Carson Mccullers Essay Research Paper Having lived

Carson Mccullers Essay, Research Paper

Having lived a difficult life made Carson McCullers a very strong minded person.Born into a highly respectable family with moderate means, she received anopportunity to play the piano at a very young age. McCullers was the oldest ofthree children that were born to highly regarded jewelers. At a tender age ofseventeen she was diagnosed by doctors as having pneumonia withcomplications , but later was found to have rheumatic fever. Her Grandfatherowned two thousand acres that had 75 slaves keeping it active. These acreswere ruined by a fire while her grandfather was still alive and well (Magill,Survey 1212). She married once, but held other relationships while she wentaway for school in New York City (Baechler 280). She had a divorce a littlewhile after that, leading her into a lonely and sad life that she shared with heraging mother. Her adventures brought out her feelings and she expressed themthrough her pieces of writing. In her novel The Member of the Wedding,McCullers used bizarre and tortured characters who have disparate purposesand significant meanings. McCullers makes Frankie Addams the most unfortunate character of thebook. Frankie is a twelve year old girl trapped within her own mind in a shortthree days in the book (Hile 153). Being the central character, she is heldresponsible for the development of the story as well as the existence of the othercharacters in the novel. Frankie symbolizes the nearly divine nature oftenassigned to the child at a young age while trying to grow up into a respectableadult. From the first page of the book, McCullers showed Frankie s emotions anddifficulties through adult eyes. Frankie does battle with many truths she faceswith life, but is too young to fully understand the realities that obscure thosetruths ( Magill, Masterpieces 308). Her first encounter with facing reality is when her brother, Jarvis,announces his engagement to Janis Evans. Frankie envisions of becoming amember of her brother s wedding as well as attending the honeymoon with them. She holds a belief within herself that would make her belong to the world if shegoes with them after the immense ceremony (Hile 161). Two days before thewedding, she finds herself telling everyone she sees on the street about thewedding. Frankie holds many dreams of adventures that they are going to shareas a group when they leave for the honeymoon. She is unable to look at thesituation in a realistic way and understand how they feel about her going. Shefights frantically after the wedding celebration when she finds out she can notattend the honeymoon alongside the newlyweds (Magill, Masterpieces 307). Beside her lack of understanding reality, she is worried about the way shelooks. Frankie criticizes everything about herself. She worries about being tootall for her age and her gawky frame. She often has wishes at night about herhair, wanting it longer or shinier (Magill, Masterpieces 307). Some of the girls intown call her a freak or a lanky girl with skinned elbows. The older girls also area part of many clubs, but never ask Frankie to join. She feels very rejected andblames her looks and character on the separation from her peers (Baechler284). It is hard for her at first as a little girl, but as she grows older she isolatesherself in her dark kitchen. She usually plays cards or talks for hours with hermaid Berenice and her cousin John. Her loneliness comes at a young age whenher mother dies. From that day on, she feels sad and lonely throughout the longhours of each day (Magill, Masterpieces 307). 6 Frankie s tortured and angry side is also shown from beginning to end inthe book. McCullers did not make Frankie out to be the typical young lady. Shegets in too much trouble when out of the house, so she mostly passes her dayswith John and Berenice. She feels very isolated and limited to seeing those twopeople. This makes her go into sudden rages against them. In one incident, shetries to throw a kitchen knife at the cook, but instead she finds it within herself tothrow it at the stairway door missing both Berenice and John. She tries runningaway on several different occasions as well. Many times throughout the threedays of the story, she does not realize what she wants to come out of everything

(Magill, Survey 1215-9). Frankie s behavior projects the universal feeling ofloneliness. Her search for an identity is found from the longing for the love feltby adolescents (Hile, 155). Frankie s viewpoint in the novel is of primary concern. McCullerscharacterized Frankie as an incomplete person. Frankie, knowing herincompleteness is terrified of everything that reminds her of such. Frankie isessentially unchanged by the trauma of disappointment over her brother swedding. At the end of the story, she appears to be over the worst of herchildhood. McCullers portrayed the feeling of anxiety felt by Frankie aboutbecoming a mature, honest and well-respected adult (Magill, Masterpieces 307). The second character that McCullers made significant to The Member ofthe Wedding is Berenice. She is the most interesting character for she servesmultiple functions. She is hired by the father of Frankie to care for her at a veryyoung age. She is a short, broad-shouldered African-American older woman. The novel depends on her for several levels of its development. McCullers gaveBerenice necessary information to which Frankie has not yet been exposed tobut will face in the near fu