Date of Award

1985

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Art

First Advisor

Michael Castro

Second Advisor

Wanita Zumbrunnen

Abstract

This thesis explores the recurring theme of violence in the works of key Southern writers—William Faulkner, Carson McCullers, Flannery O’Connor, Eudora Welty, and Robert Penn Warren. It argues that violence in Southern literature is not merely sensational or gratuitous, but deeply tied to the region’s historical, social, and cultural realities, particularly the legacies of slavery, the Civil War, and entrenched racial hierarchies. By situating each author within this context, the study demonstrates how acts of violence in their fiction serve as a lens through which to examine moral conflict, social change, and human frailty.

Faulkner’s depictions of brutality are shown to reflect both personal and collective guilt in a society scarred by slavery and racial oppression. McCullers emphasizes psychological and interpersonal violence, especially in marginalized and alienated communities. O’Connor integrates grotesque violence with theological inquiry, framing suffering and cruelty as means to spiritual confrontation. Welty highlights subtler forms of social violence, particularly the quiet oppressions embedded in everyday interactions and family structures. Warren, meanwhile, explores violence as both a political and existential force, linking it to the South’s struggle with memory and identity.

Across these authors, the study identifies violence as a unifying motif that illuminates the tensions between tradition and progress, faith and doubt, individual will and communal responsibility. Rather than portraying the South as uniquely violent, the thesis suggests that these writers use the Southern setting to grapple with universal questions of morality, justice, and human limitation. Ultimately, the project underscores how literature can transform violent realities into artistic and philosophical inquiry, making Southern fiction a vital part of the broader American literary landscape.

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