James Agee was born in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1909, the son of a postal worker who was killed in an automobile accident. The loss of his father marked James Agee both short term and long term(James Agee p.30). Thirty years later it would form the basis of the novel which is the cornerstone of his fame (A DEATH IN THE FAMILY). In 1916 Agee was sent to an Episcopal boarding school in the Appalachians, Saint Andrews Seminary. The years spent in this monastic environment would shape and scar Agee for the rest of his days. Tormented by his sense of isolation and abandonment by his mother, he, nevertheless, found comfort in learning, and he formed his closest and most enduring friendship with his mentor, Father Flye, who became a surrogate parent, confidant, and spiritual inspiration for the rest of Agee's life(Larsen 35). James Agee acknowledged the restless journey his biography would encompass. Poet, novelist, journalist, film critic, and social activist, Agee would lead an unorthodox, hard-driving life that would result in an early death. So voracious was he for experience that in valuing life, as he put it, he could not help but shape the penetrating, passionate, and colorful poetry and prose he produced(Larsen 35). Of his work James Agee (Promise and Fulfillment), Agee is described as a "versatile and accomplished artist whose mind played freely over all possible media of expression and whose abilities with the English language was exceeded by none of his contemporaries" ( Larsen148). Agee's medium of expression encompassed everything from poetry to screenwriting, and his drive for perfection lead to numerous awards.
             On a summer night in 1915, Jay Follet leaves his house in Knoxville, Tennessee, to tend to his father, whom he believes is dying. The summons turns out to be a false alarm, but on his way back to his family, Jay has a car accident and is killed instantly. As told through the eyes of six-year-old Rufus Follet, the sto...