William Faulkner is a southern American writer who incorporates the characteristics of tradition within his writing. This essay will identify Southern American characteristics, summarize a southern American story, and identify characteristics of southern American literature in that story.
Southern American literature is characterized by the inability to adapt to changes due to the tradition based south. Within “The Southern Myth”, an article that discusses the characteristics of the South, Irving Howe states, “perhaps because it had so little else to give its people, the South nurtured in them a generous and often obsessive sense of the past” (567). This “sense of the past” refers to traditions that still exist today, such as individual morals …show more content…
This short story is a perfect example of a story with southern characteristics intertwined within it. In the beginning of this story, the readers learn of Emily Grierson, a character born and raised in the south, and the impact that her death had on the town in which she lived. Grierson is described as a character who is unable to grasp the changes of her town. Grierson has been through many tremendous losses throughout her lifetime, including the passing of her father, whom she looked up to. Due to this, Miss Emily feels a sense of isolation from society, as she cannot relate to any of her fellow townspeople. Miss Emily’s stubborn personality shines through as Faulkner writes, “See Colonel Sartoris. I have no taxes in Jefferson” (101). Miss Emily’s stubborn attitude and her feeling of isolation is an example of southern tradition because the South in itself is isolated from the rest of the world, because of the historical traditions still existing within it. Grierson refuses to pay her taxes and sticks to her Father’s views on being exempt from taxes, which causes a great deal of conflict within the story. “Alive, Miss Emily had been a tradition, a duty, and a care,” (99) perfectly exemplifies the southern characteristic of tradition - Miss Emily in herself is a tradition, a sense of the
Southern American literature is characterized by the inability to adapt to changes due to the tradition based south. Within “The Southern Myth”, an article that discusses the characteristics of the South, Irving Howe states, “perhaps because it had so little else to give its people, the South nurtured in them a generous and often obsessive sense of the past” (567). This “sense of the past” refers to traditions that still exist today, such as individual morals …show more content…
This short story is a perfect example of a story with southern characteristics intertwined within it. In the beginning of this story, the readers learn of Emily Grierson, a character born and raised in the south, and the impact that her death had on the town in which she lived. Grierson is described as a character who is unable to grasp the changes of her town. Grierson has been through many tremendous losses throughout her lifetime, including the passing of her father, whom she looked up to. Due to this, Miss Emily feels a sense of isolation from society, as she cannot relate to any of her fellow townspeople. Miss Emily’s stubborn personality shines through as Faulkner writes, “See Colonel Sartoris. I have no taxes in Jefferson” (101). Miss Emily’s stubborn attitude and her feeling of isolation is an example of southern tradition because the South in itself is isolated from the rest of the world, because of the historical traditions still existing within it. Grierson refuses to pay her taxes and sticks to her Father’s views on being exempt from taxes, which causes a great deal of conflict within the story. “Alive, Miss Emily had been a tradition, a duty, and a care,” (99) perfectly exemplifies the southern characteristic of tradition - Miss Emily in herself is a tradition, a sense of the