Knoxville: Summer of 1915 by James Agee

In this essay, James Agee writes about childhood experiences during a hot summer in Knoxville, Tennessee. He goes through his entire evening, paying close attention to every single smell, sound, sight, and touch as the dark night creeps closer. Agee’s incredible imagery, paired with alliteration and similes, allow readers to feel like they are viewing these images and actions through their own eyes. This is a common skill demonstrated throughout Agee’s work, as he is well known for his poetry and film critics in which he writes “as a fellow viewer rather than as an insider with superior opinions” (James Agee | Biography). He feels comfort in ensuring that his audience is able to connect to his writing and be engulfed by it, as opposed to just simply reading words off a page.

It is evident that summer nights like these are important to Agee, and are where he gathered a majority of his memories as a child. He clearly was able to appreciate life around him as it passed by, and discovered that the simplest things, such as even the noises and movements of a garden hose, could have beauty. The words that Agee used, for example when he said the wide and alive stars are “like a smile of great sweetness,” or the dewy grass that was “low on the length of lawns, a frailing of fire who breathes,” seemed to make their own music (174). He was able to understand countless things about the world and his family through observation, however, towards the end of the essay later expresses that the one thing he does not think he will ever be able to understand is himself.

The desire to peer deeply into the lives of others is fueled by Agee’s struggle for self-discovery, and he accomplishes this purpose and cry for help by making himself blend in. Agee grew up in Tennessee “successfully disguised as a child” among all of his older family members (171). The only time he felt significant was when he concentrated his attention on the objects around him, and this was demonstrated through well-crafted sentences that make the audience believe they were experiencing their own type of summer night in Knoxville.  

"James Agee | Biography - American Author." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 4 June 2015. Web. 20 Aug. 2015.

This picture represents Agee's ability to appreciate the little things in life due to the fact that he is very observant, and how it allows him to understand the world around him better. 

(https://www.pinterest.com/jenpelt/the-final-frontier/)