Similarities Between John Berendt's Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil

Jumping back into the past, Gregory Orr tells the incident when he and a group of five hundred of men, women, teenagers, and old folks assemble in Jackson, Mississippi. In Jackson for a peaceful demonstration, Gregory Orr and the rest of the group were arrested and taken away “to the county fairgrounds” (128, 1). Where they was beaten by officers of the law, Orr stated, “I emerged into the outdoors and the bright sunlight and saw them-two lines of about fifteen highway patrolmen on either side. I was ordered to walk, not run, between them. Again I was beaten with nightsticks, but this time more thoroughly, as I was the only target” (129, 2). Once freed from his captors, Gregory Orr gets in his car to head back north, but on his way back he was pulled over by flashing lights. Thinking it was the police; Gregory Orr pulled over and was approached by two white men. One of the white men said, “Get out, you son of a bitch, or I’ll blow your head off” (133, 3). The two white men takes Gregory Orr’s wallet and tell him to follow them, Scared for his life, Gregory Orr did exactly what the two men told him to do. After following the two men, Gregory Orr is back in jail in Hayneville. “Already depressed and disoriented by the ten days in jail in Jackson, I was even more frightened in Hayneville,” (136, 1) stated by Gregory Orr.

Throughout the centuries, there have been an infinite amount of literary works written by a sea of authors that write a variety of genres. All of these works are precious in their own way, and even if their theme is similar to that of another, the author always ads a bit of his/her own flare in order to make said literary creation unique in some way. William Wordsworth’s “London 1802” and Paul Laurence Dunbar’s “Douglass”, although quite similar in form and sentence structure, do add their own flare through the use of specific details. Through the use of these devices, the speakers show their disgust for the evil deeds humans do and

Sothern gothic literature that include Works like Flannery O’Connor’s “A Late encounter with the enemy” incorporates the idea of “investigating madness, decay and despair, and the continuing pressures of the past upon the present, particularly with respect to the lost ideals of a dispossessed Southern aristocracy and to the continuance of racial hostilities.”(Marshall 3). These ideas all share a common theme that O’Connor brings to the table in “A Late Encounter with the enemy, along with “The American South serves as the nation’s ‘other,’ becoming the repository of everything from which the nation wants to disassociate itself” (Marshall 3–4). But in true Gothic fashion, the horrors of the past continue to dominate the present.” (Marshall

Have you ever been too filled with hate and pride to see the obvious truth right in front of you? The year was 1935 in the small town of Maycomb Alabama. During this time an important trial would be taking place. The trial of Tom Robinson, an African and American who had been promptly accused of rape by the one man who had seen the incident. Bob Ewell a despised person throughout the community and the father of the victim, Mayella Ewell, Bob’s abused, lonely, unhappy daughter. Though one can pity Mayella because of her overbearing father, one cannot pardon her for her shameful indictment of Tom Robinson.

‘Fire in a canebrake’ is quite a scorcher by Laura Wexler and which focuses on the last mass lynching which occurred in the American Deep South, the one in the heartland of rural Georgia, precisely Walton County, Georgia on 25th July, 1946, less than a year after the Second World War. Wexler narrates the story of the four black sharecroppers who met their end ‘at the hand of person’s unknown’ when an undisclosed number of white men simply shot the blacks to death. The author concentrates on the way the evidence was collected in those eerie post war times and how the FBI was actually involved in the case, but how nothing came of their extensive investigations.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt works it’s suspenseful antics in a mystery filled book set in the 1980’s. Full of quirky characters and southern gothic tone, Berendt takes the reader through the community of Savannah, Georgia while portraying a life of illusion that surrounds the gossiping members. While there is intriguing description, which is portrayed in a strong narrative style, the excessive amount of characters takes away from this piece of literature.

Jim Williams, the owner of a Savannah antiques store, was a self-made millionaire known for both his loving restorations of local houses and his grand parties. Williams never really felt the embrace of Savannah’s wealthy constituency. Although his bank account certainly qualified him for entry into their circle, he was nouveau riche, and hence, an outsider. Old money and aristocracy hold a lot of weight in the South. Williams answered their snobbery with “It’s the riche that counts” (Berendt, p.7). Williams lived in a mansion known as Mercer House, it was built in 1861 and stands at the west end of Monterey Square. Mercer House is the center stage for much of the book. It is also where his well-known Christmas parties were held and its study was the site of the shooting of Danny Hansford. While we’re on the subject, Danny Hansford was a part-time employee and houseguest of Williams. Hansford was a young man that had quite a reputation in Savannah for his violent temper and his sexual proclivity to service both men and women. Not to mention his abusive use of drugs and alcohol, which helps explain why he had been in and out of jail so many times.

