As I was reading about the writings and authors for this week, the words "southern gothic" were everywhere. Both stories were very twisted and strange, but I wanted to know what southern gothic was and what makes these stories southern gothic.
Southern Gothic is a genre of American Literature that is exclusively in the South. There are themes in literature that make them southern gothic, like grotesque situations, disturbing characters, or decayed settings. These themes sometimes explore social issues and southern American culture. This genre of writing is very different than most genres, because it is limited to a certain region of the country. This form of writing doesn't deal so much with the supernatural as it does with distorted personalities.http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-southern-gothic-movement-in-literature.htm
Faulkner's "A Rose For Emily" is about a woman who is discovered to have the rotting corpse of her lover in her bedroom, and the whole town discovered it. When they entered her house, they found the badly decomposed corpse of her lover, and a long gray hair on the pillow beside him. That is a huge example of Southern Gothic style. Emily killed her lover, and in a very grotesque way, was obsessed with him. This story is filled with examples of the southern gothic way.
O'Connor's "Good Country People" is a very strange story about a man who seems to have a split personality. At the end of the story, he ran away with a disabled woman's leg. This story relies heavily on irony to guide the plot, with the woman not discovering evil until it was too late. This story has humiliation, and scarred people.
<http://www.epinions.com/review/A_Good_Man_Is_Hard_to_Find_and_Other_Stories_by_Flannery_O_Connor/content_377534516868?sb=1>
Both stories are very famous Southern Gothic writings, and for good reason. This genre is a strange one limited to a certain place and way of life, but it such a great fiction style to write about.
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