Dry September

William Faulkner’s use of dialogue throughout “Dry September” immediately draws the reader into the space of the narrative. While the opening scene in Part 1 informs the reader that the story takes place on an insufferably hot evening in late September, details of the setting and central conflict are exposed through his use of dialogue.

For example, in the initial exchange between Henry Hawkshaw and the townsfolk regarding the rumor that a Black man has raped a white woman, the use of the n-word (and a related epithet) promptly suggests the story takes place in the past.

Further on in Part 1, the Southern landscape comes into focus as one of Hawkshaw’s clients verbally rebukes his tireless defense of Mayes: “Do you claim that anything excuses a [Black man] attacking a white woman? Do you mean to tell me you are a white man and you’ll stand for it? You better go back North where you came from. The South dont want your kind here” (170-71). At the same time, Faulkner solidifies the Southern setting of the narrative and infuses it with the broader social and historical

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