Faulkner’s short story about Sarty Snopes and his father, Abner Snopes, has been praised ever since its first publication in Harper’s Magazine for June 1939. It was reprinted in his Collected Stories (1950) and in the Selected Short Stories of William Faulkner (1961). Part of the story’s greatness is due […]
Read more Summary and Analysis: “Barn Burning” IntroductionSummary and Analysis: “That Evening Sun” Glossary
iron poles bearing clusters of bloated and ghostly and bloodless grapes In this image, referring to electrical poles with clusters of clear glass insulators that protect electrical wires, Faulkner draws attention to the sterility of the story’s Southern culture. deacon A layperson who assists the minister of a church. pallet […]
Read more Summary and Analysis: “That Evening Sun” GlossarySummary and Analysis: “That Evening Sun” Section VI
As the Compson family leaves the resigned but terrified Nancy, they look back through the shack’s open door and see her sitting before the fire. Then, as they cross the ditch, they can’t see her anymore, yet her door is still open and the fire is still burning. Quentin recalls […]
Read more Summary and Analysis: “That Evening Sun” Section VISummary and Analysis: “That Evening Sun” Section V
Mr. Compson, who has come to take the children back home, refuses to believe that Jesus is outside, but Nancy explains that he has left a sign — “a hogbone, with blood meat on it” — to warn her that he will kill her. She tells Mr. Compson, “When yawl […]
Read more Summary and Analysis: “That Evening Sun” Section VSummary and Analysis: “That Evening Sun” Section IV
After Nancy fails to hold the children’s attention, she becomes obsessed to keep them with her. She believes their presence will keep her from death, or at least prolong its inevitability. So completely terrified that she does not even notice that her hand rests on a hot lamp globe, her […]
Read more Summary and Analysis: “That Evening Sun” Section IVSummary and Analysis: “That Evening Sun” Section III
Nancy tries to drink some coffee, but she is so terrified of her husband and his razor that she cannot swallow. When she tells Dilsey, “Wont no nigger stop him,” Dilsey agrees, which is the first personal acknowledgment that Nancy’s fears are justified. Mr. Compson appears to recognize Nancy’s fears, […]
Read more Summary and Analysis: “That Evening Sun” Section IIISummary and Analysis: “That Evening Sun” Section II
Because Dilsey remains sick, Nancy continues to cook for the family. Mr. Compson and the children walk her home every night, until Mrs. Compson complains, “How much longer is this going on? I to be left alone in this big house while you take home a frightened Negro?” Her nagging […]
Read more Summary and Analysis: “That Evening Sun” Section IISummary and Analysis: “That Evening Sun” Section I
The opening of “That Evening Sun” emphasizes the differences between the past and the present, much like the opening section of “A Rose for Emily.” Quentin is 24 years old, and laundry is now delivered in automobiles. There are electric line poles and paved streets; even the black women who […]
Read more Summary and Analysis: “That Evening Sun” Section ISummary and Analysis: “That Evening Sun” Introduction
“That Evening Sun” first appeared in the March 1931 issue of American Mercury. The remainder of its publishing history is identical to “A Rose for Emily”: reprinted in These Thirteen (1931); in Faulkner’s Collected Stories (1950); and in the Selected Short Stories of William Faulkner (1961). For anyone reading Faulkner’s […]
Read more Summary and Analysis: “That Evening Sun” IntroductionSummary and Analysis: “A Rose for Emily” Glossary
cupolas Small, domed structures on roofs. spires Structures that taper to a point at the top; pinnacles. perpetuity For an indefinite amount of time; forever. aldermen Members of a local legislative body; city council members. gilt Easel a gold, upright frame, or tripod, usually used to display a painting — […]
Read more Summary and Analysis: “A Rose for Emily” Glossary