Transcript The Ballad of the Sad Cafe Carson McCullers
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The Ballad of the Sad Cafe
Carson McCullers
Carson McCullers
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Born in Columbus, Ga on Feb 17, 1917
Age 17 moved to NYC for Julliard for piano
Grew up playing piano. Wanted to become concert pianist. Transfers to Colombia to study writing.
Married James McCullers in 1937
Later got divorced
They both realized they were bisexual
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They get remarried in 1945
She later flees to France.
She died on September 29 1967
She had a stroke which caused brain damage
Career
Wrote a total of 8 books.
Her mainly used theme was the lonely individual
Won 2 Guggenheim Fellowship awards.
Won Henry Bellman Award
Many of her works were created into Broadway plays.
Other Novels
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
1940
The Ballad of the Sad Café
1941
The Member of the Wedding
1946
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The Ballad of the Sad Café
Published in 1951
Written while going through a divorce
The love triangle theme came from one of Carson’s real life relationships.
Characters
Miss Amelia Evans
Owner of the Café
Married to Marvin for 10 days
Falls in love with Lymon
More Masculine
Cousin Lymon
Hunchbacked “cousin” of Amelia
Obsessed with Marvin
Marvin
Very dangerous
Sent to Jail but later returns
Relationships
Marvin and Amelia are married for 10 days
Amelia teaches Marvin to be kind and gentle.
After divorce, Marvin turns back to his old ways.
Lymon and Amelia
Lymon teaches Amelia how to love like she taught Marvin.
The Cafe
Cousin Lymon’s idea.
He and Amelia open it together
A place for the community to gather together
The Fight
Between Marvin and Amelia
Lymon comes in and defends Marvin.
They defeat Amelia
Marvin and Lymon destroy the café
Both leave Amelia and never return.
She waits for Lymon for 3 years then gives up and boards up her house.
Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B08yAYoIrs&feature=related
Themes
Jealousy
Obsession
Love
Everyone suffers from unreturned love.
Can have a good or bad effect on someone.
Works Cited
“Ballad of the Sad Café, The.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online School Edition. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2011. Web. 18 May 2011.
http://school.eb.com/eb/article-9483957 .
"Carson McCullers Biography." Biography . A&E Television Networks, LLC., 2011. Web.
19 May 2011. http://www.biography.com/articles/Carson-McCullers 9391402 .
Geissler, Kelley. "Carson McCullers: A Life of Confusion ."
www.carson
-mccullers.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 May 2011.
Google. Web. 19 May 2011. http://www.google.com
.
"The Ballad of the Sad Cafe: The Fight ." youtube. Web. 23 May 2011.