CBCS SEM 3 AMERICAN LITERATURE Critical evaluation of the racial discourse in William Faulkner’s ‘Dry September’

 

Critical evaluation of the racial discourse in William Faulkner’s ‘Dry September’

As a Southern writer, Faulkner draws upon the mores and prejudices of his own regional culture to create unforgettable characters and settings for his novels and short stories. Dry September clearly shows the horrible miscarriages of justice that racial prejudice can cause.Dry Septemberis a short story that narrates the murder of an African American man by a gang of racist men. The story portrays the extremely racist ideology of American society in the South and how those who do not subscribe to it are forced to comply and maintain white supremacy. Faulkner subverts racial discourse by exposing racial stereotypes as false and racist violence as an attempt to efface the crumbling of white superiority.

Faulkner’s critique of racism begins from the very first line of the story as he introduces the “rumour” about “something” that happened or didn’t happen at all between Will Mayes and Minnie Cooper. By making the rumour as vague as possible, Faulkner shows how racist violence doesn’t result from a particular event, but from hatred perpetuated by racial discourse.The story demonstrates how racial ideology guides the perceptions and actions of different people in the white community.This powerful study of a cultural mentality that promotes rash, swift killings of black men is based on the Southern White Goddess concept; that sets the white woman atop a mythical pedestal, creating an imaginary, protective shield through which the Southern aristocracy lets nothing pass that might endanger both physically and emotionally its women.

Appropriately, the story begins in a barbershop, a symbolic gathering place for small-town gossipers. The spokesman for quiet, calm justice is Henry Hawkshaw, one of the barbers. In his support of the accused Will Mayes, Hawkshaw is instantly on the defensive as he insists repeatedly that those men who want to act rashly should first find out the facts before they rush to judgment.Faulkner shows how he too subscribes to racial ideology. Hawkshaw calls Will Mayes a “good nigger” and later in the story refers to the black community of Jefferson as the “best niggers”. His belief in Will Mayes’s “good” character is dependent upon Will’s compliance to the racial ideology and acceptance of white superiority.Hawkshaw’s belief in his innocence is also dependent on the circumstances.Nobody responds to Hawkshaw’s description of Minnie Cooper as a sexually frustrated woman as for them her “word” as a white woman is all that matters.Unlike Hawkshaw, they do not even take Will’s name, and for them he can be replaced with any black man:“Maybe you know who did it, then. Maybe you already got him out of town, you damn nigger-lover”.For racist extremists, when Hawkshaw defends a black man he is not defending an individual but the stereotypical black man whose aggression needs to be checked by a united white community.

The feeling of claustrophobia to Hawkshaw’s compliance yet revulsion at racial extremism prepares for the arrival of McLendon, the story's most obvious villain. Faulkner’s description of McLendon presents him as ahyper masculine man whose “heavy-set body” and “bold glance” is able to capture the group’s attention. Not only his poise, but his words appeal to their sensibilities as youthful men to emulate his conduct and follow his lead. McLendon uses very graphic language to convince them of the urgency to act: “Are you going to sit there and let a black son rape a white woman on the streets of Jefferson?”Except Hawkshaw, all men who end up lynching Will Mayes occupy an economically lower position. Their racist belief of superiority over the blacks clashes with the reality of their economic inferiority. As Janet Elizabeth Barnwell points out, “the young man Butch, who has not yet made his way in the world, the drummer who is an outsider, and McLendon who has been decorated for valour in the First World War but who lives in a house described as a “bird cage” most vehemently argue to have Will Mayes killed”.

McLendon and the gang’s encounter with Will Mayes presents a stark contrast between the stereotypical image of Will Mayes that the men had formed and his actual character. He is not the aggressive and bestial man who threatens to upset the racial hierarchy dictated by the whites. On the contrary, he is completely compliant to behaving with them as superiors and is terrified as he is approached by the gang.Faulkner exposes the unjust power that racist ideology grants the white community and the disadvantaged position of the blacks by making the “negro” a night watchman. Will’s frightened state and his question: “what you all say I done, Mr. John?” signify that his job of night watchman does not grant him any kind of authority over white men as it is supposed to. The one entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring the safety of Jefferson is ironically the one who feels most unsafe.

Thus Faulkner presents the picture of a society in flux, a society where hierarchies established by racial ideology lead to unjust violence and injusticeby the actions of a community driven by blind racial prejudices.