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Ballad of the Sad Cafe: Gangsters (Simon Callow, 1991)

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this is sort of the "cute" antidote to the other clip. i love and hate that little man. i love and love her.

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The Ballad Of The Sad Cafe (1991) - Home Video Trailer [SD]

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Director: Simon Callow Starring: Vanessa Redgrave, Keith Carradine, Cork Hubbert

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I - INTRODUCTION

II - THE SETTING

III - THE PLOT SUMMARY

IV - CONCLUSION

I - INTRODUCTION

Carson MacCullers, a woman writer belongs with the literature of the south as we can see it in The Ballad of the Sad Café with the characters more or less violent, and also with the weird atmosphere.

This book is neither a novel nor a short story. Indeed, this is a novella of which we will briefly describe the setting and eventually the plot summary.

II - THE SETTING

The setting took place in the southern states, in Georgia and more exactly sixty miles from Atlanta, not far from Cheehaw. In that part of the country, people were said to be rooted in the soil; such as the most of the inhabitants in the small town. Furthermore, in that town "there was absolutely nothing to do" except working at the cotton mill. This is the reason why people tended to loaf about during their spare time. This is what life was like in the town before the opening of the café.

This latter was the very place where all the inhabitants used to go. Hardly did they finish working, when they gathered in the café, for it was the only activity in the town. And more than a café, it was also useful as a consulting room. The townspeople were used to going there so as to be taken care of. As a matter of fact, the owner of the café, Miss Amelia, acted as a doctor for the microcosm. She made liquor for the café as well as mixtures and potions for her medical practice. Besides, she had also various activities, such as attending to the store, to the sawmill and so on. For these reasons, people thought a great deal of her.

However, Miss Amelia was still unsociable, and treated everybody coldly. Thereby, she remained a solitary woman.

III - THE PLOT SUMMARY

One day, a hunchback, still unknown to the inhabitants, came to the town, because he was hunting for Miss Amelia. He went to the front porch of her store where he talked to her about their kinship. After introducing himself as her cousin, he sat down on the steps and began to cry.

To everybody's amazement, Miss Amelia took pity on the hunchback and let him into her premises. Although he was still a stranger to her, she made him sleep in her father's room. The townspeople were all the more struck as it was not in her habit to welcome someone; otherwise she made money out of them.

Then rumour had it in the town that Miss Amelia had murdered Cousin Lymon. But he was just talking with her about transforming the store into a proper café; and three days later, it opened up.

As usual, on saturday night, "number of customers" were waiting at the front porch in order to buy Amelia's liquor. Indeed, they were used to taking it in the back yard and then they would get away.

However, on that night , Miss Amelia acted in a different way. Actually, she allowed people to come into her premises. But what impressed them most, was that she provided the customers with some glasses. It was surprising for she had never let somebody drink inside before.Thus, what she did that night was merely the way the café opened. From that moment on, all the inhabitants got used to gathering at Amelia's.

During the following years, the café got better: some tables were brought in, suppers were served for a few cents, and in addition to that, the hunchback persuaded Miss Amelia to buy a piano. In fact, it looked as though she was deeply attracted by him. Consequently he had a great influence on her. She did her utmost in order to please him. Thus, she brought him along to every place she went. But the arrival of Marvin Macy disrupted all this.

Six years had passed before the inhabitants heard again of Marvin Macy. He had been married to Miss Amelia for only ten days when finally she threw him out. Not long after, he was said to have robbed stations, and to be suspected of murder. Therefore, he was sent off to the penitentiary. Everybody was relieved until the day when Henry Macy received a letter explaining that his brother, Marvin, had been released on parole.

A few months later, he was given a lift up to the small town. No sooner did he arrive, than the hunchback was immediately infatuated with him; for Marvin was quite handsome and was likely to be a misfit. He wandered about in the town for a while, before going to Amelia's premises. In the meantime, the hunchback did not let him out of his sight. He even attempted to gain Marvin's favour but without any success. On the contrary, Marvin "treated him hatefully", and moreover he made use of the hunchback to settle in Amelia's premises.

