Alabama's very own Zora Neale Hurston published Their Eyes Were Watching God in 1937. The dialect sometimes makes the book very difficult to read, and in all sincerity, I actually read a large portion of the novel out loud to myself on the plane, which was probably terrible for everyone around me, but it was the only way I could understand what was going on. The novel tells the story of a young woman named Janie and her search for happiness. She goes through plenty of marriages and relationships, and she constantly faces new troubles. But what's cool about Janie is that she is resourceful enough to latch onto something better when things aren't going right for her. Find a situation in which this isn't true: Do what you can with what you have. That's exactly what Janie does, and it makes you want to try the same. Thanks for the lesson in courage, Hurston. Still not really keen on getting hitched with a guy named "Tea Cake" though.
1. William Faulkner: Crazy runs in the family.
A Mississippi man, Faulkner somehow figured out a way to terrify and disgust everyone. But very eloquently. Faulkner's got some pretty creepy stories, and one of my favorites is The Sound And The Fury, the story of a family and its problems. But when you're thinking of familial problems, you're probably thinking of divorce, a sickness in the family, or sibling rivalry. Those are issues that lots of people face, and although they're unfortunate, nothing compares to The Sound And The Fury. Told in four parts by the autistic son Benjy, the brilliant and tormented son Quentin, the greedy son Jason, and then in third person about a servant named Dilsey, the narrative focuses on a creepy obsession all of the sons share: their sister Caddy's virginity. Really. They each handle their love of her in a different way, but none of the alternatives are good. What's even more bizarre about the story? Caddy, although she is the main focus of the novel, doesn't have a section to speak her own mind in. Thanks Faulkner, now literally everyone feels oppressed. Oh, and one more thing - "A Rose For Emily" gives everyone nightmares. Great job, thanks man. Faulkner really knows how to let us all know that when someone's absolutely nuts, their family is probably worse.
What do you think of these lessons from southern literature?
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