The Decline Of Plantation Families In The American South From Literary Perspective

William Faulkner works hard on the "little postage stamp of native soil" for decades and writes enduring works one after another which win him worldwide fame. He sets his Yoknapatawpha series of novels in the background of the American South, and most of his works reflect the rise and decline of the big families. The Sound and the Fury and A Rose for Emily are two masterpieces which reflect the decline of big families. Most researchers study the two works from the perspective of writing technique, artistic features of narration, writing style and feminism, etc. They touch the decline of the big families but not in detail. This thesis reveals the inevitable result of the decline of the big families from different aspects, which is decided by the objective laws governing the development of society. Furthermore, the thesis attaches importance to the study of the influence of the characters' thought and behavior on the individual fate and social progress, which is neglected by other researchers.The thesis first describes two aspects of the historical background of the above works. After the Civil War, remarkable changes take place in the southern society characterized by plantation. The collapse of its economy breaks the big families dominating the society, including the Faulkner's family. The changes evidently influence Faulkner's writing reflecting the decline of the big families, the profound theme of most of his works.The thesis then demonstrates from four aspects the decline of the big families reflected in the two works—the Compson's family and the Grierson's family, namely the financial decline of their plantation, the collapse of Puritanism, the perturbation of the white superiority concepts and the fall of traditional matrimonial concepts.