This thesis explores the autobiographical fiction of James Agee from the perspective ofKohut's self psychology and shame studies. Chapter One provides an outline of these psychological theories and draws connections between Kohut's narcissistic personality disorder and shame, makes reference to other scholars such as Joseph Adamson, J. Brooks Bouson and Barbara Ann Schapiro who have employed these theories with such effectiveness to other authors, and discusses Agee within these contexts. Chapter Two focuses on A Death in the Family and examines how Agee's autobiographical persona suffers from a narcissistic injury and excessive shame that precedes his father's death, and explores how other family members suffer from similar disturbances. Chapter Three examines Agee's first novel, The Morning Watch, and - discusses the shame dynamics that underlie Agee's ambiguous presentation ofreligion. Chapter Four explores Agee's short autobiographical fiction from the 1940's and discusses how Agee' s response to the modem world plays an integral role in his examination of the self and interpersonal conflicts. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1975.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1975.

No description available.

Experiencing the death of a family member at a young age is a confusing time for many children. Some clinicians have reported that parental death is the most stressful life event for children, and some studies have traced adults' mental health difficulties to unresolved childhood grief (Balk, 1983; Krahnstoever, 2006). Despite the hardships endured after a family member's death, some children manage to endure the pain of loss better than others because they are resilient due to a variety of protective factors (Masten, 2003; Bonanno, 2004). The present study examined the relationships between childhood grief, potential protective factors (social support, physical and academic self-concept, parent-child relationship quality) and adolescent outcomes (depression, social satisfaction, and academic achievement). Longitudinal data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care (SECC) was utilized in the present study. The sample consisted of 1,364 children, including 261 children who experienced the death of at least one family member in third or fifth grade. There were twelve moderation analyses that were used to examine buffering effects in the present study. Findings in the present study did not support the hypotheses that the psychosocial factors examined could be protective factors between experiencing the death of a family member and the adolescent outcomes examined. Results also revealed a significant main effect of social support, parent-child relationship quality, and physical and academic self-concept whereby those with higher levels of these psychosocial factors tend to have lower levels of depression. Having higher physical and academic self-concept was found to be positively associated with academic achievement. Contrary to what might be expected, a main effect of having higher levels of social support, parent-child relationship quality, physical self-concept, and academic self-concept were associated with lower levels of social satisfaction. Although the hypotheses were not supported in the present study, it is still important that the topic was examined and findings from the present study can guide future research in further exploring possible protective factors for children who experienced the death of a family member.