Did you Hear?

"Well," He said, "Are you going sit there and let a black son rape a white woman on the streets of Jefferson?"

This line exemplifies what, to me, Faulkner is trying to communicate in this short story. It is clear to any Faulkner reader that he's mostly writing about issues of race, wealth, the idea of the "Old South", and the potent characters within this realm. However, we should not let this specific placement (Jefferson) and particular time period cloud the fact that these issues of rumor and prejudice are eternal and all-encompassing. From the time of the ancients to the time of Shakespeare and even in popular culture of the present, these themes permeate our thoughts and actions.

The rumors surrounding this black man and white woman in Dry September reach beyond this specific racism. Faulkner is highlighting all forms of prejudice, subtle and overt. When Shakespeare wrote Othello, a story with a similar predicament, he was not just writing about the personal struggle between two people of different races in love, but the complex, constructed laws of humanity. It's important to remember that when we are reading Faulkner, we aren't just reading about the South, we are reading about the world—ancient, modern, eternal.

That being said, Will Mayes (black man) is suspected of raping Miss Minnie (white woman), and the outcome is never revealed in order to show the reader that the actual rape the least important thing surrounding all of the anxieties, questions, and thoughts that it spawned. The rumor lingers in front of the reader's face to show that wether it happened or not is unimportant. What really matters is that it's a huge, penetrating situation that occupies the thoughts and conversation of an entire community.

"Are you going to sit there and let..." Yes. That's exactly what happened in this city of Jefferson. They talked, spread rumors, and in that occupied all of their lives with the mere idea of a rape that may or may not have happened. Storytelling is a big part of human interaction, but add discrimination of any kind, and soon enough the stories turn into harmful, snowballing lies.

Rape is a terrible thing, and I'm not saying this is not to make light of it. But it's suggested that Miss Minnie may well have created the story as a scapegoat to keep her name which is described as "not the best people in Jefferson" but a family that's "good enough". This is also a common occurrence among women. Some people even suggest that the Virgin Mary may have created such an elaborate story about conceiving the son of God so as to not be called impure. Just as permeating as the discrimination between races is that double-edged sword of sexuality between men and women, where the woman is usually always to blame.

This world of rumor is created out of the struggle to maintain socially constructed racism and discriminations. Faulkner wants to show that nothing worthwhile is created from letting socially constructed and destructive boundaries between race, gender, and class get to you. As soon as a person puts faith in the system, they have to become a slave to that system, and that's always been a vicious cycle of misunderstanding among us.