What is Southern Gothic ?

Background Sub-genre of the Gothic style –Popular in Europe in 1800s Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Dracula by Bram Stoker Unique to American literature –relies on supernatural, ironic or unusual events to guide the plot –uses these to explore social issues and reveal the cultural character of the American South.

Background Takes classic Gothic archetypes, such as the monster or the heroic knight, and turns them into American Southerners –a spiteful, reclusive spinster –an uneducated drunk –a violent criminal –a quiet, wise lawyer –a hypocritical person Most notable feature is the “grotesque” –a character whose negative qualities allow the author to highlight unpleasant aspects in Southern culture. –Something in the town, the house, the farm is bizarre and often falling apart

The history of the South has made it a place with a unique culture and history. Some of the problems that are NOT unique to the South but influence its culture are: Racism (slave history, Civil War) Poverty A strong sense of Identity

What is Southern Gothic Lit? Brings the atmosphere and sensibilities of the Gothic, a genre originating in late 18th century England, to the American South. As early Gothic writers used the genre in part to criticize what they saw as the moral blindness of their era, so Southern Gothic writers deal with their own past through these stories and characters.

Features of Southern Gothic Literature Major theme: a resistance to change, a struggle between The “Old South” and the “New South” Antebellum Literature Symbols of decay Deeply flawed characters Evocation of chilling terror and gloom

Features of Southern Gothic Literature Confusion about good and evil Revealing dark and hidden side of things Reaction to the conventional, common sense, and enlightened world Debutante and the Gentleman Social class and Race Sinner and Savior

Defining Feature Cast of off-kilter characters –Broken bodies, minds or souls Used to symbolize problems created by the established pattern Used to question established pattern’s morality and ethical justification –The “Innocent” is a common character, who may or may not be “broken,” but who often acts as a redeemer for others (Oooo – The grandmother? The misfit?)

Other Specific Features of Southern Gothic Freakishness Outsider Imprisonment Violence Sense of Place

Freakishness In most southern gothic stories, there is an important character who is set apart from the world by in a negative way by a disability or an odd, and often negative way of seeing the world.

Outsider Southern novels are filled with characters who are set a part from the established cultural pattern, but who end up being heroes because their difference allows them to see new ways of doing things that ultimately help to bring people out of the “dark.”

Imprisonment This is often both literal and figurative. –Many southern gothic tales include an incident where a character is sent to jail or locked up. (How is the grandmother locked up?) –There are also Southern gothic characters that live in fate's prison. (What has fate done to the grandmother and her family? The misfit?)

Violence Racial, social and class difference often create underlying tension in Southern gothic novels that threatens, and usually does, erupt in violent ways.

Sense of Place You can’t read a Southern Gothic novel without understanding what a Southern town “feels” like: – old small towns Houses have front porches with rocking chairs Old downtown with stately but worn-down buildings Uniquely Southern places – like a BBQ joint Southern highways

Credits “Southern Gothic” painting To Kill a Mockingbird Pictures Genre information – – –

The End Not really

Know any contemporary examples? I have one! Shall I share?

The creepy, gothic version of the rural Southeast United States. Scenes show dying vegetation, decaying plantations, rusty farm implements, forbidding swamps with something lurking within, and frighteningly expressionless folk standing around doing...nothing, except staring at the protagonists. The Southern Gothic is its own subgenre of Gothic media, characterized by bleak settings in the Deep South, flawed (and often disturbing) characters, and the darker side of the Southeastern United States including racism, sexism, and barefoot poverty. Unlike the savage South where the southern areas are teeming with life (most of which wants you dead), Southern Gothic settings have a constant feel of decay, death and malaise. Anything living there will feel unnatural on top of possibly being very dangerous. Supernatural elements are popular, especially with themes of the undead or "things that should not be" instead of the typical wild animals and hostile natives usually seen in the South.

Of course, I have something for you to read… Say it isn’t so! I should have stayed in Jericho.

Reading About It As you read, highlight the elements of Southern Gothic literature mentioned in the essay. According to the essay, what elements do the TV series and the short story share? What other TV shows, movies, or literature have you encountered that continues the Southern Gothic tradition?

Southern Gothic Literature Why is “A Good Man is Hard to Find” an example of Southern Gothic literature?

Homework How could “A Good Man is Hard to Find” be adapted into a TV series? What characters would you keep? Add? Where would they go? What might an episode be about?