The Ballad of the Sad Cafe by Carson McCullers - LSC-Kingwood
Lone Star College-Kingwood Library
Assignment Guide
"I live with the people I create and it has always made my essential loneliness less keen."
- Carson McCullers
- Born: 19 February 1917
- Birthplace: Columbus, Georgia
- Died: 29 September 1967
Carson McCullers is the author of several critically acclaimed novels including The Member of the Wedding and The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. Her novella, Ballad of the Sad Cafe, is considered by many to be her masterpiece. Carson's work is often compared with that of Eudora Welty and Flannery O'Connor.
The Ballad of the Sad Cafe, with its nameless narrator, is the story of Amelia Evans, owner of a cafe in the small Southern town close to Cheechaw, Georgia. Amelia Evans, a loner and the richest person for miles around, is in love with Lymon, a hunchback. Her ex-husband, Marvin Macy, returns from prison and starts a relationship with Lymon. McCullers' grotesquely eccentric characters make this a story worth reading and analyzing. It has been made into a movie (available in the library) and was adapted for the stage by Edward Albee. McCullers writing career was short, but her place in American Southern Gothic literature is assured.
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Librarian talk . . . About Getting Started! As you begin, decide on your topic and write a draft of your thesis statement. This will help keep you on track as you discover research materials. Consider keywords that will help you find the information you need. These can be names of people (author, characters as subjects), themes, literary works (Sad Cafe as a subject,) genres (Southern Gothic,) or broader identifying terms (Southern Writers.) Use keywords for locating information in the library catalog, electronic databases, and on the Internet.
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Characters
Amelia Evans - tall, powerful, independent, shrewd, industrious, capable, loner, owner of the Sad Cafe.
Cousin Lymon - a dwarf and hunchback, claims to be a cousin, sociable, enjoys entertaining the townsfolk with tall tales.
Marvin Macy - outlaw, ex-husband of Miss Amelia, returns to town when he is out of prison. And returns from town to prison.
Themes and Topics for Consideration
Loneliness | The Power of Love | Compassion in the narration | Character study | Psychological phenomenon that causes human beings who are worshiped to despise the worshiper | Mystical qualities connecting story to the Southern Gothic period | Sad Cafe as folklore. | Use of music to substitute for words and powerful feelings. | The Chain Gang.
FINDING BOOKS
| Librarian Talk . . . About Books!
Many books are available both online and in the library. So much has been written about this novel, books will be one of your best resources. Search multiple times, using different keywords. Apply in the library or online for a library card. Use your card to:
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REFERENCE BOOKS
American Writers, PS 129. A55 - Vol. 2 has an essay about Carson McCullers.
Dictionary of Literary Biography, PN 41 .D5 - Vol. 2 and 173 include information on Carson McCullers' life.
Contemporary Literary Criticism, PN 771 .C59 - Vols. 12 and 100 include excerpts on The Ballad of the Sad Cafe. Use the Title Index to find specific pages on The Ballad of the Sad Cafe . This is a good place to begin focusing on a topic for a paper.
Short Story Criticism, PN 3335 .S5 - Vol. 24, contains a long section on The Ballad of the Sad Cafe. Vol. 9 has some information. These are also excerpts of longer articles and a good place to begin thinking of a topic.
Twentieth Century American Literature, PS 221 .T834, vol. 4 includes information on Carson McCullers and her major themes and work.
CIRCULATING BOOKS: note that some of these books may be on Reserve at the Circulation Desk.
Locate the books in the library by using the catalog and entering a title search.
Carson McCullers / by Margaret B. McDowell
Carson McCullers' The ballad of the sad cafe / edited and with an introduction by Harold Bloom.
Critical essays on Carson McCullers / edited by Beverly Lyon Clark and Melvin J. Friedman.
February House / by Sherill Tippins
The Flowering Dream: the historical saga of Carson McCullers / by nance Bailey Rich
Illumination and night Glare: the unfinished autobiography of Carson McCullers / by Carson McCullers
Twentieth-century Southern Literature:New Perspectives On the South / by J.A. Bryant
Understanding Carson McCullers by Virginia Spencer Carr.
Gothic America : Narrative, History, and Nation - See several chapters, particularly Southern States in Literature for background about genre.
Search the ebook Collection from EBSCO. You will find online books about the author and the novella. E-books can be very satisfying, since they are searchable. Find the books, look inside the table of contents and search using your keywords.
FINDING JOURNAL ARTICLES
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Librarian Talk . . . About Finding Journal and Newspaper Articles!
To find articles in newspapers and journals, letters, reference books, illustrations, photographs and more, use your library card to login to the following databases. If you find an interesting article that is not full-text, please give the correct bibliographic information to our Reference Librarians and they will see that you get the article. They will need full bibliographic information - and your name and address. Send your phone number as well, so they can contact you if they need to. There is some overlap of articles in the following databases. However, we encourage you to use more than one. All are excellent sources for this topic. [Get a card]
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Academic Search Complete - This scholarly, multi-discipline, full-text database contains articles on The Ballad of the Sad Cafe and Carson McCullers. Limit your searches to Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals to find the appropriate articles.
Literature Resource Center - This database is a good place to start thinking about your topic. When you search for information on The Ballad of the Sad Cafe, the database lists topics and themes as well as links to related materials on McCullers other works. Overviews and full text articles from reference books and Twayne's Masterworks books. Journal articles, some full text and some excerpted.
Project MUSE - Begin your search by entering the title of the novel in the search box in quotation marks. Use the limiters on the left side of the screen to focus your searh to Journals, full access (complete articles), or research areas. You can Modify a search to add keywords from your thesis - click on the + mark to add search boxes. This database is also entirely scholarly, so all articles will be of the appropriate academic level for your research.
JSTOR Arts & Sciences - This database also contains scholarly journals from many subject areas. Limit your search to Articles in order to retrieve scholarly analytical articles. Choose an appropriate discipline to help focus your search results.
THE INTERNET
| Librarian Talk about the Internet!
The internet can be a wonderful source of information, including original documents. In this case, you will find background biographical information, but not much that will be appropriate for a college research paper. Check with your instructor before using any internet site as a source for your paper. Browse the sites suggested below. Remember, you do want to find reputable sites. Evaluate by:
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The Carson McCullers Project - This site has a great list of links to McCullers' works and a bibliography of critical writings.
Google Scholar Search Results - the use of Google Scholar will eliminate many of the useless pages for the research paper. Critical articles are available.
Carson McCullers Center for Writers and Musicians - Biographical information. Visit the Center's home page for more southern writers.
The Ballad of Carson McCullers - Biographical information, images,
Support - Getting Help
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Librarian Talk about getting help!
Support for a successful paper is more than finding the right resources. Putting it all together takes time and effort. Sometimes it takes additional help from the librarians or tutors. Please consider the following resources if you need additional help. Remember, the expert on the assignment is your professor; use the eCollege VISTA in-class email to contact her. |
If you need help putting your paper together, these links will lead you to tutors and librarians who can offer assistance.
MLA Style Guide | Lone Star College-Kingwood Library guide. Examples of both paper and electronic citations.
Avoiding Plagiarism | Excellent information and guide on how to avoid plagiarism from the Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University.
University of Texas Copyright Crash Course | This helpful guide on copyright is suggested by LSC-Kingwood Teaching and Learning Center.
Learning Center | Check hours for tutoring.
Page by Peggy Whitley, 1/08, updated 2/2012 B.Bradley
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