The touching story, “Missing May”, written by Cynthia Rylant, talks about a twelve-year-old girl named Summer who has the loss of her Aunt May and seeks to find a way to continue with her life. Summer’s mother passed away when she was six. Orphaned as a baby, Summer was passed around to various relatives before meeting Aunt May and Uncle Ob. The couple immediately saw Summer wasn’t receiving enough attention from her previous caregivers and decided to bring Summer home. Aunt May died all of a sudden, leaving Uncle Ob depressed. Both Summer and Uncle Ob were left struggling to cope with the loss of their beloved family member. Uncle Ob was always depressed and he believed that he had been visited by Aunt May’s spirit. Summer worried that Uncle Ob was planning to die so that he could be with Aunt May. There was a boy named Cletus, who believed in the supernatural, in Summer's class who liked to collect things. Cletus talked about how he went to heaven and came back. Uncle Ob believed that Cletus would help him connect with Aunt May’s spirit. He calls Cletus his “Afterlife antenna”. Cletus found an ad about a spiritualist, Reverend Young. Uncle Ob, Summer, and Cletus traveled to visit Reverend, hoping she could help them connect Aunt May spiritually. But it turned out that the Reverend had died and they would not be able to do so. At the end, Uncle Ob decided to stay with Summer and love well, giving up thoughts of contacting Aunt May in favor of remembering her fondly. Three themes frequently recurring in the story: death, sorrow, and family.
Children’s literature presents the theme of death to help young readers understand the meaning of death and cope with these inevitable aspects of life. The stories often illustrate the experiences of characters dealing with loss, which would foster young raiders’ empathy and compassion. Summer’s parents died and nobody keeps her. Summer was in pain. Summer has continuous pain from the careless foster families who did not care about Summer. Luckily, Summer was adopted by Aunt May and Uncle Ob. However, Aunt May’s sudden death leaves shock to both Summer and Uncle Ob. Aunt May’s death is planned by fate. Uncle Ob and Summer both believe that May’s spirit still exists. They believe that May is still with them. People will experience death in their life and they cannot control it because it is fate that is beyond them. Death is fate because we cannot plan the death we are going to have. Aunt May’s death is planned because she died very soon. People cannot control their death. Fate controls it. Uncle Ob and Summer wanted Aunt May to live longer, but they cannot control it. They can only wish for her to live longer. The novel talking about death is trying to teach young readers about facing the pain of death. The people who face death can be very strong because they need to face the fact and they need to stop themselves from revealing their emotions. At some point, the story tries to teach young readers the natural cycle of life, helping children understand that death is a normal part of life that everyone would experience and it cannot be avoidable. Even though the loved ones are already gone physically, their spirit and their love would remain. Literature introduces death to teach young readers to remember loved ones and cherish memories.
Sorrow is a deep feeling of sadness because of losing loved ones and sorrow is largely unavoidable as it is a natural human emotion. If people acknowledge the feelings of sorrow, it would lead to personal growth even though sorrow is inevitable. Aunt May’s sudden death made Uncle Ob and Summer shocked and disbelief. They didn’t want Aunt May to die. They began to have the feeling of anxiety and depression, especially Uncle Ob. But eventually, both Summer and Uncle Ob accept the fact of Aunt May’s death. The feeling of sorrow or deep sadness is something that eventually all people would experience in their lifetime. Both Uncle Ob and Summer were suffering from the pain of Aunt May’s death. The stages of sorrow often begin with denial. It is common to feel shocked, struggling to accept the reality of the situation. Then, as denial fades, people start to have the feeling of frustration or anxiety. The sorrow commonly brings people deep depression or loneliness. Eventually, one would reach a stage of acceptance where the reality of the situation is fully acknowledged. Summer was trying to overcome the feeling of sorrow while trying to help Uncle Ob too. People will all have this feeling of sorrow but they should also overcome it. They should try to give up their feeling of sorrow and face a new way of life. To face the sorrow, people need to first acknowledge the feeling of deep sadness, connect with friends to talk about it, or seek professional help if necessary.
The true family lies in the love, trust, support, and connection among its family members, no matter if they are biologically related or not. True families provide physical and emotional support. Such reliability, love, and trust are more critical than biological links. Orphaned as a baby, summer was passed around to various relatives before meeting Aunt May and Uncle Ob. The couple immediately saw Summer wasn’t receiving enough attention from her previous caregivers and decided to adopt Summer and bring Summer home. Give Summer love as she was their own. Family is a place that would not only always accept who you are, but also always provide what you need. Family makes a big part of our lives so we really need to cherish it. People really need their family to live so they should cherish it, not just take it for granted like it is nothing important. Summer is in a bad situation because both of her parents died. She was also passed around so she didn’t really have a secure place to live. Luckily, she was adopted by Aunt May and Uncle Ob. Under their care, support, and love, Summer became a healthy warm girl. Summer is very close to Aunt May and Uncle Ob. This explains that strong emotional connections can exist regardless of biological ties. Love and care are fundamental to build a family, providing emotional security and a sense of belonging. In essence, a true family focuses on fostering an environment where people feel loved, accepted, and supported no matter if he has biological ties or not.
Overall, “Missing May” is a touching story that delicately examines human feelings through death, sorrow, and family. By illustrating the sense of family, the story not only emphasizes the importance of human relationship and what the true family is but also informs readers not to leave people who just suffer the loss of their loved ones. Also, the author portrays characters with detailed descriptions about their feelings toward Aunt May’s death, creating a resonant portrayal of a family searching for healing toward the tragedy, which offers readers insights into life’s most challenging emotions and how to cope with the deep sadness. Death also plays an important role in the themes. Aunt May’s death is planned, and fate controls it, not Uncle Ob and Summer. The theme of death is a great contribution to this story and it helps the young reader have a better understanding about idea of death.
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