The Corruption with Modernization in Faulkner’s The Country :: Faulkner Country Short Stories

The Corruption with Modernization in Faulkners The CountryThe recess of traditional values and ways of life that accompanied the modernization of the U.S. seems to be a common theme throughout the Country section of Faulkners calm Stories. In Barn Burning Abner Snopes seems to feel that the world is against him Dont you know all they wanted was a chance to get at me (8). He sees fire as the one weapon for the preservation of integrity (8), and it is apparent that he feels the disparity in standard of living between farm owners much(prenominal) as Major de Spain, and workers like himself to be an injustice and an injury to him (but then again, maybe hes just plain evil, as Faulkners act of him as stiff, cold, and always in dark clothing intimates). In Shingles for the Lord, the modern ideas about work imparted to Solon Quick from his experience with the WPA are presented as ridiculouslabor put toward repairing a church calculated out precisely into work units (29-30). Could Faulkn er be presenting the idea that so-called progress and the introduction of capitalist economy and government intervention has corrupted peoplebecome the new church at which they worship? In The Tall Men, a sort of Gemeinschaft vs. Gesellschaft theme is evident. I really like this story. It conveys how difficult the changes in the U.S. during the early part of the 20th century must have been for the country people who were tied to the land. New take programs like the WPA and AAA, three-letter reasons for a man not to work (58), are a problem for the McCallums because the programs made hard work unprofitable and encouraged tree sloth and dependency as farmers lost autonomy and became beholden to the government. The old marshal, Mr. Gombault, tries to make Mr. Pearson, the government investigator, understand that the McCallums are tall or prideful men whose autonomy and friendly transactions have not given way to the impersonal deals and something-for-nothing mentality of the new era (its interesting that the characterizations of the McCallums completely contradict Mr. Pearsons characterization of these people as lazy, selfish, and ungrateful or unpatriotic, on page 46). Again in A Bear Hunt, traditional, country people are mickle apart from literate, town-bred people (65) and in the last two stories, both featuring the Grier family (relation to Res Grier of Shingles for the Lord?