Analysis of Southern Gothic Literature Essay examples

Littered throughout the story is evidence that the murder took place. When Emily takes up with Homer Barron, a man whom the narrator makes clear was not the marrying kind; rumors start to fly about the two at a time when it was not considered proper for a man and woman to live together. The town, her relatives, and the Baptist minister disapproved of the relationship, and Emily was in danger of loosing Homer. A year after the relationship begins, and the pressures to either marry

            Emily chooses a lover that resembles her father in many ways;  Homer is big, strong, outspoken, and domineering.  Initially, the townspeople are happy to know that Emily is dating Homer.  "Of course a Grierson would not think seriously of a Northerner, a day laborer."  When they realize that Emily is serious about him, they have a change of heart.  "Miss Emily with her head high and Homer Barron with his hat cocked and a cigar in his teeth, reigns and whip in a yellow glove."  Emily does not care about the people's reaction toward her affair with Homer.  Emily's affair with a "day laborer" is an act of defiance, toward her father and perhaps, even the toward the townspeople.  She wants to show everyone that she is in control of her life and will do as she pleases.

The American Gothic Genre typically shows guilt, puritanism, supernatural beings and/ or events, fear of the unknown, unheimlich, anxieties, and rationality vs irrationality. Mysteries, intense emotion, romance, heroes, evil curses, and gloomy, decaying isolated settings such as castles and mansions are also characteristics of this genre. There is an evil tone throughout the work. Freud

“She was sick for a long time. When we saw her again, her hair was cut short making her look like a girl” (32). Through this image the narrator portrays Emily regressing back to her youth. It is at this point that Miss Emily is being seen around town with a young contractor named Homer Barron.

Perhaps Miss Emily had wished it that way. Faulkner tells of her two cousins, who come at her death notice at once, the same cousins who visited when she was courting Homer Barron. It was the cousins who had been there when she was ordering men’s things, giving the town belief that Miss Emily and Homer had wed. That she had changed the proclaimed bachelor’s opinion on nuptials.

Gothic writers are well known for their works that induce grotesque and demented images to enter a reader’s brain. However, blood and gore is not the only way that Gothic writers can make your skin crawl, and the hair on the back of your neck rise. Gothic literary works contain themes of supernatural occurrences, and entrapment to induce feelings of fear, and mystery into the reader.

Southern gothic is a type of literature that focuses on the harsh conflicts of violence and racism, which is observed in the perspective of black and white individuals. Some of the most familiar southern authors are William Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor, and Cormac McCarthy. One author in particular, Flannery O’Connor, is a remarkable author, who directly reflects upon southern grotesque within her two short stories, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” and “Revelation.” These two short stories are very similar to each other, which is why I believe that O’Connor often writes with violent characters to expose real violence in the world while tying them in with a particular spiritual insight.

The very beinning of the story is extraordinary. It begins with the burial of Emily, the residents around her coffin did not feel anything, most of them were curious. There were neither friends nor relatives, nobody who was in mouring for her, only inquirers. The readers can ask, what kind of person was Miss Emily? Why the others did not feel sadness? Perhaps there is a bigger question: what was the reason that nobody went to her house more than ten years (except her slave, Tobe).

Being a member of an antebellum southern aristocracy meant that she was in a family that was defined as a “planter” also known as a person owning property and twenty or more slaves. After the Civil War, the family went through another hardship. The woman and her father kept on living their lives as if they were still in the past. Her father refused to let her get married. When the woman was thirty years old, her father died. This took her by surprise. After her dad passed, the woman refused to give up his body. The town thought it was just part of her grieving process. After she finally accepted her dad’s death, she grew closer to Mr. Homer. This took the town by surprise. Homer explained to Emily that he wasn’t the marrying type. She did not like hearing those words. Emily went to town and bought arsenic from a drug dealer. Because of this, the towns people were certain she was trying to kill herself. Emily’s distant cousins came to visit because the priest’s wife had called them. Homer left for a couple of days, but then came back after the cousins had left. Emily wouldn’t talk to any of the towns people. They wouldn’t confront her given her reputation. They wanted to ask her about the awful smell that had been coming from her house and to talk to her about her taxes. At first, they said her taxes were over looked in debt to her father, but then they changed their minds and sent her notices. The woman refused to pay them! Years later Emily had

The Southern Gothic qualities of violence, outsider and good vs. evil are evident in Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, Shirley Jackson’s “The Possibility of Evil”, and William Faulkner’s “A Rose For Emily”. These stories fits the traits of the Southern Gothic Genre.

Southern Gothic literature has rooted itself in American culture and created several classic short stories that have pushed literary boundaries and minds. Among the most influential of these Southern Gothic stories is “A Rose for Emily”, by William Faulkner; “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, and “Good Country People”, both by Flannery O’Connor. After first discussing what characteristics make up the genre of Southern Gothic, each of these stories will be evaluated and discussed in terms of what makes each of them a prime example of Southern Gothic literature.

Throughout the course of history, literature has gone through considerable changes. Dating back to its humble beginnings in folklore, fables, and storytelling all the way up to the scientific books and dramatic novels of today. Literature is arguably the centerpiece of all mankind. It is useful for record keeping, education, and bringing cultures and societies together. It has allowed us to expand our minds by painting a picture of the beautiful places this world has to offer outside of our corners of the earth. One genre of literature I find especially intriguing is Southern Gothic Literature. It is a subclass of gothic fiction, specifically set

First, to begin by discussing what Southern Gothic is. “Southern Gothic is a mode or genre prevalent in literature from the early 19th century to this day. Characteristics of Southern Gothic include the presence of irrational, horrific, and transgressive thoughts, desires, and impulses; grotesque characters; dark, humor, and overall angst-ridden sense of alliteration” (Bjerre). Faulkner is widely known for his grotesque descriptions of Yoknapatawpha County and character description.

The American Gothic to me is an emphasis on the surreal occurring too close to home. Yes, there are unrealistic monsters of all sorts amidst the works we have read this semester, but these monsters make themselves known… or unknown in some cases… in places that are relatable to the American reader. I happened upon a King quote which I believe sums up this idea, “Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win.” This is the essence of the American Gothic, it is internal and psychological. Yes, there will always be Lovecraftian monsters in the Gothic, but these monsters pull from the science fiction genre. The concept of how Gothic pulls from all genres of literature is what makes it so intriguing to its

Southern Gothic literature is a form of writing that became far less popular in the late 20th century. S-Town is a podcast that brought back this endangered genre, and is a real life version of it. As the story plays out in front of the listeners, people notice that the way the elements of Southern Gothic literature are used is different than the classic style people recognize. The Southern Gothic genre had become less popular in the 20th century, but this endangered genre makes a comeback with S-Town, which gives it a new life. Although S-Town seems like a classic piece of Southern Gothic literature, there are many differences the listeners catch after seeing the way it uses the genre’s elements, deterring it away from the classic style to a more contemporary style. S-Town is a piece of contemporary Southern Gothic literature because of its use of irony, macabre and grotesque, and the Southern setting.