Julia Grace Ames née Marini

The primary <a data-internal-link data-link-type="Literary Device" href="https://www.supersummary.com/protagonist/">protagonist</a> of Same as It Ever Was is 56-year-old Julia. Using third-person limited <a data-internal-link data-link-type="Literary Device" href="https://www.supersummary.com/perspective/">perspective</a>, the text traces her entire life history, primarily focusing on her life in the literary present. In midlife, Julia is a part-time librarian with a teenage daughter soon leaving for university, Alma, and a 24-year-old son, Ben. Julia’s third-person narration is unreliable. She’s exceedingly self-deprecating, often focusing on her failures and mistakes. As she says to her husband during a fight, “It’s me that’s wrong, all right?” (162). This cynical self-image frequently leads her to misjudge or mischaracterize situations because she assumes that others think as badly of her as she does of herself. For instance, when she first meets Mark’s friends Francine and Bradly, she feels intimidated and out of place: Given their wealth, marriage, and pregnancy make her “feel sort of diminutive and whorish alongside Francine’s robust fertility, and aware of [having] brought wine into a nursery […] and also the stale smell of cigarettes” (285). Later, though, the text reveals that Francine felt intimidated by Julia’s “cool” during that initial meeting. This is a jarring revelation because it shows that Julia’s self-perception is often skewed by her self-lacerating <a data-internal-link data-link-type="Literary Device" href="https://www.

Mark Ames

Ben Ames

Alma “Ollie” Ames

Anita Marini

Helen Russo

Relationships

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Fathers

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Forgiveness

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Valentine's Day Reads: The Theme of Love

Claire Lombardo

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Overview

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Same As It Ever Was Summary and Study Guide

Background

Same As It Ever Was Background

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Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1: “Lost in the Supermarket”

Part 1, Chapters 1-12

Same As It Ever Was Part 1, Chapters 1-12 Summary & Analysis

Part 1, Chapters 13-24

Same As It Ever Was Part 1, Chapters 13-24 Summary & Analysis

Part 2: “Via Chicago”

Part 2 Same As It Ever Was Part 2 Summary & Analysis

Part 3: “World of Fools”

Part 3 Same As It Ever Was Part 3 Summary & Analysis

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Character Analysis

Same As It Ever Was Character Analysis

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Themes

Same As It Ever Was Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Same As It Ever Was Symbols & Motifs

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Important Quotes

Same As It Ever Was Important Quotes with Page Numbers

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Same As It Ever Was Essay Topics

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Same As It Ever Was Book Club Questions

Same As It Ever Was: A Novel

Character Analysis

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