"Behind y-?! What's he--?? I don't...You just stood there while he got in a few more KICKS!...An' Don't you go spreadin' LIES about me either FAGGOT!"
We have read through Nordan's prose journey to reconcile his own southern, racial, and class identity in the midsts of a time of turmoil. He works through this by highlighting different characters in his fictional town that are partially autobiographical, and partially "magical" (although we have contemplated the nature of this word and the role it plays in Wolf Whistle, I think much can be read into his application of this technique)
Cruse, on the other hand, uses not only dialogue heavy prose, but illustrations to work through his own sexual identity coupled with race and southernism during the same time. He even references Emmitt Till in the novel as being a large part of the main character's thoughts and dreams as well as his fixation on "the skull" during his childhood. Toland is in the midst of many different battles: those within himself and those social issues on the brink of explosion.
We also see in this excerpt the inability of a police officer to reconcile his own sexual identity, and the violence that ensues due to the social pressures placed upon him.
Question: How much of southern identity is reconciliation? Does identifying as a "southerner" require you to accept evils as well as the beauty that sparks within these evils that we have seen highlighted in many of our readings? Furthermore, is this simply a condition of humanity, and not something special to southerners at all?
We have read through Nordan's prose journey to reconcile his own southern, racial, and class identity in the midsts of a time of turmoil. He works through this by highlighting different characters in his fictional town that are partially autobiographical, and partially "magical" (although we have contemplated the nature of this word and the role it plays in Wolf Whistle, I think much can be read into his application of this technique)
Cruse, on the other hand, uses not only dialogue heavy prose, but illustrations to work through his own sexual identity coupled with race and southernism during the same time. He even references Emmitt Till in the novel as being a large part of the main character's thoughts and dreams as well as his fixation on "the skull" during his childhood. Toland is in the midst of many different battles: those within himself and those social issues on the brink of explosion.
We also see in this excerpt the inability of a police officer to reconcile his own sexual identity, and the violence that ensues due to the social pressures placed upon him.
Question: How much of southern identity is reconciliation? Does identifying as a "southerner" require you to accept evils as well as the beauty that sparks within these evils that we have seen highlighted in many of our readings? Furthermore, is this simply a condition of humanity, and not something special to southerners at all?
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