Filling In The Gaps: Ideology In Faulkner’s “Dry September”

Part I of Essay
The story “Dry September”, by William Faulkner is at its core, a story about ideology. Ideology, being defined as the “system of interlinked ideas, symbols, and beliefs by which a culture seeks to justify and perpetuate itself,”(Bercovitch 635) is the impetus behind all t ....

Part II of Essay
.... Ideology This first section of the paper will serve as an introduction to an ideological reading of the text. I have chosen secondary sources that represent an ascending scale of critical emphasis on ideology in “Dry September.” Paul Rogalus, in an article to the Explicator, states clearly that “Minnie Cooper…has accused a black man, Will Mayes, of having attacked her…”(Rogalus 211) Rogalus goes on to examine the scene in the theatre as a ‘victory lap’ for Minnie Cooper; where she parades herself through the town and then cannot contain he ....