Faulkner's September Gone Bad

A few distinct points stood out to me when we discussed “Dry September” by William Faulkner in class. For example, the two scenes where Miss Minnie Cooper was described in left me feeling as though Faulkner was trying to send a subtle message to his readers. I felt that she in fact did make up the story of the "Negro” named Will Mayes startling her or maybe even raping her. Faulkner was trying to drive the point home that she could have easily made it up in order to gain social recognition once again. He was trying to show that there was enough considerable doubt to show that no one in town knew for certain what actually happened, and yet they were still peer pressured into going on this “witch hunt” of sorts to find Will and kill him. All of the men in the barber shop just got caught up in the moment and became angry about a common cause. They took out their aggressions on an innocent man without even getting the facts. Even in the end of “Dry September” when Minnie’s “friends” were asking her to tell them what really happened, it is certain that no one actually knows what took place that night, or even what Minnie’s actual claims were.

In Part Two of Faulkner’s short story, Minnie was described as a woman “of comfortable people” who “was still on the slender side of ordinary looking”. Right away Faulkner gives you the feeling as though she is not the best looking woman and probably does not have many true friends. Minnie came off to me as a sort of loner, the kind that longs to be in that upper social class or society but who can never truly get there because she does not fit in. She seemed to be always putting on new summer dresses and shopping, yet could never impress anyone. This probably got to Minnie, for everyone wants to be noticed by someone, whether they choose to admit it or not. Minnie, as Faulkner made quite clear however, was never acknowledged. It was said that even when se walked by store fronts that “men did not even follow her with their eyes any more.” I feel that this section alone just shows that Minnie is desperately in need of attention and probably would do anything to get it.

The second section that stood out to me was Part Five. In this section, Minnie goes out to the movies with her “friends” after Will had been killed. I interpreted this scene a little differently however than we had discussed in class. I thought that Faulkner put this section in his piece to show that Minnie did in fact make up the story (or at least could have) and was now enjoying the “fruits of her labor” so to speak. I also felt that she was a little feverish because of the fact that she knew deep down that she had done something wrong, that a man had died in order for her to be noticed and feel good about herself. For example, the mixture of feelings that she was experiencing was described in the passage: “…and soon life began to unfold, beautiful and passionate and sad.” I thought that this was a representation for her being happy, yet disappointed with her own actions at the same time. I also felt that her uncontrollable laugh and trembling was caused by this internal confusion that she now had, along with the weight of the guilt that she has to carry around with her. The guilt of course, for the life that was taken one night because of her lies.

I felt that William Faulkner put these two sections into “Dry September” to highlight the fact that an innocent black man died just for a white woman to feel good about herself. He wanted to show the cruel and inhumane events that took place just because of the intense racism and hatred that was present in the South at this time.