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William Faulkner s Dry September depicts a view of Southern society that is to say the least a bit disturbing. The characters of Jefferson are struggling with the oppressive weight of frustration, a frustration that presses down on every aspect of their lives. It is a frustration that Faulkner portrays as unending in Southern society. Faulkner uses four characters to portray the frustration that probably exists in many small Southern towns. He begins with the character Hawkshaw, the barber. His profession is an icon in everyday life of small towns.
In Jefferson he carries a lot more responsibility, he is the only voice of reason in a town on the verge of disaster. When the men of town decide to seek out Will Mayes to demonstrate their white supremacy, Hawkshaw is the only exception. He represents how society should behave. He denounces Will s involvement and calls for the law to handle the matter. He calls for the truth.
But Hawkshaw is merely one against many and cannot change what is to occur. His frustrated voice is drowned out by prejudice and racism. The next character Faulkner addresses is Minnie Cooper. Her frustration is the result of the South s view of women. Her failure to marry has removed her from the infamous Southern pedestal and has placed her in society s circle of misbegotten wretches. She is no longer the fine Southern lady but has been relegated to spinster, drunk and adulterer.
These are the titles Cooper must now wear, titles given to her by the town she lives in, titles she cannot remove, titles that aggravate her everyday. It is this built up aggravation that causes her to vent her frustration on the only person in this Southern society that is considered lower than she is- Will Mayes. Will Mayes is the least developed character in the story. He is simply portrayed as a hard working black man and that s all. By not developing his character, Faulkner allows Mayes to represent every black man. A race of people trapped in a society where though they are no longer slaves, they certainly do not possess the equality that they deserve.
When Mclendon and the boys pick Mayes up, he can only question about what s happened. He begs and pleads with these men but is powerless to stop them from carrying out their actions. Mayes s frustration is the saddest of all. As an individual Mayes s struggle is over but as a race the struggle goes on. Faulkner s ending reveals to the reader that though Mayes s death is the climax in the story, it does not relieve the tension and frustration of this little town. An innocent man was murdered and nothing has changed.
For Mclendon, the struggle to prove his superiority over others continues. After killing Mayes, he returns home to beat his wife. Mclendon s frustrations have not abated in the least. On the contrary, they are still present and still very dangerous. Faulkner leaves the reader with the image of Mclendon standing with his shirt off looking out into the dark- sweating, panting and most important of all, waiting. Waiting for his frustration to explode again.
In Faulkner s town of Jefferson its inhabitants suffer under the burden of dealing with the frustrations of Southern society. For the town of Jefferson, these frustrations led to violence and death but when the smoke cleared, the frustration of their society is still present. Works Cited Faulkner, William. Dry September Published 1931.
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Research essay sample on Town Of Jefferson Southern Society
