That Evening Sun

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“That Evening Sun” is a short story written in 1931 by William Faulkner. Faulkner’s life in the South and family history has had a significant influence upon Faulkner’s writing style, in both content and its context, and his knowledge of southern culture and events in its history only add depth to his work. The events in “That Evening Sun”, like many of Faulkner’s stories, takes place in the fictional town of Jefferson. The story is narrated by Quentin Compson who was nine years old when the story takes place, but is now an adult recounting the events from fifteen years before. The story revolves around the Compson’s and their children’s relationship with the stories main character Nancy. Nancy is a Negro woman who is employed by Compson family. Nancy has got herself into a dilemma first by causing a disturbance by publicly demanding payment from the town banker and church deacon Mr. Stovall for sexual services and next by becoming pregnant with by him. Nancy’s pregnancy causes her husband Jesus to become angered; he then deserts her and leaves town. Nancy communicates to Mr. Compson, that she believes Jesus will soon return to kill her. The story relates to the reader the seriousness of Nancy’s situation and how and how it is taken without any seriousness by the Compsons’.

There are several literary terms which are significant to “That Evening Sun”. “That Evening Sun” is told from a third person point of view. The narrator of the story is Quentin Compson who is also a character in the story. He tells his story fifteen years after the events have passed looking back upon them as an adult. The setting of the story is in Jefferson, Virginia around 1902. The protagonist of the story is Nancy who is struggling with the fear that her ...

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...ed to the crucifixion of Christ where Peter denies him three times. When Nancy is taken to Jail and hangs herself, this can also be compared as a crucifixion. I am still at odds at whom or what is the heart of her suffering. One can also see how unaware the children are of the situation, only Quentin seems to know what Nancy is afraid of. Since it is Quentin who is narrating the story we do not know if his understanding happened at the time of the story or upon his retelling. Reading “That Evening Sun”, has inspired me to read The Sound and the Fury, which I believe has many of the same characters.

Works Cited

Faulkner, William. “That Evening Sun”. literaturesave2wordpress.com.N.p., N.d. Web. 04 February 2012.

Johnston, Kenneth G. “The Year of the Jubilee: Faulkner’s “That Evening Sun””www.jstor.org. Duke University Press. 1974. Web. 04 February 2012.

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