However, in other works Faulkner centered his attention on the difficulties that Southern whites have in coming to terms with the heritage of slavery, most notably in his portrayal of Quentin Compson in THE SOUND AND THE FURY (1929) and ABSALOM, ABSALOM! (1936). Tragically, Quentin commits suicide.
As the story of Quentin Compson shows, it can be difficult for Southern whites to come to terms in their hearts and minds with the heritage of slavery.
But would Southern whites today be risking the temptation to commit suicide as Quentin Compson does if they were to try to face the heritage of slavery perpetrated by some of their white ancestors? Not necessarily.
Nevertheless, in a real sense they may need to "die" figuratively speaking to a part of themselves and their cultural conditioning and thereby work through and reconfigure their sense of their ancestors and of themselves.
Apart from Southerners specifically, how do we Americans today come to terms with the heritage of slavery in this country and other aspects of our heritage that we do not find admirable?
As the saying has it, we should hate the sin but love the sinner. However, it is often far easier to say this than it is to do it.
We Americans should avoid throwing out the baby with the bath water when we consider such important slave holders as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson and such verbal racists as Abraham Lincoln.
Lincoln was not an abolitionist. Had he been, he would never have been elected president of the United States. But the kernel form of a thought about equality had been planted in his admittedly racist heart and mind. When push came to shove, that kernel of thought won out and carried the day, prevailing over his admittedly racist heart and mind. If that can happen to Lincoln, perhaps there is still hope that it can happen to Governor McDonnell.
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