Literature is influenced by the society in which it is
written. Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner and
Too Late the Phalarope by Alan Paton have many similarities
because the societies which produced them have similarities.
The Old South and the Afrikaner society of South Africa
have many historical occurrences and cultural attitudes
in common, among them: former slave societies, wars
with aborigenes, an agrarian-industrial conflict in
which they were defeated, racial segregation, Calvinist
religion, and an intermingling of the past and the
present. Absalom, Absalom! and Too Late the Phalarope
have the following in common: tone, titles of despair,
character types, function of setting, qualities of
Greek tragedy, Biblical allusions and syntax. A sociological literary study may help to understand how
a society influences its literature.
Note
FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection