Comparison to other Southern Culture Pieces
The Glass Castle is a nonfiction novel about a family who traveled around the country. Like The Optimist's Daughter, the family started up north and struggled with many different issues there which relocated them back "down south." The main issue with this "southern culture" novel is again, whether or not West Virginia is technically a "southern" state. Overall, moving from NYC and out west to West Virginia classifies the family as moving further south and out east (Walls). Laurel, in The Optimist's Daughter, finds herself a better person while she's down south. She is a cool, calm, and collected person while in New Orleans (Welty). In The Glass Castle, a family member struggles with alcoholism, they have no money, and they free and easy spirits while living out west and up north and decide to relocate to the the south to relieve some of these issues (Walls).
Different Genre
Gone with the Wind is a southern novel that is written in 1930s but takes place in the late 1800s, which is different than 21st century literature. The main character, Scarlett, is the definition of a "Southern Belle." Scarlett lives on a plantation in Georgia, which is classified as a "southern state. Although "southeners" are supposed to be kind-hearted, filled with joy, and creating happiness wherever they go, Scarlett creates tension within the novel on purpose. Throughout this novel, there is a war between the people at the plantation where Scarlett lives and the Yankee soldiers (Mitchell) Like The Optimist's Daughter, there is conflict between the southern and northern states (Welty).
Different Time Period
Different Culture
("The Glass Castle")
("Gone with the Wind")
In The Optimist's Daughter, there was extreme conflict between the northern and southern states. The conflict between the two regions began over racial wars in the United States (Welty). There were racial tensions within the country of Africa, like the United States. The people of South Africa elected a black male who was previously in prison to run their country. This event created the uprising of conflict between the whites and blacks within Africa. The novel Cry, the Beloved Country, is set in the 1940s during the time where the country institutionalizing racial discrimination. The novel reveals the conflict between the South Africans and the Apartheid over supression of racial conflict (Paton).
("McGill")
Word Count: 366