Dixie's Original Sin
The “original sin” of the South which predetermined an inevitable rupture, fragmentation, collapse and decline is the institution of slavery and many of Faulkner’s stories either directly address the sins of the fathers or allude to the consequences for successive generations. Faulkner is not a political writer, and his castigation of slavery is never polemical or didactic. Instead, he explores this theme as he does all others through a sort of impressionistic means that focuses attention upon a specific way in which the systemic abomination of slavery that could not but touch upon the life of everyone connected to it simply by virtue of geography impacted individuals. Even more so than with the most other recurring themes in the stories of Faulkner, there is no one single story that lives or dies on the basis of this thematic exploration; rather the effect is cumulative as Faulkner goes back and forth in time and revisits the lineage of families at different points along that timeline. "A Rose for Emily" is the perfect example of how slavery exists as almost a genetic mutation affecting the southern timeline.
Class Conflict
Tangentially related to the theme of slavery as ensuring devastation for southern culture and fragmenting families is the more immediately obvious thematic exploration of class conflict between white southerners. One of the most anthologized and studied of Faulkner’s stories has been especially fertile ground for academic analysis of this subject. “Barn Burning”
Coming of Age
The intergeneration structure of Faulkner’s stories which situate characters at different ages in different periods of time facing difference circumstances is a perfect vehicle for exploring those singular moments in time that force a child to mature into an adult. While the theme may be comprehensive, the mechanics of exploration can vary greatly; running the gamut from Sarty’s decision to put honor over family in “Barn Burning” to another 10-year-old boy’s encounter with “The Bear” that is utterly different in tone, mood and plot yet is every bit as much a coming-of-age tale.
Race Relations
Also related to the issue of slavery as original sin is Faulkner’s much more tangible and straightforward thematic exploration of the thorny matter of race relations in the south. “That Evening Sun” and “Dry September” stand as two definitive examples of the breadth of Faulkner’s exploration of how racial tension lingers over literally every possible interaction between blacks and whites in the south; that tension is one of the debts that must be paid for allowing slavery to remain unaddressed for so long.
