A Death In The Family

A DEATH IN THE FAMILY

by James Agee

 

Award: Pulitzer Winner 1958

 

Nomination: National Book Finalist 1958

 

Date Read: May 14, 2021

From the beginning, I believed the family member that would pass would be Jay’s father. Old and ailing, Jay’s drunk brother Ralph calls in the middle of the night to announce that their father is at death’s door. Jay, of course, responds by heading to his parent’s home. After determining that their father will live through the night, Jay heads home and perishes in a car accident. No one else was involved.

Jay’s wife, Mary, receives the dreaded middle of the night call informing her that her husband has been involved in serious accident and a male relative needs to come immediately. In her bewildered state, Mary fails to ask whether Jay is dead or alive and the business of waiting commences. Agee is very skilled in conveying the absolute agony of living in limbo, not knowing if someone you love is dead or alive. Mary is fully cognizant of the fact that regardless of whether Jay is alive or not, her life will be forever changed. I found myself holding my breath, unable to bide the time until Andrew returned. It’s a suffering like no other.

 

I found it almost appalling at how grief is so subdued and any outburst or tear is followed by an apology and an admonishment to “get ahold of yourself.” Today, I would expect someone to hysterically sob and scream and display every other extreme emotion available to humankind. Death as described by Agee seems to be a social burden to be endured but God forbid anyone show true emotion (pun intended).

 

Once Andrew has returned with the news that Jay is indeed passed, the perception that his spirit has returned home in the seems pretty progressive to me. And the fact that each of them admit that they felt his presence was somewhat shocking. While not all of these characters profess religion, I would think that admitting feeling a “presence” is pretty taboo, particularly those affiliated with a specific faith.

 

And that brings us to faith. Mary seems to embrace religion in order to accept becoming a widow, however, it never becomes clear just how devout her new attitude actually is. I can understand grasping at just about anything to cope with such a horrific loss but it would have been interesting for Agee to explore just how committed Mary has become.

 

I particularly enjoyed how the children’s perspectives are explored at losing their father – the good memories and the not so good. I was stunned that Agee mentioned that Rufus sought out sympathy and popularity for his father’s passing from his peers. Of course, someone of his age would and Agee is brilliant for mentioning it. It also becomes clear that Jay perished from his own negligence of driving while drunk, a fact that Andrew soft-pedaled to his sister to make Jay seem like an innocent victim who happened to die through sheer bad luck. 

 

My first experience with Agee and I am duly impressed. A famous work of fiction actually lives up to all the hype. Well done.