Were We Really All Treated Equal...?

Due to the setting and time period, it is evident that race is still a big deal in the South. The way that the Burden family was treated and is looked it is proof alone, but also the fact that Brown's accusation of Christmas is only really considered true when the state of Christmas's blood is brought into consideration shows what an impact race has on this story. It is pretty clear that Brown is making up details when he is giving his story for the reward, but as soon as he says Christmas is part black nothing else really matters. The color of his skin automatically makes him more of a suspect. The way that Hightower's cook was scared off and dirty rumors were spread about them. The way black people react to Christmas walking through their part of town. The demeaning and hurtful names used for black people by the townspeople. The KKK treated Hightower. All of these instances are examples of how in the South, not a whole had changed even way after the Civil War. I think Faulkner is definately trying to display an aspect of southern culture here that is very true to how it was in real life. Are there any other cultural connections that can be linked to true fact?

Comments

[Mike Bower]

Throughout the book, we see how race plays a big role. You have already mentioned a number of instances where Christmas and Hightower's cook have been treated unfairly by the white community. Although it does seem unjust to accuse Christmas for being part black, it seems that Christmas does have some motives for setting Miss Burden's house on fire and killing her. In chapter five, we learn that Miss Burden has been lying to Christmas about her age. Christmas gets very insulted by this and he reacts with strange behavior. He walks out into the middle of the street naked and later isolates himself from everybody else. I think that a big reason why Christmas may have killed Miss Burden is because he was holding his razor in his hand throughout chapter 5. He could have easily used his razor to kill Miss Burden. Brown's story does not add up, and Christmas had motive to kill Miss Burden, so it will be interesting to see how the rest unfolds.