Carson mcculler's commentary

This passage is an extract from « The Ballad of the Sad Café », written by Carson Mc Cullers. This scene sets on the main street of the town, at the dusk of a winter evening (the red winter sun wassetting). The passage describes the return in town of Marvin Macy, Miss Amelia's former husband, who was in jail up to now. We know that in the past, Miss Amelia really humilated him on their weddingnight by refusing him to enter her room, and then she kicked him out of her house without giving any reason for that. That's the reason why we can guess that Marvin Macy comes back in town to have arevenge on Miss Amelia who treated him that bad. We are going to analyse this passage and try to understand first what effect Marvin Macy's come back produces on the inhabitants of the town and moreparticularly on Cousin Lymon, and then we are going to focus on what ways this episode is a turning point of the novella.

The extract starts with a description of the newcomer : he seems to bephysically impressive, and although he is described as kind of a beautiful man, he also looks like a bad guy, maybe dangerous. In this moment, the reader understands that this man is Marvin Macy. His littletin suit case and his guitar remind the reader that he has just been out of jail. His physical appearance seems to correspond to his mind, a bad boy's one.
The first person to see Marvin Macy wasCousin Lymon, whose curiosity had been awaken by « the shifting of gears » he had heard. Then the two men looked at each other for a while, and the reader may be surprised by the way they do it : theyseem to know each other quite well (« like the look of two criminals who recognize each other »). Even if he remains calm, the hunchback seems to fear Marvin Macy, or at least that's what his attitudein front of him traduces : « very pale, many paces away... ». Marvin Macy's come back also produces a strange effect on the rest of the town : it totally upsets the inhabitant's routine. When he's...