"The Member of the Wedding"

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how the heroine, Frankie Adams, of Carson McCullers' "The Member of the Wedding" is primarily defined by her familial relationships. It looks at how Frankie seems ostracized from what is left of her biological family, even though she is not consciously aware of this fact. It concludes that Frankie learns that family is not particular to brothers, fathers, or mothers, but can be found within the hearts of anyone who cares enough to listen and understand her needs, thoughts, and feelings.

From the Paper:

"Although Frankie does not realize her confusion about growing up until she talks to Bernice, Frankie's childlike status and need for a mother soon becomes clear when the reader leans she is scared to sleep alone. Early on in the book, she demands that her six-year-old cousin stay overnight to keep her company. However, like the twelve-year-old she is, Frankie is also determined to seem like a young woman and conceal her feelings of neediness and desire for protection, as she tries to seem mature before her father when he informs her of her uncle's death. Her family does not see this need for protection and maturity all at once--they are too preoccupied with the wedding. Only Bernice truly understands Frankie's emotional conflict, as a mother should."

Sample of Sources Used:

• McCullers, Carson. The Member of the Wedding. New York: Bantam, 1985.
• Murray, Jennifer. "Approaching Community in Carson McCullers." Southern Quarterly. Summer 2004, pp.1-3. <http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4074/is_200407/ai_n9431616?>
• Yeager, Patricia. Dirt and Desire: Reconstructing Southern Women's Writing, 1930-1990. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000.

More papers on "The Member of the Wedding":

• Analytical Essay # 65310 : "The Member of the Wedding"
• Book Review # 65306 : "The Member of the Wedding" by Carson McCullers"
• Analytical Essay # 47214 : "Ghosts in "The Member of the Wedding"

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