Southern Literature

Paper Summary:

The pervasive and massiveness of the diversified American culture at the time of the settlement of the colonies posed a mixture of excitement and danger as settlers struggled to strongly cling to their heritage. One observes these traces in the culture of the Southern population, especially during the 19th and 20th centuries, through the writings of authors like Mark Twain, Cormac McCarthy, and William Faulkner. The paper shows that, in their works, the authors recounted the initial settlements and how they have changed over time in their attempt to adapt to their new habitat, but perhaps the most prominent feature of their writings was the portrayal of the struggle for moral freedom and the emotional dilemma the settlers experienced in achieving their ideology. This paper, therefore, shows that Southern authors demonstrate the divergence of moral freedom as a common theme in the works of Twain, McCarthy, and Faulkner.

From the Paper:

"Twain's famous work Huckleberry Finn demonstrates the cultural diversification of the people of the American continent. His unconventional approach in showing that religion that once had a high distinction among colonialists was no longer valued. Stan Poole's essay "Pretty Ornery Preaching," for example, outlines how Twain attempted to enlighten the way the anti-slavery movement operated in the South. And as a result of this social paranoia and social pressure, Twain felt the need to portray a rebel at heart in the form of the character of Finn. Finn abandoned conventions because he realized that in order to survive he must set new codes of conduct that has more to do with survival rather than religious apathy."

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