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In "A Southern Mode of Imagination," Allen Tate attempts to pin down a quintessentially Southern mode of discourse from the Southern literary "renaissance" emerging during the time of his essay's writing. He explains that, historically or traditionally, Southern literature "spoke" in a rhetorical discourse, but that after World War I, it evolved to a dialectical discourse as the South and Southern culture and lifeways entered the world stage.

In this online discussion, you will define what Tate means by a "dialectical mode of discourse" as it applies to the two Southern writers you read for this week, William Faulkner and Katherine Anne Porter. You will also consider how "Barn Burning" and/or "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall" compare to or contrast with Ernest Hemingway's In Our Time by close reading elements of each. Since Hemingway is viewed historically as quintessentially modernist in an American and, sometimes, universal way, why are Faulkner and Porter considered only quintessentially Southern? Where do the boundaries for modernism in U.S. literature end?

Your post should be a minimum of 500 words and a maximum of 700 words, it should be thoughtful, and it should use a coherent paragraph organization. After you post your discussion, read and reply to two other classmates' posts.

Directions:

First, define "dialectical mode of discourse" as it relates to the Southern mode of imagination that Allen Tate describes. Use quotations from "A Southern Mode of Imagination" to support your definition/interpretation.

Next, analyze a particular symbol, theme, or formal element from either William Faulkner's "Barn Burning" or Katherine Anne Porter's "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall." Explain HOW specifically the symbol, theme, or formal element relates to the story's overall meaning and significance.

Then, explain specifically HOW the symbol, theme, or element you have analyzed evidences Tate's description of a Southern mode of imagination.

Finally, select a passage or vignette from Ernest Hemingway's In Our Time in order to compare/contrast its formal elements AND significance with that of the Southern short story you analyzed.

    • 6 years ago
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