An Analysis of Symbolism in Dry September

Abstract

Dry September is a typical short story of southern literature which is written by William Faulkner. It tells the story of a town in the south of the United States named Jefferson. Its skillful use of narrative techniques and symbolism has been widely accepted by readers and have been well received.

This article analyzes the novel from the perspective of symbolism and divides the paper into four parts. First of all, it explains the connotation of “symbolism” and makes a simple analysis of symbolism and then it introduces the application and value of symbolism in the work of author Faulkner. Secondly, through the unique writing techniques and linguistic features of the representative Dry September, it analyzes the title he uses for foiling the time of the short story and the mentality of the people at that time. Thirdly, it analyzes prototype interpretation of the characters in the works and the symbolic meaning of the objects and it is more comprehensively shows how Faulkner uses “symbolism” method to highlight the theme of the novel. Finally, it analyzes and explores the profound significance that symbolism has had for this work, and makes reasonable appraisals and appreciations to expose the two knotty problems, the racial discrimination in the southern United States and the southern lady myth.

Faulkner uses the symbolism in his novels extensively and with the help of using the title, dust and moonlight, and Miss Minnie Cooper’s “gauzy skirt”, it fully expresses the tragedy, and the influence of his works is extremely far-reaching. Based on the understanding of symbolism, this paper analyzes the imagery in the novel Dry September, aiming to reveal how symbolism is used to express the theme of the article and how to grasp and use it.

Key words : Dry September; symbolism; Southern lady myth; racism