Katy Mayfield Themes

I.This novel is written as non-fiction. This novel tells of a teenage girl and her family that live in a funeral home in the small town of Jubilee. The novel is narrated by the teenage girl Katy Mayfield which also happens to be the author. It recounts what she lived in Jubilee and the fact that in the end she had to leave because if she didn’t her overall health would crumble and deteriorate.
Themes- The two major themes in this novel are death and man vs man. The theme of death is spread throughout the entire novel and can be seen when Kate states, “I’d seen quite a lot of corpses by then. Now a new image crept into my growing collection and summoned yet another intimacy with the dead. The cemetery’s pleasant lawn of greenery and trees was but a carpet that hid bones and varying states of …show more content…
It is demonstrated when she states, “A final perfected image, a memorable experience, was his unwavering goal. He never had to work too hard at being different, he just was. Frank Mayfield was a clotheshorse, an undertaker with flair that verged on dandyism.” (Mayfield 14-15)
Voice- Kate Mayfield utilizes first person in her novel which unlocks new depths of the book. It is demonstrated when she states, “I have tried to remember the first time I saw a dead body. There have been many odd firsts in my life, like the first time I touched a dead person. I was too short to reach the casket, so my father picked me up and I leaned in for the first empty, cold touch.” (Mayfield 14) Tone- Kate Mayfield utilizes a gloomy tone in order to formulate a depressing setting. It is demonstrated when she states, “The first time my mother helped my father dress a female corpse, she seriously thought that the poor woman’s bones might snap in two. The stiffness was breathtaking and startled her. It was all queer and awkward. She was unprepared for how cold the corpse felt.” (Mayfield