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Social Division In A Rose For Emily

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Social Division In A Rose For Emily
“The post-war era is considered one of the low points in the history of Southern literature.”(Hedblad) There is no doubt that the Civil War was the most impactful conflict the United States had to face. This war armed brother against brother in bloody battles from 1861 to 1865. The Civil War brought division upon a nation and tested the strength of its people. After fighting the Civil War, many Americans reflected on the values that formed the nation, placing in consideration whether those values truly represented the ideal United States. Thoughts like these were echoed in literature during the postwar era, where many authors touched on the south’s desperate attempts to hold on to the values that existed before the Civil War. Elements of this …show more content…
After the Civil War, the south had lost both its dream of a new nation and its connection to its old nation. The Union had proven superior to the Confederacy which left the south, who thought they would be victorious, with great resentment towards the north. “Of course a Grierson would not think seriously of a Northerner, a day laborer.”(Faulkner, 882) Despite the Civil War being over, the north and the south remained divided by hostile feels amongst each other. Slavery had been abolished, yet social division still existed between African American people and White Americans. “The Civil War left division in the hearts of both southern and northern people.”(Welsh) Fighting had seized but the social division between the north and the south was to great to be overcomed in a short …show more content…
The Confederacy had a difficult time accepting the lose to the Union, this resulted in southern people’s resistance to change and denial of the Unions authority. “The next generation, with its more modern ideas became mayors and aldermen.”(Faulkner, 818) Times keep changing and as the United States becomes more modern, people in the south still hold on to ways and customs that existed before the Civil War. This causes a problem for the future generations which are taught about the history of the nation and the history of each family. Some Americans would view the Civil War as a victory while other Americans would consider the Civil War a defeat and hold resent against the nation. “A few southerners held tightly to their cultural and social beliefs after the Civil War.”(Bone) To this day, there are people in the United States that believe that the Civil War is not over and that the Confederacy will raise and defeat the Union. This idea is one of desperate hopes to bring back life before the Civil

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