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"The Ballad of the Sad Cafe" Carson Mccullers short story, Th Ballad Of A Sad Cafe, is a classic illustration of how lov can sometimes b on-site and th pain that coms from this. In this story, th on-sidings of lov results in a lov trial bing for btwn Miss Amelia, Cousin Lymon, and Marvin Macy. In th story, Carson Mccullers highlights an interesting but of overlooked definition of lov. Hr definition of lov is state as Lov is th a joint x princ btwn two persons but th fact it is a joint x princ dos not man that it is a similar x princ to th two popl involved lov is a solitary thing (p. 26).
In othr words, Mccullers view lov as bing on site. Th love lov's th blood but th blood can com to actually hat th love at tims. Th valu's and quality of any lov can only b dtr mind solly by th love. On can put all that h or sh has into lov but all that h or sh may gt out of th lov is pain. This situation is quit of sn in our vryday lif why popl go to th point of becoming a star or just totally obsessed with some who dos not shar th sam flings. McCullers uses some very unique and unlikely characters to show this aspect of love in her story.
First, Miss Amelia's attraction to Cousin Lymon, a short hunchback, was very unique in that there was no real strong physical attraction towards him. Miss Amelia loved cousin Lymon to the point that she gave him her kidney stones set in a watch chain as a symbol of giving part of herself. Miss Amelia cranked up the Ford which she had bought and treated Cousin Lymon to a picture show in Cheap (p. 25). Miss Amelia, who was very masculine for a woman, began to show a feminine side by wearing her red dress when Cousin Lymon came around.
During the week she still wore swamp boots and overalls, but on Sunday she put on a dark red dress that hung on her in a most peculiar fashion (p. 24). Although Cousin Lymon had no reciprocal feelings for Miss Amelia, he showed an unusual attraction for someone of his own gender, Marvin Macy. Cousin Lymon seemed to be quite interested in Ms. Amelia's stories about Marvin Macy. When Henry Macy got a letter from his brother Marvin saying he was coming back in town, Miss Amelia said, He will never set his split hoof on my premises (p. 44).
Cousin Lymon, on the other hand continued to ask questions about him. The name Marvin Macy was unknown to him, but tantalized him (p. 43) This whole fascination would suggest that Cousin Lymon was gay. When Cousin Lymon saw Marvin Marcy, he could wiggle his large pale ears with marvelous quickness and ease. This trick he always used when he wanted to get something special out of Miss Amelia (p. 49). Cousin Lymon gave up his sleeping quarters to Marvin Macy as a result of his deep attraction towards him. However, Amelia gave up her room to Cousin Lymon out of her love for him.
It is interesting to note how McCullers uses the Miss Amelia and Marvin Macy to illustrate how thin the line can be between love and hate. Marvin Macy was once married to Miss Amelia, but since she never really loved him back, he grew a strong hatred for her. Before leaving town, he beat her up and totally wrecked her cafe. Cousin Lymon also helped him out because of the love and admiration for Marvin Macy. Both left town never to be heard from again and Miss Amelia was left sad and broken hearted. McCullers usage of social outcasts and her emphasis on their physical handicaps underscores their emotional deficiencies as the characters fall into a love triangle and each character shows their love for their respective beloved in awkward, childlike ways.
McCullers also distorts time in the story; chronological order is thrown to the wind, and time often suspends in the story to accommodate the narrators digressions on various topics. The distortion of the characters and the narrator that McCullers uses in her story elucidate their emotional defects, especially their misinterpretation of love. All three of the characters see love as something to coerce out of another person, a sense of personal satisfaction that can be bought with material goods. The characters in the story crave to love someone else but fear to be its recipient. Even the narrator, in one of his or her digressions, goes into depth about the loneliness of love. The narrator describes love as a selfish, horrible experience, detrimental to the parties involved and a cause of great pain and suffering.
The degradation of such an inherently human emotion as love evokes a strong emotional response from the reader, especially that of pity for the characters and their plight borne of an ignorance and misunderstanding of love. This initial pity by the reader, however, goes far beyond momentary pangs of conscience, it encourages them to take McCullers lesson to heart, and not allow love to take on a malicious form in their own lives. McCullers effective usage of distortion showcases these emotional aberrancies in a brilliant usage of reverse psychology; by actively showing her readers through the story what love is not, she empowers them to venture out for themselves and discover what true love is. In this story, McCullers takes a different angle from most writers on love by showing a one-way love viewpoint between the characters and how this type of love can cause pain. It can best be said that in The Ballad Of The Sad Cafe, no one beloved person loved the lover in return. As a result, a painful love triangle was formed between the characters.
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Research essay sample on The Ballad Of Sad Cafe
