The Old South in American Literature: Myth-Making and Nostalgia

Examination Thesis from the year 2015 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 3,0, Ernst Moritz Arndt University of Greifswald, language: English, abstract: This final paper deals with the Old South, meaning the Southern States of the USA. It is concerned with the myth that has established around the old days and deals with literature in which myth-making becomes apparent. Apart from the Northern States, the Old South has acquired a different society due to the Civil War. The consequences are discussed within this paper. Within this paper, the depiction of the Southern Myth in literature shall be aimed at. In this regard, it needs to be debated, whether or not the Myth of the Old South does qualify as such, while further exploring the circumstances, in which such a myth can flourish. It shall be shown, how nostalgia, resulting from the Lost Cause, fueled the makings of the Myth. In order to keep the topic focused on just the myth, it will be exemplified my thesis with chosen material instead of giving an overview of literature which would barely scratch the surface. The main focus is to be put on Margaret Mitchell’s novel Gone with the Wind, since it combines every last element which triggers nostalgia for the Old South and can therefore be seen as the main ingredient in preserving the Southern Myth as well as adding new components to it. Gone with the Wind is a major piece of American literature, still sold by the thousands every year. It employs the status of plantation fiction, while simultaneously critically reviewing the planter aristocracy. Throughout my research, passages of Gone with the Wind shall be embedded into almost every chapter to support my thesis with this prime example of Southern plantation writing.