Many of William Faulkner’s works may be catagorized under the Southern Gothic genre. In this essay, I will explore and prove that the novel “A Light in August” and the short story “A Rose for Emily” are indeed, Southern Gothic writings. Characteristics of Southern Gothic writings are presented in these stories by Faulkner’s use of the lurid murders of Joe Christmas and Joanna Burden in “A Light in August”, and Homer Barron in “A Rose for Emily”, we also see disillusioned and reclused personalities in characters such as Rev. Hightower and Emily Grierson, and finally we see the topic of race portrayed in these stories as a negative, crippling force in society. One of the more familiar characteristics of Southern Gothic literature involves grotesque,
…show more content…
Reverend Hightower in “A Light in August” and Emily Grierson in “A Rose for Emily” are both characters that had started out in society as revered, but experienced a “fall from grace” or denial from society. They were both seen as idolized figures in society but experienced events that changed the way how people saw them. For Rev. Hightower it was his adulterous wife who had “went bad on him...Then one saturday night got killed, in a house or something in Memphis” (ch 3). This event led the people of Jefferson to turn their backs on the preacher, and force him to resign from the church. After which, people simply forgot about the preacher and basically ignored him. In Emily Grierson case, her family had been an extremely influential part of Jefferson for many generations, but after the Civil War, that influence was gone. Her father was still living in his former glory and had raised Emily to believe that they were still at the top of society's ladder as “the high and mighty Griersons” (part 2). After her father's death, Emily had still believed in his ideology and refused to assimilate to modern society, which caused her to abandon society all together and never leave her house or pay taxes. This refusal to mend herself to the new rules of society, caused Emily to become …show more content…
Since infancy Joe Christmas experiences nothing but hate and prejudice from everybody he encounters. Joe Christmas was first abandoned by his grandfather in an orphanage because he was born to a father who was of mixed raced. After leaving Joe, Doc Hines tells his wife that “[Joe] is dead to you and to me and to God and to all God’s world forever and ever more” (ch 16). This insidious quote unfortunately foretells how Joe will experience life and the way he is treated within society, simply because of his race. The next face of discrimination Joe encounters early on in life is the dietician Miss. Atkins, who is first one to use derogatory slurs at Joe, and she later adopts him to the harsh, unloving Simon McEachern. During his time with the McEachern's, he finds his first love with Bobbie Allen, who refuses his love and accuses him of being black in the harshest way possible. Broken and unwanted, Joe flees town and lives the next 15 years searching for a home. According to Faulkner, Joe’s “mixed blood” had already determined his destiny in a society that was unforgiving and cruel. Southern Gothic writings tried to portray the problems of Southern Society and one of the most convincing influences in that portrayal is the topic of
Reverend Hightower in “A Light in August” and Emily Grierson in “A Rose for Emily” are both characters that had started out in society as revered, but experienced a “fall from grace” or denial from society. They were both seen as idolized figures in society but experienced events that changed the way how people saw them. For Rev. Hightower it was his adulterous wife who had “went bad on him...Then one saturday night got killed, in a house or something in Memphis” (ch 3). This event led the people of Jefferson to turn their backs on the preacher, and force him to resign from the church. After which, people simply forgot about the preacher and basically ignored him. In Emily Grierson case, her family had been an extremely influential part of Jefferson for many generations, but after the Civil War, that influence was gone. Her father was still living in his former glory and had raised Emily to believe that they were still at the top of society's ladder as “the high and mighty Griersons” (part 2). After her father's death, Emily had still believed in his ideology and refused to assimilate to modern society, which caused her to abandon society all together and never leave her house or pay taxes. This refusal to mend herself to the new rules of society, caused Emily to become …show more content…
Since infancy Joe Christmas experiences nothing but hate and prejudice from everybody he encounters. Joe Christmas was first abandoned by his grandfather in an orphanage because he was born to a father who was of mixed raced. After leaving Joe, Doc Hines tells his wife that “[Joe] is dead to you and to me and to God and to all God’s world forever and ever more” (ch 16). This insidious quote unfortunately foretells how Joe will experience life and the way he is treated within society, simply because of his race. The next face of discrimination Joe encounters early on in life is the dietician Miss. Atkins, who is first one to use derogatory slurs at Joe, and she later adopts him to the harsh, unloving Simon McEachern. During his time with the McEachern's, he finds his first love with Bobbie Allen, who refuses his love and accuses him of being black in the harshest way possible. Broken and unwanted, Joe flees town and lives the next 15 years searching for a home. According to Faulkner, Joe’s “mixed blood” had already determined his destiny in a society that was unforgiving and cruel. Southern Gothic writings tried to portray the problems of Southern Society and one of the most convincing influences in that portrayal is the topic of