Cruel writings

James Agee wrote his epic novel, Let us now praise famous me in a style completely different then that of a piece of fiction, poetry, journalism, and even photography. With a mixture of all three styles, Agee is able to discuss and show matters that normally would be almost unapproachable to normal writers. Even with the help of Walker Evans, Agee is using photography to add depth and visual detail to a life style that many have never lived. Agee’s style of writing is what pushes his readers into a convoluted prose and unrelenting details over the most basic and normal pieces of information, such as the description of every room in a house. Even the very clothing that these people wear are spared no detail. Agee almost seems harsh and cruel in his description of the clothes the tenant families wear, as some have been made out of pillow slips or have become so old and dirty, that the clothing is almost nothing but rags.
While many have been pushed away by Agee’s writing style, Agee could not have written this piece in any other way. Agee has lived with these people, he has experienced the very life they live every day, so it comes as no surprise that Agee would write without compassion for his reader. Agee knows that it would be cruel to the tenant family if the reader of his writings would simply look down on the people. Through his harsh writing style the reader begins to understand how serious these families lives are. That these people who live in poverty, who have to struggle to eat every day, that they deserve respect. These families have shown us that even under the most dire of situations one can still stand up with respect for themselves.