Carson McCullers is considered one of the most noteworthy American writers of the twentieth century. He had a challenging life; he constantly battled illness, a turbulent marriage, and alcoholism. The way he lived and felt is reflected in some of his short stories and short stories. In Ballad of a Sad Cafe there is a mixture of isolation and lovelessness that consumes three characters: Amelia, Marvin and Lymon. The short story The Members of the Marriage delves into the life of Frankie Adams, an immature twelve-year-old battling the trials and tribulations of her upcoming adolescence. McCuller's idiosyncratic characters writhe through loneliness and the search for love that is recognized by the reader with deep compassion. The novella Ballad of a Sad Café exemplifies how love can occasionally be one-sided and cause the pain that comes from adoring someone who doesn't love you back. the feeling. McCullers clearly defines his opinion on love when he states "Love is the joint experience between two people but the fact that it is a joint experience does not mean that it is a similar experience for the two people involved... the love is a lonely thing" (McCullers 215). The story begins with an illustration of the city, which in itself is lifeless and desolate. There is little or nothing except a cotton mill, the houses where the workers live and a sad main street lonely, sad and like a place far away and alien to all other places in the world” (McCullers 197) Love is the theme main story which is shared by three unconventional characters: Miss Amelia, Cousin Lymon and). Marvin Macy. (McCullers 215). 2014. Gleeson-White, Sarah. "Revisiting the Southern Grotesque: Mikhail Bakhtin and the Case of Carson McCullers Southern Literary Journal." Vol.33. Issue 2 (2001): 108-123. Network. April 9, 2014. Kohler, Dayton. "Carson McCullers: Variations on a Theme." University English. Vol, 13. Issue 1 (1951): 1-8. Network. April 9, 2014. McCullers, Carson. Collections of stories by Carson McCullers including The Member of the Wedding and The Ballad of the Sad Cafe. 1998. First Mariner Books, 1987. Print.Millar, Darren. “The Utopian Function of Affect in Carson McCullers’s The Member of the Wedding and The Ballad of the Sad Café.” Southern Literary Journal. 41.Number 2 (2009): 87-105. Network. 8 April 2014. Giovane, Margherita. “Metaphysical Fiction The Member of the Marriage by Carson McCullers.” Review by Kenyon. vol. 9 Number 1 (1947): 151-155. Network. April 9. 2014.