American Southern Literature

1. American Southern Literature

2. The American South

3. On a basic level, Southern literature is literature that satisfies some combination of the following: • Southern setting • Southern characters • Southern author On a more complex level, “the South is thought to be hedged about with peculiarities that set it apart as unique. As a standpoint from which to write American history it is regarded as eccentric and, as a background for an historian, something of a handicap to be overcome. . . .I think that [the ‘handicap’] could possibly be turned to advantage. . . .” ( Woodward 241). One of the peculiarities Woodward points to here is the Civil War and the South’s separation from the rest of the country.

4. The Civil War & Loss • Losing the Civil War (1861-65) led to a great deal of disillusionment for Southerners. The loss is often understood as a “fall”—one linked to that of Eve and her/humankind’s first sin as portrayed in Christian mythology. Scholars use the term lapsarian to refer to this fallen condition. • This loss had a real impact on the economy, resulting in poverty (and this poverty was only exacerbated by larger national setbacks later in the 1930s (e.g. the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl)).

5. The Civil War & Loss, cont. • After this loss, Southerners also began to doubt aspects of their lives from before the war. This doubt was sometimes the catalyst for change and sometimes the catalyst for stubbornness/ heel-digging. • Race relations in the South continued--and still continue--to be a central issue (though, interestingly, our nation’s largest race riots have occurred in other regions).

6. Important Time Periods • Antebellum Period (~1800-1860): prior to the Civil War beginning • Reconstruction Era (1865-77): Reconstruction was a national attempt to help the South recover after the Civil War but failed after Lincoln was assassinated. • During this era, Northerners came to the South (carpetbaggers!) in order to, according to Southerners, take advantage of the region’s weakened state. • The (First) Great Migration (1910-30): African-Americans went North for a variety of reasons. • Renaissance Era (1929-1955): an era when Southern arts flourished • The New South (1970s to present day): less agrarian and more urban (cities like Atlanta emerging as urban centers)

7. The Southern Renaissance • This time period is when, arguably, the best Southern works come out of. • R.H. King writes, “Locating the origins of the Renaissance in 1929, the year that saw the publication of Thomas Wolfe’s Look Homeward, Angel and William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury, [C. Vann] Woodward characterized it [the Southern Renaissance] as a flowering of the ‘literary arts—poetry, fiction and drama’” (246). • It is said to have lasted until 1955.

8. Influences in Southern Writing • Agriculture • Race • the Civil War • Poverty • Christianity (the Bible belt) • Family/lineage (slaves or servants; poor whites; and Southern “royalty”) • Manners and a Southern form of chivalry

9. Key Concepts (Southern) Chivalry • This key concept reflected a Southern culture where women were treated with respect and were delicate flowers--modern-day damsels in distress--to be doted upon. • Some of the most famous American romance novels are written by Southern authors because of this utopian romanticism, e.g. Gone With The Wind.

10. Key Concepts, cont. Values and Morals • Many values and morals in Southern literature are a result of a strong Christian influence, especially of the rigid Baptist church. • Family values are also prominent. Usually, this key concept is presented from a traditional standpoint.

11. Dialect Writing and Phonetic Dialogue • Some readers and scholars view it as condescending to the group being portrayed. • Popular in Southern writing and incorporates local speech and patterns (e.g. ain’t and y’all)

12. Examples Excerpts from Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston "At dat she ain't so ole as some of y'all dat's talking." "She ain't even worth talkin' after," Lulu Moss drawled through her nose. "She sits high, but she looks low. Dat's what Ah say 'bout dese ole women runnin' after young boys."

13. Southern Gothic Sub-genre of the Gothic Genre • Popular in Europe in the 1800s • Frankenstein by Mary Shelley • Dracula by Bram Stoker • Unique to American literature • Relies on the supernatural, ironic or unusual events to guide the plot. • Uses these to explore social issues and to reveal the cultural character of the American South • Examples of Southern Gothic: stories by Flannery O’Connor and some novels (Absalom Absalom) by Faulkner

14. Southern Gothic Background • Takes classic Gothic archetypes, such as the monster or the heroic knight, and turns them into American Southerners. • Most notable is the “grotesque.” The grotesque is a character whose negative qualities allow the author to highlight unpleasant aspects of Southern culture.

15. Defining Features of the Southern Gothic • Broken bodies or souls—used symbolize problems created by the established pattern. Also used to question established/accepted pattern of morality and ethical justification. • The “innocent” is a common character who may or may not be “broken” but often acts as a redeemer for others.

16. Works Cited King, Richard H. “A Southern Renaissance.” The Sound and the Fury: A Norton Critical Edition. By Faulkner. Ed. by David Minter. 246-49. Print. Woodward, C. Vann. “The Irony of Southern History.” The Sound and the Fury: A Norton Critical Edition. By Faulkner. Ed. by David Minter. 241-43. Print.