engleski

"Whiteness” as Property: the (De)Construction of ‘Whiteness' in W. Faulkner's Light in August

The U. S. South, having based its entire economic, social, and cultural structure on the rigid system of race segregation, invented mental formations and social and cultural constructions known as “whiteness” as a property ideology to support it. The notion of “whiteness” as property contained several facets: the concept of white supremacy, the notion of “white nigger”, the rigid system of gender roles, and the myth of the black rapist. As a major generating principle in historical discourse, “whiteness” as a property ideology has also become one of recurring motifs in Southern literature, especially in William Faulkner’s oeuvre. One of Faulkner’s novels that employs and (re)examines the historical appearance, development, and preservation of “whiteness” as a property ideology in the U. S. South is Light in August. Using the characters of Joanna Burden, Joe Christmas, Percy Grimm, and Doc Hines, Faulkner (de)constructs “whiteness” as a property ideology along its fundamental tenets - the concept of white supremacy, the notion of “white nigger”, the rigid system of gender roles, and the myth of the black rapist.

William Faulkner; Light in August; whiteness; race

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