Yoknapatawpha County: A Literary Analysis

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The realm of Yoknapatawpha was not purely original. Many aspects can be seen in Faulkner’s real-life county and he often calls Yoknapatawpha County his “apocryphal county” meaning that it is based off of his life (Beck 174). Hailing from Lafayette County Mississippi, Faulkner utilized his hometown to create Yoknapatawpha County. Like Faulkner’s Lafayette County, Yoknapatawpha County is set in the Deep South. It is bisected North and South by the John Sartoris railroad and bounded Northeast by the Yocana River, from which its name is derived (Tuck 1). The word “Yoknapatawpha” is derived from two Chickasaw words—yocana and petopha which means “water runs slow through flat land” (3). Also, the land here is low-lying and fertile with heavily …show more content…
The low-lying, fertile land was highly favored for agriculture and as a result, farming was a prevalent occupation. The Bundrens are a farm dependent family. They live south of the Yocana River where they tend to their cotton fields and manage a barn of livestock (1). This is typical of the Southern lifestyle. When one envisions the south, he/she often depicts of open fields of crops. By using, Yoknapatawpha County Faulkner provided an emblematic image of a Southern family. Furthermore, Faulkner’s use of Yoknapatawpha County provides more regionalism through the characters. Hailing from the South, one can expect the type of values the characters hold. Stereotypically, southern people are often thought of as illiterate, racist, and shiftless (Bloom 221). Because of Faulkner’s Deep South setting, he utilized this regionalism to influence his characters mannerisms and ideals. Each of the characters with the exception of Darl reflects the Southern dialect. For example, when deciding whether or not to cross the river, Cash says “I reckon we’ll have to” (Faulkner 146). “Reckon” is primarily Southern slang and dialect such as this is seen throughout the novel. Another example of Yoknapatawpha County’s southern influence can be seen in the character’s ideals. During the 1920s in the South, people married for reasons other than love. Addie and Anse manifest this ideal. Addie says that the word love was “just a shape to fill a
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