A Death in the Family (Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: James Agee
- First Published: 1957
- Type of Work: Novel
- Genres: Long fiction, Psychological fiction, Domestic realism, Novel
- Subjects: Children, Family or family life, Mothers, Parents and children, South or Southerners, Marriage, Religion, 1910’s, Spiritual life or spirituality, Emotions, Christianity, Death or dying, Funeral rites or ceremonies, Bereavement or grief, Boys, Mortality, Episcopal church, Belief or doubt
- Locales: South (U.S.), Knoxville, TN
A Death in the Family is a novel of delightful and deceptive simplicity. As the title implies, it is the story of a man's death and its effects on the family he leaves behind. Jay Follet is happily married to his devout wife, Mary, and they have two children, Rufus and Catherine, ages six and four. Early one morning, Jay is summoned by his drunken brother Ralph to drive from Knoxville to their father's deathbed in rural LaFollette. As Jay suspects, the journey turns out to be unnecessary—Ralph exaggerated the severity of the old man's condition—so he sets out to return home,...
[The entire page is 857 words long]
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