LIVING THROUGH THE SOUTH: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE COMPSONS AND O’HARAS IN THE SOUND AND THE FURY AND GONE WITH THE WIND

Abstract

The dissertation examines the Old South and the New South in The Sound and the Fury and Gone with the Wind through the female characters of Caddy Compson and Scarlett O’ Hara who represent the Old Southern values, codes and economic conditions and adapt the New Southern values in the backdrop of capitalism and feminism. These two brave characters inspire the people of the Great Depression adapting the changing circumstances. This study assesses Faulkner and Margaret Mitchell’s great themes-the destruction of the Civil War and the survival in the New South/ the Great Depression. The survival of Caddy and Scarlett in The Sound and the Fury and Gone with the Wind deals with the transition from an agrarian to an industrial society, from traditional submissive women to modern women/ feminists, from the slave mode of production to capitalist mode of production, and from the Old Southern values to the New Southern Values. I investigate the research problem by drawing upon the theoretical framework supplied by New Historicism focusing on the ways the female characters represent the culture of the 1930s instead of 1860s. I have chosen to view the two characters, Caddy Compson and Scarlett O’Hara, through the lens of two economic crises: one in the aftermath of the Civil War and the other one during the “Great Depression”. Caddy gaining economic prosperity by adapting the Northern values and feeding her family becomes a hope of economic development for the people of the “Great Depression”. Similarly, Scarlett becomes a hope for the Reconstruction era and the people of the “Great Depression” building Tara economically successful. This study also shows that Caddy Compson and Scarlett O’Hara represent a shift from the Old South to the New South the New Southern values, economic system, and the culture of 1930s. It also

adapting suggests that the two female characters are capitalists, feminists, commodities of the New South and role models for the period of the “Great Depression”. This study generally interprets the connection between the two cultural aspects - after the Civil War and during the “Great Depression”. Key Words: The Old South, The New South, Values, Economic Condition, Feminism, Capitalism, The Great Depression