The Member of the Wedding, by Carson McCullers, is about the life of a 12-year-old girl, Frankie, who is transitioning from childhood to adulthood. Frankie feels disconnected from the rest of the world, having lost her mother at birth and having a distant father who is barely mentioned. In the novel, he spends much of his time with his housekeeper, Berenice, and his cousin, John Henry West, when he realizes that he is not a member of anything. When she learns that her brother is getting married, she desperately clings to the idea of ​​attending the wedding and attempts to transition into adulthood. However, he realizes that adulthood isn't as great as he imagined it to be and learns about the dangers of growing up. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay McCullers uses the symbol of eyes to illustrate the internal conflicts the characters face in the novel about the reality of adulthood. Berenice's glass eye symbolizes her desire to stay young. Berenice is described early in the novel as having “a left eye that was of bright blue glass. He stared wildly into her calm, colorful face, and no human being would ever know why he wanted a blue eye. His right eye was dark and sad” (McCullers 5). Berenice's natural eye color is dark, however she chose to have a bright blue glass eye. The fact that he chose the color blue is significant because blue is typically associated with clarity and vision, however he cannot see with his eyes because it is not a real eye. The contrast between the two eye colors illustrates the contradiction Berenice is facing with her decision to stay young or settle down. While discussing Frankie's obsession and jealousy with marriage, Berenice tells her that what she "needs to start thinking about is a boyfriend" (McCullers 82). Having a boyfriend, or boyfriend, is a task typically associated with young adulthood. However, Berenice, a rather older woman, has a boyfriend named TT Williams. When Frankie asks Berenice why she doesn't settle down, she quickly responds by saying "I won't marry him" (McCullers 95). Berenice's quick response to this suggestion indicates her fear of marrying TT Williams. Berenice is afraid of marrying TT and settling down with him because she is unsure of her future and what settling down might entail. She will have to let go of her young image if she wants to marry TT Williams. Likewise, his fake blue eye represents the clarity he pretends to see in his life. She acts like she's sure she won't settle down or get married. On the other hand, her dark eyes illustrate the fear she has of moving forward in life and settling down with her boyfriend. Frankie's eyes symbolize his confusion about maturity and adulthood. While talking to Frankie about her obsession with marriage, Berenice tells Frankie that she “could see through those two gray eyes of hers as if they were glass. And what he saw was the saddest madness he had ever known” (McCullers 107). Frankie's eyes are gray, a color that is a combination of black and white. Black is a color typically associated with fear and the unknown, while white is associated with purity and innocence. These two colors contrast, giving her a grayish eye color, illustrating her struggles associated with coming of age. She plans to become an adult, but still has a sense of innocence holding her back. Her innocence was illustrated when her father asked her, "Who is this big, long-legged twelve-year-old blunderbuss who still wants to sleep?".