mentor. Bacon plucks Cal from the Evangelical Home and takes him under his wing as a protégé; he puts Cal through law school and helps him establish his career as a lawyer. Bacon's character and words haunt Cal as he struggles to figure out his own personality.
Ray Hanley
Cal's legal partner. Cal looks to Ray for advice about running a family, but Ray is largely unable to give his friend much guidance.
Coach Salan
Coach of Conrad's swim team. He is a constant point of frustration for Conrad. Above all else, Salan is insensitive to Conrad's mental issues.
(Phil) Truan, (Don) Genthe, (Dick) Van Buren
Conrad's (estranged) friends; members of the swim team.
Ward Butler
Beth's brother. He lives in Dallas with his wife Audrey.
Audrey Butler
Ward's wife; Beth's sister-in-law.
Charlie and Kerry Butler
Ward and Audrey's sons.
Howard and Ellen Butler
Conrad's grandparents; Beth's parents.
Mike Pratt
Jeannine's younger brother.
Cherry
Cal and Ray's secretary.
Lynn Searles
A former secretary of Cal and Ray's. She was "the best legal secretary" the firm ever had, but she leaves the firm after having an affair with Ray.
Suzanne Mosely
A girl in Conrad's trigonometry class. He sympathizes with her academic struggles.
The Murrays, the Genthes, and the Klines
A few families in the Jarretts' neighborhood.
Robbie
A friend of Conrad's from the hospital.
A policeman
Encounters Conrad as the climax of the novel begins.
A woman
Follows Conrad through his local library in a pivotal scene.
Ms. Pratt
Jeannine's mother.
Paul Ferrier
Ms. Pratt's boyfriend.
