LEH 352.A16 [63384] / American Southern Gothic Literature
THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER – Carson McCullers was considered a gifted writer with the publication of this first novel at the age of 23 because of its extraordinary “completeness” of characters for such a young writer. McCullers wrote this work just before the U.S. entered WWII and she captures the winds of change that hung over the country and was evident even in the Deep South where nothing ever changed. In addition, her insight and compassion for the black characters is unprecedented in the writing of a white Southern author of the first half of the 20th century.
At almost 350 pages this is the largest book we will read this Semester but understandably it took McCullers that amount of pages to tell everyone’s story – and they all DO have a story…. Special note: All of the characters in our Southern stories are assumed to be white unless described otherwise. Therefore if a characters arms or legs are described as “
own” that does not mean the character is not white – it just means that the white character has been in the Southern sun.
Also, the N-word is used liberally as realistic thoughts and words of (white and black) Southern characters. However, note that the author never uses the word herself as the voice of the Na
ator. That is an important fact otherwise you would not be reading this work. Pay attention to the Na
ator’s comments on gender roles, religion, sexual urges, socioeconomic status of her characters and race. All of our Southern Gothic authors have something to say about those subjects and you may notice a pattern. [Note: the biographies of our Southern Gothic authors will figure prominently in The Final]
Carson McCullers [Photograph: Leonard McCombe/Time & Life]
Carson McCullers wrote five novels* in her short life which is notable given the events outside of writing that she had to contend with. She contracted rheumatic fever at 15 and then suffered two severe strokes before reaching 30, which left her paralyzed in her left arm. When she was in her 40s, she had operations on her arm and wrist, underwent a mastectomy and
oke her hip; she died in 1967, at the age of 50.
Her love life was no less tu
ulent. She ma
ied Reeves McCullers in 1937, divorced him in 1941, then rema
ied him four years later, after he was severely injured in the Battle of Normandy. In 1953, he tried to persuade her to join him in a suicide pact; when she refused, he killed himself anyway.
*The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (1940); Reflections in a Golden Eye (1941); The Ballad of the Sad Café (1943); and The Member of the Wedding XXXXXXXXXXHer final novel (mixed reviews) was Clock Without Hands (1961).
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Part One, Chapters 1&2 [Pages 1-33] DB due Wed 3/21: In these few pages we meet the principal characters of the novel. There are many more [strange] people to come but for now think about your introduction to this first group that includes: John Singer; Spiros Antonapoulos; Biff Brannon; Alice Brannon; Jake Blount; twelve year old Mick Kelly; the Negro doctor, Benedict Mady Copeland and the café worker “Willie”. So. Which ONE character description captured your attention in these first 33 pages? Why?
This Assignment’s instructions relate only to the first 33 pages of The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter .
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Cast of Prominent Characters
John Singer - A deaf-mute who makes a living engraving silver pieces in a jewelry shop.
Spiros Antonapoulos - A deaf-mute who is Singer's best friend.
Mick Kelly - The fourth child in a family of six – essentially the protagonist
Dr. Benedict Mady Copeland - An aging black doctor who works in his community all the time.
Biff Brannon - The proprietor of the New York Café, a central eating spot in town.
Jake Blount - A heavy-drinker who comes into town.
Portia - Dr. Copeland's daughter, who works as a servant in the Kelly household
Willie - Dr. Copeland's son and Portia's
other, who works in the Cafe kitchen.
Highboy - Portia's husband.
Bu
er Kelly - Mick Kelly's younger
other.
Ralph Kelly - The baby of Mick’s family
Bill Kelly - Mick's older
other, in his late teens
Etta and Hazel Kelly - Mick's older sisters
Mr. and Mrs. Kelly - Mick's father and mother.
Ha
y Minowitz - Mick’s neighbor, a Jewish boy, a couple of years older than Mick
Alice Brannon - Biff Brannon's wife
Lucile Wilson - Biff Brannon's sister-in-law
Baby Wilson - Lucile's daughter.
Simms - A religious fanatic
Hamilton Copeland and Karl Marx "Buddy" Copeland - Dr. Copeland's two sons.
Daisy Copeland - Dr. Copeland's wife
SEE BELOW DIAGRAM FOR CHARACTERS’ “SETTINGS”