Perspectives
Literary period
William Faulkner’s short story “Dry September” is part of the modernist literary movement. This movement experienced a rise in the late 19th century and carried on through the early 20th century. The story was published in 1931, a time period when Modernism was still a popular literary style used by many authors.
Modernist works can be recognised through themes, context, and narrative techniques. In “Dry September,” William Faulkner explores racial tensions and class differences, themes which are often encountered in other modernist works.
In terms of modernist narrative techniques, the short story employs a style in which meaning is established through dialogue and action; meaning is conveyed implicitly rather than stated explicitly. This style of writing is often referred to as the iceberg theory, and it was coined by the American modernist writer Ernest Hemingway. It is a minimalistic style which focuses on surface elements without offering interpretations about what is going on in the mind of the characters.
The story also employs the use of symbols which implicitly reflect the main...