I thought that Swallow Barn was a romantic portrayal of the old south. The first chapter is very descriptive and uses a lot of visual imagery. He describes swallow barn as illustrating, " three epochs in the history of the family. The main structure is upwards of a century old; one story high, with thick brick walls and a double-faced roof, resembling a ship, bottom upwards; this is perforated with small dormant windows, that have some such expression as belongs to a face without eye-brows." Not only is family shown to be very important in this story, but also the homes that have followed the families for generations seem to be of equal importance. It is very important in the south for such properties to stay in the family, and this house while old and aging, is beautiful because it is old.
John Pendleton Kennedy relies very much on southern stereotypes in this telling of swallow barn. Some stereotypes that are prevalent are, history is held in high regard, family is very important, pride, and the plantation as a symbol. The
Frank Meriwether is also an interesting character; he embodies all the stereotypes about how a southern gentleman should be. He is indecisive, complacent, handsome and well educated. When he goes to
Monday, January 29, 2007
Swallow Barn
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
It was interesting to me how in both this piece and The House of Usher the stories centered around an aged house that had been in the family for generations. This is clearly a recurring theme in Southern literature, but the vastly different styles of the writers are reflected in what happens with the houses. While the house in Swallow Barn is falling apart and has a humanlike presence as the one in Poe’s work does, the former is harmless and valued by the family while the latter binds its occupants to it with a mysterious force. I wonder, though, if the house in Swallow Barn would deteriorate further as Frank ages more as the story continues, which would make it more similar to Poe’s than these first two chapters suggest.
Also, you mention Frank embodying Southern stereotypes. I had not really thought of one being indecision, but I suppose that goes with Southerners purportedly taking life slower and not being in a rush like Northerners to make decisions and act quickly. Why do you think that John Pendleton Kennedy chooses to have Frank contradict the stereotype of Southerners as being religious? Kennedy was a mysterious man and his intentions are not always clear, but maybe this indicates that he felt slave owners being churchgoers was hypocritical.
Post a Comment