History and the American South

Throughout the novel, Cosby’s lyrical, emotional depictions of the American South helps to portray the region as a haunted, violent space. Cosby begins the novel with a sweeping description of the South that gestures at its many ugly, turbulent qualities. He writes, “Blood and tears. Violence and mayhem. Love and hate. These were the rocks upon which the South was built. They were the foundation upon which Charon County stood” (2). Here, Cosby suggests that the fundamental aspects of the American South are “Blood and tears. Violence and mayhem. Love and hate” (2). He describes the South in broad, dramatic terms that imbue the region with a sense of dark grandeur. Through these lyrical, poetic depictions, Cosby argues that violence and bloodshed sit at the very heart of the American South. In Cosby’s view, these are inescapable aspects of the South; the...