Title Peculiar whiteness : racial anxiety and poor whites in southern literature, 1900-1965 / Justin Mellette

Published Jackson : University Press of Mississippi, [2021]

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Description 1 online resource (xii, 192 pages) Contents Introduction -- Tom and friends: Thomas Dixon, white supremacy, and poor whites of the Lost Cause -- "It ain't hardly worth the trouble to go on living": the reaction to abject poverty in Erskine Caldwell -- "Crashing to bits": autobiographical recreations of the South -- "It aint nothing but jest another Snopes": boundaries of whiteness in Yoknapatawpha -- Maimed souls: O'Connor, disability, and the future of white trash Summary "Peculiar Whiteness: Racial Anxiety and Poor Whites in Southern Literature, 1900-1965 argues for deeper consideration of the complexities surrounding the disparate treatment of poor whites throughout southern literature and attests to how broad such experiences have been. While the history of prejudice against this group is not the same as the legacy of violence perpetrated against people of color in America, individuals regarded as "white trash" have suffered a dehumanizing process in the writings of various white authors. Poor white characters are frequently maligned as grotesque and anxiety inducing, especially when they are aligned in close proximity to blacks or to people with disabilities. Thus, as a symbol, much has been asked of poor whites, and various iterations of the label (e.g., "white trash," tenant farmers, or even people with a little less money than average) have been subject to a broad spectrum of judgment, pity, compassion, fear, and anxiety. Peculiar Whiteness engages key issues in contemporary critical race studies, whiteness studies, and southern studies, both literary and historical. Through discussions of authors including Charles Chesnutt, Thomas Dixon, Sutton Griggs, Erskine Caldwell, Lillian Smith, William Faulkner, and Flannery O'Connor, we see how whites in a position of power work to maintain their status, often by finding ways to recategorize and marginalize people who might not otherwise have seemed to fall under the auspices or boundaries of "white trash.""-- Provided by publisher Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index Notes Online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on February 26, 2021) Subject American literature -- Race identity -- Southern States American literature -- Southern States -- 20th century American literature -- Southern States -- History and criticism American literature -- Southern States -- Ethnic identity American literature Southern States Genre/Form Criticism, interpretation, etc. Form Electronic book LC no. 2020051352 ISBN 9781496832559 1496832558 9781496832566 1496832566 9781496832573 1496832574 1496832582 9781496832580

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