Exploration of Historical and cultural Trauma in James Agee's A Death in the Family

Abstract

James Agee's A Death in the Family is grounded on the Historical and Cultural trauma of the central child character; Rufus and each and every character of this novel. One aspect of the novel that is notably different than the way life is in contemporary America is the closeness of extended families, with adult children frequently living with or near their parents. When Jay’s father is stricken with a heart attack, his son Ralph and daughter Jessie and their spouses are available to be at his bedside; when Jay dies, his wife’s brother, her aunt, and her parents are within walking distance; and Great Aunt Sadie, a woman who is herself in her eighties, has responsibility for the well-being of her mother. In rural societies, as Tennessee was in the early part of the twentieth century, it is more common to find extended families supporting each other than it is in urban areas. Traditionally, populations of rural areas have been determined by the need for help: before industrialization, parents on family farms tended to have more children based on their need for helping hands. Here, we can find historical and cultural differences between two families of Jay Follet and Mary. Another one is the cultural differences between country home and city area. Likewise, people are still can't get away from the historical events of civil war. In this novel we find the religious vary between Blacks and Whites too.