the ballad of the sad cafe
Topic: The Ballad of the Sad Café kiran76 | eNotes Newbie
Posted November 24, 2010 at 4:10 AM via web dislike 1 like
I have write a personal essay on the story "How the World Was Created" by Carson McCullers. 1 Answer | Add Yours
Top Answer booboosmoosh | High School Teacher | (Level 3) Educator Emeritus
Posted November 27, 2010 at 11:49 AM (Answer #1) dislike 3 like
If I were writing an essay about the world McCullers creates in "The Ballad of the Sad Cafe," I would discuss Miss Amelia's isolation, Macy's complete lack of a moral compass, and McCullers' "fascination" with misfits and the grotesque.
Miss Amelia is a woman who is surrounded by loneliness. She marries Macy, knowing what a despicable person he is. This instills in the reader just how isolated Miss Amelia feels. And in taking him as her husband, perhaps we can understand that she would rather be with Macy than by herself. However, she is unrealistic to believe that someone like Macy could be put off from the physical side of the marriage: something perhaps she does not clearly contemplate prior to saying "I do."
In stepping back, one might be able to make an argument for isolation and loneliness in the lives of Lymon and Macy as well. During the story it is easy to feel sympathy for Lymon's sense of distance from society, and difficult to care about Macy's separation as he brings it on himself. However neither of these characters has any emotional connection of any sort, except, to some extent, with Miss Amelia. (And though Macy is hateful with Miss Amelia, hate is an emotion, though a negative one, and perhaps this fits for the dysfunctional Macy.)
In terms of Macy, his heartlessness and rejection of Miss Amelia can be seen when he returns after a lengthy absence to the "cafe" she and Lymon have created. Lymon's company has filled the gaping void that she had hoped Macy would fill at one time. Macy is perhaps even more mean-spirited than before, and vengeful, too. It is not
Posted November 24, 2010 at 4:10 AM via web dislike 1 like
I have write a personal essay on the story "How the World Was Created" by Carson McCullers. 1 Answer | Add Yours
Top Answer booboosmoosh | High School Teacher | (Level 3) Educator Emeritus
Posted November 27, 2010 at 11:49 AM (Answer #1) dislike 3 like
If I were writing an essay about the world McCullers creates in "The Ballad of the Sad Cafe," I would discuss Miss Amelia's isolation, Macy's complete lack of a moral compass, and McCullers' "fascination" with misfits and the grotesque.
Miss Amelia is a woman who is surrounded by loneliness. She marries Macy, knowing what a despicable person he is. This instills in the reader just how isolated Miss Amelia feels. And in taking him as her husband, perhaps we can understand that she would rather be with Macy than by herself. However, she is unrealistic to believe that someone like Macy could be put off from the physical side of the marriage: something perhaps she does not clearly contemplate prior to saying "I do."
In stepping back, one might be able to make an argument for isolation and loneliness in the lives of Lymon and Macy as well. During the story it is easy to feel sympathy for Lymon's sense of distance from society, and difficult to care about Macy's separation as he brings it on himself. However neither of these characters has any emotional connection of any sort, except, to some extent, with Miss Amelia. (And though Macy is hateful with Miss Amelia, hate is an emotion, though a negative one, and perhaps this fits for the dysfunctional Macy.)
In terms of Macy, his heartlessness and rejection of Miss Amelia can be seen when he returns after a lengthy absence to the "cafe" she and Lymon have created. Lymon's company has filled the gaping void that she had hoped Macy would fill at one time. Macy is perhaps even more mean-spirited than before, and vengeful, too. It is not