Personal Essay On The Ballad of the Sad Cafe
Personal Essay On The Ballad of the Sad Café
Reading The Ballad of the Sad Café was a very enlightening experience for me. I was completely absorbed into the dark and isolated town of Cheehaw and the events that played out in it. Various characters in the novella repulsed me, such as Cousin Lymon, who was utterly callous and manipulative, and the small-minded townsfolk. Elements such as Miss Amelia’s heartbreak and loneliness, the complete isolation and joylessness in the town also saddened me very much, for I felt like the townspeople did not have much to live for.
To start off, the townsfolk’s isolation and poverty made me feel as if I had too much. They had no education, not enough food to go around, not even value for their lives, which was “given to … [them] free and taken without being paid for.” (McCullers, 40) They were shallow and took joy in petty and unnecessary gossip, but only because they didn’t know any better. I felt greatly disheartened when the café was destroyed, because it was the only symbol of happiness they had, and even that was taken away from them. So they resorted to being consumed by monotony, living every single day not looking forward to the next, and once again completely secluded from the world.
In terms of Cousin Lymon, I don’t think he had any sort of a moral compass to speak of. Even the day he arrived was referred to as the “unholy day” (McCullers, 23). I felt greatly repulsed by the callous and selfish ways he treated Miss Amelia. After everything she provided for him, taking him into her home and loving him without conditions, he still turned away from Amelia in order to pursue someone who hated her. Even destroying her heart was not enough, he had to go and destroy almost everything she had, right before he abandoned her. This made me hate him even more, for I think he was just McCullers symbol for all the callous and heartless people out there.
As for Miss Amelia, I felt deeply saddened by the way she was treated, for she
Reading The Ballad of the Sad Café was a very enlightening experience for me. I was completely absorbed into the dark and isolated town of Cheehaw and the events that played out in it. Various characters in the novella repulsed me, such as Cousin Lymon, who was utterly callous and manipulative, and the small-minded townsfolk. Elements such as Miss Amelia’s heartbreak and loneliness, the complete isolation and joylessness in the town also saddened me very much, for I felt like the townspeople did not have much to live for.
To start off, the townsfolk’s isolation and poverty made me feel as if I had too much. They had no education, not enough food to go around, not even value for their lives, which was “given to … [them] free and taken without being paid for.” (McCullers, 40) They were shallow and took joy in petty and unnecessary gossip, but only because they didn’t know any better. I felt greatly disheartened when the café was destroyed, because it was the only symbol of happiness they had, and even that was taken away from them. So they resorted to being consumed by monotony, living every single day not looking forward to the next, and once again completely secluded from the world.
In terms of Cousin Lymon, I don’t think he had any sort of a moral compass to speak of. Even the day he arrived was referred to as the “unholy day” (McCullers, 23). I felt greatly repulsed by the callous and selfish ways he treated Miss Amelia. After everything she provided for him, taking him into her home and loving him without conditions, he still turned away from Amelia in order to pursue someone who hated her. Even destroying her heart was not enough, he had to go and destroy almost everything she had, right before he abandoned her. This made me hate him even more, for I think he was just McCullers symbol for all the callous and heartless people out there.
As for Miss Amelia, I felt deeply saddened by the way she was treated, for she