SETTING AND THE SOUTHERN GOTHIC TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

SETTING Where is TKAM set? What kind of town is Maycomb? What are some of the details of setting you’ve noticed in the book? Why might setting be important to books like TKAM?

WHAT DOES THE SOUTH LOOK/SOUND LIKE? Remember we’re looking at how the American South is represented – this doesn’t necessarily mean these are realistic depictions; at the same time, it is significant that many writers/creators focus on common elements/features when they depict the South

O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? This movie is complex – it’s set in the American South; it’s a parody of Southern stories and stereotypes; it’s a musical; and it’s a loose retelling of the Ulysses myth Listen to the way people talk; look at the colours of the landscape

‘DOWN IN THE RIVER TO PRAY’ Also a scene from O Brother, Where Art Thou – this is a repetitive musical number. A lot of the music from the South sounds like this, because the music associated with the Civil Rights movement and with African-American slaves is largely religious/anthemic, and therefore consists of call-and-repeat religious songs The reference to the river is because some sects of Christians believed that the river would wash away their sins and cleanse them

‘BARTON HOLLOW’ A much more modern song – note the reference, again, to rivers and preachers

‘RED RIGHT HAND’ Fairly chilling narrative song – again, look out for details of character/landscape

THE SOUTHERN GOTHIC TRADITION The next few slides are adapted from

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 quiet, wise lawyer 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

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

ELEMENTS OF THE SOUTHERN GOTHIC

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.

ISOLATION / 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. –There are also Southern gothic characters that live in fate's prison.

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

SETTING AND THE SOUTHERN GOTHIC You can’t read a Southern Gothic novel without understanding what a Southern town “feels” like: – old small towns – sense of claustrophobia

SETTING, SOUTHERN GOTHIC, AND MOCKINGBIRD TKAM isn’t only about freakish characters and slightly horrific situations, but these do form an important part of its plot, mood and setting. Understanding the Southern Gothic tradition can help explain the book’s slightly morbid mood; some of its characters and storylines (such as Boo Radley); and events such as the snow storm and the fire. It also helps to explain the novel’s style – its emphasis on detail of place and the fact that nothing really seems to happen. Books in the Southern Gothic tradition are about place as much as they are about people!

UNDERSTANDING SETTING… 1.‘A Rose For Emily’ – supplementary reading and activity 2.Setting in TKAM – scrapbook activity

FURTHER READING

STILL INTERESTED IN THE SOUTHERN GOTHIC? Short stories by Shirley Jackson and Flannery O’Connor Shirley Jackson, We Have Always Lived in the Castle (even less happens in this novel than in Mockingbird!) Franny Billingsley, Chime (YA fantasy)