Historical Changes in Southern American Literature - Research Paper Example

The social, cultural and living changes in the southern s of America can be explained from different perspectives that include perspectives from anthropologists and great literature writers alike. These changes range from slavery, traditions, beliefs and cultural practises of the natives, in addition the changes also includes the battles that the communities took part in and the effect that they had in the region. This paper will discuss the historical changes that took place in southern America and the reasons for those changes from an anthropologist view and from literature writers’ perspective. The southern part if America was the most isolated and the most economically backward region, this may have influenced the settlement patterns in the region, which were mainly around river valleys. These river valleys was were civilisation was at peak in this region as it was the location of most of the towns, however, between these valleys and in the least accessible mountainous regions little human activity took place. However, westward expansion through the southern Appalachian turned towards the Ohio valley and North West territory changed this course and people started settling in the mountainous regions. Relationships between families and communities in this region were hostile and although they sometimes united to maintain churches and schools, the memberships of these institutions kept on changing. Slavery in this region was the norm where slaves were got from Africa to work for their American masters in their land or in their homes. In the novel ‘Gone with the wind’, Margaret Mitchell has depicted slavery in the southern America region by dividing the characters in two groups along class lines: the white planter class such as Scarlett and Ashley, and the black servant class such as Mammy, Prissy, pork and uncle Peter who acted as house servants. Mitchell goes further to show the subdivisions that were there in different classes such as among the slaves, there were those who worked in the house and stayed with their master; these were considered to belong to the highest caste. In addition, there were those who worked in the farms and did manual work; these were considered to be lower in the caste system of the slaves (Mitchell 24) Southern Belle, which is the traditional reference for a young woman in southern America who belonged to the rich upper class, has been brought up in the character of Scarlett O’Hara. Scarlett O’Hara is depicted as an attractive person although not good-looking, which is a perfect description of a southern belle. However, for Scarlett, the perfect description of a southern belle is her mother Ellen whose back is never seen to rest against the back of any seat on which she sit and whose broken heart is usually mistaken for an innocent composure. The charming nature of a southern belle can be seen in the way that Scarlett is able to manoeuvre the wars and financial misfortunes that happen to her and gain wealth of her own. In addition, despite several of her husbands dying, she was determined to get married and raise a family of her own, a typical characteristic of a southern belle. The battles and confrontations that the southern part of America participated in shaped the history of the area; these battles saw the young men recruited to the army despite the conflicting interests where young girls wished them to remain behind for marriage purposes. Some of the battles that the southern communities were involved in include the seven days battle at Richmond Virginia that lasted between 25th June and 1st July in 1962 and the confederate army won; the battle of Fredericksburg at Fredericksburg, Virginia from December 11th to 15th, the confederate army won. Other battles were the Streight’s Raid in northern Alabama from April 19 – May 3, 1863 where union colonel was captured by confederate army general, Battle of Chancellorsville in Spotsylvania County in Virginia from April 30 to May 6 where the confederate army won, the siege of Vicksburg in Mississippi from May 18 – July 4, 1863, the union army won. In addition, there were also battles at Gettysburg, which were fought around the town of Gettysburg from July 1–3, 1863, and union army was victorious, battle of Chickamauga in north western Georgia fought from September 19–20, 1863, where the union army lost with a substantial number of its soldiers dead. The Chattanooga campaign in Tennessee where the union army was victorious and made the town a major supply centre for their subsequent campaigns, this was between November and December 1863. The Atlanta, campaign, which was one of the longest battles that was fought in southern America, lasted between May and September 1864, in Georgia and the area around Atlanta, this campaign involved several battles with both sides recording mixed fortunes, however, in the long run, the union army captured the city of Atlanta from the confederate army. From the novel ‘as I lay dying’ by William Faulkner, Vernon Tull wife and his daughters are taking care of Andie who has been ill for a long time; this shows some sense of responsibility and communal spirit within the region. In addition, Andie sons, Darl and Jewel have gone to help Tull’s family to make some deliveries confirming the idea of communism in the society. This ideal is also confirmed after the death of Andie when villagers come to mourn the death with the family, with some accompanying them to go and bury Andie at the place she had requested. This characteristic fades with time up to the current state where individualism has taken root and everyone is left to take care of their own problems, partly, this can be attributed influence from the northern states which were considered more economically advanced since they had a capitalistic economic system. The southern society considers unfaithfulness as a socially unacceptable behaviour since Dewey Dell, the daughter of Anse and Andie Bundren was stressed by her pregnancy, which she got as a result of her sexual liaisons with a local farmhand known as Lafe. This makes her to attempt to buy some pills, which would help her procure an abortion, an attempt that is denied by the pharmacist who instead proposes that she gets married. The seriousness of the matter in the society is confirmed when Dell is ready to go an extent of sleeping with a stranger in order for her to get the abortion pills, although she later discovers that she was cheated. Andie, Dell’s mother has also kept it secret that one of her sons was born out of an affair that she had with a local minister, Whitfield. In the current social structure in the southern states of America, the trend has changed and getting a child out of wedlock is not as bad as it used to be and the society has become more permissive to this trend (Faulkner, As I lay dying, 13) . The society in southern America during the time William Faulkner wrote his novel ‘as I lay dying’ respected its dead and the wishes of a dead person were treated with a lot of seriousness. This can be evidenced by Anse’s family fulfilling the will of his wife to be buried in the town of Jefferson despite the husband not being enthusiastic to go to the town. In the current modern world, the wishes of the dead are not much emphasised and very few people make wishes that they expect to be fulfilled after their death. Before a woman was married off to any man, the parents had to take into consideration the status of the man who wanted to marry their daughter (Hardy, 68). A man who was considered to be below a certain social status would end up being denied the chance of marrying the woman; this might have been motivated by the girl’s desire to benefit materially from the bride price that the man would give. A man who belonged to a high social class was almost likely to get any girl he wanted in the society. This culture has been illuminated by Emily’s father in the novel ‘A rose for Emily’ when he turned away many bachelors who wanted Emily's hand in marriage as a result of their perceived low social status. The influence that her father had on her is seen when he dies and Emily starts to date a man who previously would have been considered unsuitable for her. This cultural practise has changed in the modern times where the parents influence on their children’s’ choice of marriage partner has waned (Zinn, 59). In the current society, children do not seek approval from their parents on their choice of marriage partners; therefore, they can marry any person whom they like regardless of his or her social class (Faulkner, A Rose for Emily, 87) . The gesture by the mayor to waive taxes for Emily as a sign of charity due to her father’s death shows that the society was compassionate to the less fortunate and those in problems. This practise has continued up to date where people are expected to help other society members who are in problems. Work Cited Faulkner, William. A Rose for Emily... Verlag F. Schoningh, 1958. Faulkner, William. As I lay dying: the corrected text. Modern library, 2000.print Hardy, Stella P. Colonial Families of the Southern States of America: A History and Genealogy of Colonial Families who Settled in the Colonies Prior to the Revolution. Genealogical Publishing Com, 2009. Mitchell, Margaret. Gone with the Wind. Pan Macmillan, 2008. print Zinn, Howard. A people's history of the United States: 1492 to present. HarperCollins, 2010. Read More