A Death in the Family (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: James Agee
- First Published: 1957
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Domestic realism
- Time of Work: Summer 1915, and May 15-20, 1916
- Setting: Knoxville, Tennessee
- Genres: Long fiction, Psychological fiction, Domestic realism
- Subjects: Family or family life, Mothers, Parents and children, South or Southerners, Marriage, Religion, 1910’s, Emotions, Death or dying, Funeral rites or ceremonies, Bereavement or grief, Boys, Mortality
- Locales: South (U.S.), Knoxville, TN
Characters Discussed
Rufus Follet, a six-year-old who loves his father and mother but is otherwise fearful about the world of grown-ups. That world is a confusing place where older children ridicule his name (his mother tells him it is a fine old name), adults often use words he does not understand, and his beloved father dies suddenly in a car accident. Rufus compensates for his fears by bullying his little sister. It is a mark of his intelligence that he sometimes understands his motives and usually feels remorseful for tyrannizing her.
Jay Follet, the young husband...
[The entire page is 924 words long]
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