I think it is incredibly fascinating, as well as massively off-putting, that as we read Faulker's Light In August, the world around us is experiencing the same racial binary that Faulkner emphasizes in a story written in the 1930s. The Ferguson story, as well as the death of Eric Garner in New York, have taken over media channels. News channels cover the story on repeat, and it has become the most prominent feed in some of my favorite shows, political satires like The Colbert Report and The Daily Show, in the last couple of months. Although I do acknowledge the fact that these stories deserve national attention, I feel as if the media has exacerbated the stories and brought upon an even greater level of frustration, especially in the case of Ferguson.
The riots that have destroyed the city of Ferguson, and have ignited protests all around the United States have been indicative of one belief-- that the racial binary continues to exist. The racial binary has expanded from just the typical WHITE/black binary to the LAW ENFORCEMENT/black individuals binary that has even received personalized attention in Soledad O'Brien's CNN documentary "Black and Blue", which covers the increasing sense of mistrust on behalf of black individuals towards law enforcement. Regardless of whether or not you believe the verdicts have been just or not, I think that most people can agree that it is disturbing that there exists a sensation that there continues to be such a widespread belief in the racial binary that Faulker illustrated in an early twentieth century novel.
Ultimately, the events of the past couple months have been unsettling because not only has the nation's racial dilemna been uprooted, but because there exists a strong connection between an early twentieth century novel and America today.
Faulkner's messages are disconcertingly relevant today. Like Mr. Heidkamp said today, Faulkner labored over each word building up to the over-all meaning of the story, and I think that he knew he was writing about unfortunately timeless topics.
ReplyDeleteIt also seems very eerie to me that the events happening today involve the same themes presented in the novel. I think that Faulkner's huge emphasis on the community's opinions also relates to the stories of today because all the protests and such are so strongly community-oriented, and they are a version of a community expressing their attitudes toward a sensitive issue, which is similar to how the community expressed its racial (and other) attitudes in the novel.
ReplyDelete