A Death In The Family By James Agee

The autobiographical novel, A Death In The Family, written by James Agee is about how the Follet family deals and reacts with the death of a young father. Broken up into three parts, Agee formulates the story to display each of the character’s thoughts and feelings about the loss and grief of the adolescent father, Jay Follet. Part one of the novel opens up with a father, Jay, and his son, Rufus, taking an outing to the movie theater to watch a Charlie Chaplin motion picture. Both enjoyed these trips with just the two of them because it gave them the time to bond. Later that night, Jay receives a call from his brother Ralph informing him that their father might be on his deathbed. Not sure whether or not to trust his drunk brother, he decides to drive out and see his father. He sets off early in the morning promising his wife, Mary, that he would be back before nightfall.
After Jay leaves to ensure the health of his father, Mary is left with the
Everyone’s reaction to death will always be similar with some slight differences and that is being sad about it. Because of this in mind, the plot was very predictable. My favorite part of the book was how religion got incorporated into several events of the story. It affected many of the characters actions and the way they believed in the happenings of life. The character that I relate to the most is Mary Follet because she is intelligent and sensitive. She has a soft heart for the black people. Her sensitivity makes her smart. Being able to feel for the other person and understand them can say a lot about a person. I relate to her the most because Iḿ like that as well. My friends often come to me for advices or just to let off steam. The intended audience for this book is mainly for the people who has faced death in their families. With this kind of past, they can relate to the author’s writing