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James Agee was born in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1909, the son of a postal worker who was killed in an automobile accident. The loss of his father marked James Agee both short term and long term (James Agee p. 30). Thirty years later it would form the basis of the novel which is the cornerstone of his fame (A DEATH IN THE FAMILY). In 1916 Agee was sent to an Episcopal boarding school in the Appalachians, Saint Andrews Seminary. The years spent in this monastic environment would shape and scar Agee for the rest of his days.
Tormented by his sense of isolation and abandonment by his mother, he, nevertheless, found comfort in learning, and he formed his closest and most enduring friendship with his mentor, Father Free, who became a surrogate parent, confidant, and spiritual inspiration for the rest of Agee's life (Larson 5). James Agee acknowledged the restless journey his biography would encompass. Poet, novelist, journalist, film critic, and social activist, Agee would lead an unorthodox, hard-driving life that would result in an early death. So voracious was he for experience that in valuing life, as he put it, he could not help but shape the penetrating, passionate, and colorful poetry and prose he produced (Larsen 35).
Of his work James Agee (Promise and Fulfillment), Agee is described as a "versatile and accomplished artist whose mind played freely over all possible media of expression and whose abilities with the English language was exceeded by none of his contemporaries" (Larsen 148). Agee's medium of expression encompassed everything from poetry to screenwriting, and his drive for perfection lead to numerous awards. On a summer night in 1915, Jay Follet leaves his house in Knoxville, Tennessee, to tend to his father, whom he believes is dying. The summons turns out to be a false alarm, but on his way back to his family, Jay has a car accident and is killed instantly. As told through the eyes of six-year-old Rufus Follet, the story emerges as an exploration of conflicts both among members of the family and in society. The differences between black and white, rich and poor, country life and city life, and ultimately, life and death, (Death in the Family) is a timeless novel about the impact death causes within a family.
Eventually the story deals with the emotions of the individual characters as the story jumps back and forth in time from the viewpoints of Jay's wife, brother, and young son, Rufus, Agee creates a powerful novel of innocence, tenderness, and loss (Critical essays in modern literature pp. 875). James Agee masters the art of communication in his autobiographical novel, A (Death in the Family). In the novel (Death in the Family) James Agee discusses the themes of love, religion and maturation. Love is one of the main themes in the novel (Death in the Family), in it Rufus, his mother, and his family are trying to cope with the loss of his father after a tragic car accident. It's not about the fights, or the actual death of his father, but about the love humans use in communication and how people deal with pain. This is shown as the conflicts between the members of the family before and after the death of the father, such as the conflict at the dinner table in the beginning of the novel.
The family seems to have a routine for their heated arguments as they seem to occur frequently as the story suggests (Critical essays in modern literature pp. 875). This shows that although they have problems with one another the love that the family shared gave them the ability to move on and get past the problem as families do. Even after the death of jay there is a conflict illustrated by Jay's brother, Ralph. Ralph is an undertaker and wants to take care of Jay's body because he feels responsible for the death. The fact that Ralph blames himself is an example how the love for his brother overwhelms him and all love for himself since it was his drunken phone call that caused Jay to drive out to see his family. As for the ties to the father his ties to his religion and is love for it overshadow much of his feelings for anything else.
As a devoted servant to the Catholic faith he feels a deep connection of love to the religion and actually believes that it is the most important love of all.
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Research essay sample on Members Of The Family Critical Essays