Not to annoy Cousin Lymon, Miss Amelia put a curb on her anger. However, she could not bear it any longer; so she tried to poison him but she failed. Her anger increased. Given her temper, everybody in the town and even in the surroundings expected a fight between her and Marvin Macy.This, was not amazing in so far as Miss Amelia had been involved in fights several times.

Both Miss Amelia and Marvin Macy had a break on that day in order to "store up strengh". Thus, the fight was in the air. It was all the more clear as she got some exercise to be fit.It was obvious to everyone that the fight was bound to happen at seven for it was Amelia's favourite number. Therefore, everybody gathered around her premises.

On this great occasion, the furniture was shifted so as to make way for the fight. As foreseen, Miss Amelia and Marvin Macy were on time, at seven on the dot. Slowly, they came closer to one another and began to fight. Both him and her struggled hard to win, they were evenly matched. But at last, Amelia got the upper hand. She straddled on him and put her hands on his throat. She was on the brink of flogging him when something unexpected occured. Indeed, Cousin Lymon, up to there standing on the counter, leapt and flung his hands round Amelia's neck. Eventually, she found herself stretched out on the ground. Thus, Marvin Macy succeeded in beating her hollow thanks to the hunchback.

Afterwards, this latter ran away for reasons known to himself. The crowd did likewise, they left the café unable to utter a single word. Eventually, Amelia found herself alone.

After her defeat, Marvin Macy and the Cousin Lymon turned everything upside down: they broke the piano, set the shack on fire and so on. They destroyed all they had been able to. Since then, the hunchback never returned to the small town and nobody ever heard of him. That was how Miss Amelia remained alone. Though some people meant to help her, she always refused. The inhabitants noticed that Lymon's departure was a great sorrow to her. Thereby, she began to sell everything in the café for only one dollar, and she also did not take care of her patients as well as before. After three days, she decided to close the café, boarding up all the openings.

The life in the town became dull: it was the same as before the arrival of Cousin Lymon. Therefore, the townspeople could neither gather in a café nor being cured. As a result, the inhabitants had still only one thing left, listening to the "chain-gang".

IV - CONCLUSION

On the whole, this novella looks pretty pessimistic. Life in that microcosm is made of solitude, boredom and violence. The author also draws our attention to the betrayal between the main characters. Thus, the story can remind us of Carson MacCullers's life. It should be borne in mind that she had been betrayed by two men. Like Miss Amelia, the author got married with one man and then fell in love with another. Eventually, the two men, who were attracted by each other, went away. What followed was that both Amelia's and Carson MacCullers's lives werequite similar; in other words their lives were pathetic and dismaying.

This feeling of unhappiness is also conveyed by the title. Actually, the words " The Ballad of the Sad Café" contain an oxymoron. Indeed, the terms "ballad" and "sad" sound ill-boding and dramatic; while "café" usually evokes a cosy atmosphere where people find great pleasure. But even though the "café" refers to joyfulness, this is a tale of suffering.

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I - INTRODUCTION II - THE SETTING III - THE PLOT SUMMARY IV - CONCLUSION I - INTRODUCTION Carson MacCullers, a woman writer belongs with the literature of the south as we can see it in The Ballad of the Sad Café with the characters more or less violent, and also with the weird atmosphere.

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ballad of the sad cafe and other stories

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Ballad of the Sad Cafe and Other Stories The Ballad of the Sad Café, Part 3 Summary

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Free summary and analysis of The Ballad of the Sad Café, Part 3 in Carson McCullers's Ballad of the Sad Cafe and Other Stories that won't make you snore. We promise.

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The The Ballad of the Sad Cafe Community Note includes chapter-by-chapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography and quizzes written by community members like you.

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The Ballad of the Sad Café Summary - eNotes.com

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Complete summary of Carson McCullers' The Ballad of the Sad Café. eNotes plot summaries cover all the significant action of The Ballad of the Sad Café.

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This detailed study guide includes chapter summaries and analysis, important themes, significant quotes, and more - everything you need to ace your essay or test on The Ballad of the Sad Café!