The Writing of Nation: Faulkner and the Postbellum South

Abstract

This dissertation argues that William Faulkner, drawing on a conversation begun by earlier Southern writers, writes his anxiety about the South's assimilation into the nation. Specifically, I argue that his early works show repulsion to the idea of the South's assimilation, while his later works show more comfort with assimilation, along with a greater willingness to participate in the national imperial project. I begin by establishing the conversation in writers who are active in the postbellum period, and then I explore the ways in which Faulkner draws on this conversation to present his own complicated and changing depiction of nation. Central to this discussion is recognition of an anxiety about the role of the South in the creation of national identity.