On the contrary, to most books, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil does not have a direct speaker. However, the book does have a set point of view, first-person, but the narrator or speaker is never directly told to the readers. Even though it is never directly told to the readers who the speaker is the readers automatically assume the speaker is the reporter. The writer of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, John Berendt, was the reporter who went down to Savannah. The credits to the author towards the story are his own personal experience with the story. Since Berendt is the reporter he was able to retell a story in a personal way, but also keep track of the initial purpose. Although the narrator is never said it is assumed the story is told in the personal view of the author, John Berendt.

Southern fiction stories are written with sense of humor to mask the disturbing situations occurring to the characters, like in “The Cask of Amontillado” and “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Edgar Allan Poe’s, “The Cask of Amontillado” is a compelling short story about Montresor’s revenge on Fortunato. Montresor tricks Fortunado into venturing deep into the catacombs which, ultimately, leads to his death. “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates, describes young Connie is confronted by an older man at her house, threatening her family unless she goes with him, but going with him entitles getting raped. “The Cask of Amontillado” and “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” are both stories that contain symbolism in the names of

In the compelling work of nonfiction titled The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America, Eric Larson narrates the history of the World’s Columbian Exposition. With the skillful employment of detail and structure Larson steps into the minds of two instrumental men in the history of America during this particular era. He skilfully writes with the purpose of informing readers of the events that took place during the most pivotal moments of American history, while introducing the reader to the men involved. Through his use of details, Larson develops the main characters Daniel Burnham, the main architect of the World’s Fair, and H. H. Homes, considered to be America’s first serial killer. He describes

Southern gothic is a type of literature that focuses on the harsh conflicts of violence and racism, which is observed in the perspective of black and white individuals. Some of the most familiar southern authors are William Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor, and Cormac McCarthy. One author in particular, Flannery O’Connor, is a remarkable author, who directly reflects upon southern grotesque within her two short stories, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” and “Revelation.” These two short stories are very similar to each other, which is why I believe that O’Connor often writes with violent characters to expose real violence in the world while tying them in with a particular spiritual insight.

In the beginning, the book centers on a small village on the frontier of the English colonies named Deerfield. It is here that the French, along with their Native American allies, raid the town and carry off 112 of the town’s residents, including the Reverend John Williams, his wife, and his children Stephan, Esther, Warham, and six year-old Eunice. John Williams was the main target of the attack, for it was hoped by the French that with his capture they could negotiate an exchange for the release of notorious privateer Jean Baptiste Guyon. During the march to New France, the children are scattered amongst the various Native American tribes before they are sold to the French. Three years later, John Williams returns to New England. Negotiations for the release of his children were successful except in regards to Eunice, who was still

Southern Gothic literature has rooted itself in American culture and created several classic short stories that have pushed literary boundaries and minds. Among the most influential of these Southern Gothic stories is “A Rose for Emily”, by William Faulkner; “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, and “Good Country People”, both by Flannery O’Connor. After first discussing what characteristics make up the genre of Southern Gothic, each of these stories will be evaluated and discussed in terms of what makes each of them a prime example of Southern Gothic literature.

Ruth Vander Zee’s Mississippi Morning is a historical fiction literary work of genius about a boy losing his naiveté after a confrontation with a member of the Ku Klux Klan. Written in the first person point-of-view, this story is set in Mississippi in 1933. Although it is aimed towards children, this story confronts ideas about racism and the depression and can teach adults as well as its intended audience. The reader is first introduced to James, a twelve year old boy, who helps his mother with chores, and aids his father at his hardware store. One day, James’ friend Red tells James that he heard their fathers talking about how a “colored preacher… got what was coming to him”, but James can’t believe it. But then while fishing with his African-American

Southern Gothic is a regional genre used in film, music, and literature that criticizes the moral blindness of a historical era. Traits of this genre include: disturbed personalities, macabre situation, and a list of themes. These specific themes are: Race, Unrequited Love, Good Versus Evil, Being an outsider, and Violence. In our class we read a selection of stories from many different southern gothic authors. A few of them are: “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O'Connor, “Possibility of Evil” by Shirley Jackson, and “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner. Other famous authors such as; Harper Lee, Truman Capote, and Tennessee Williams, have also composed southern gothic literature. These stories clearly portray southern gothic in the way it proves the moral blindness of the south and the hypocrisy they sometimes show.