Throughout the history of the United States the South has been known for many things; slavery, production of alcohol and cotton and labor and food thats covered in cheese and then fried twice but more interesting then the racism and the acres of plantations is the language. The mannerisms between southern men, how they talk and insult one another is simply marvelous. It is personal and witty and stung out. Within the first chapter of All The King's Men you get a taste for the southern language. The Boss has come to a rural town in Luisianna to talk to his "pappy" and, being the famous man that he is, he is being cornered by the towns people to give a speech and he says "I didn't come here to make any speech. I came here to go out and see my pappy, and see if he's got anything left in the smoke-house fit to eat. Im going to say, pappy, now what about all that smoked sausage you wuz bargain about all last winter, what about-"(13). There is a certain simplicity to the diction and while it seems random it expresses a lot on its one. The descriptions are not used over and over again, you must think in order to understand. The Boss while talking about Tiny Duffy expressed "you get Tiny, and you can get a good nights sleep. All you got to do is keep the albumen scared out of his urine." (23). Later The Boss is expressing the love he has for his dog and saying how his dog has always been his best friend and the one who has been there for him but makes the clever yet insulting remark of "but God damn it,…he don't smell a bit better'n the rest of 'em"(40). The way that a phrase as simple as that can insult not only a dog but every dog and every man is incredible.
Accidentally signed out so everything I wrote got deleted….>:( Will try to replicate it with similar words.
ReplyDeleteThe insults the men use are certainly very Southern and very graphic. The South, culturally and geographically, is a very visceral place, exemplified by the oppressive mugginess, the sweat on Willie Talos' hat, and the colorful intricacies of their insults. I was struck by how commonplace the insults were, even among men standing high in society. In the tense bar scene, Willie Talos says to Mr. Duffy, "I reckon I got one habit, Mr. Duffy. I got the habit when I feel a movement coming on of just going off by myself to the back-house and shutting the door. Were you raised that way Mr. Duffy?"(28) an insult which would likely be considered inappropriate. The mannerisms are certainly different from Californian cultural inflection. While being more graphic, they are also much more clever and specific in their intention, rather than modern-day California's traditional, cliche one-liner insults that are used with less frequency as insults are treated, generally, with more taboo. There is also the sense of underlying malice, or at least bitterness, in many of the social interactions. A great example is when Willie and Jack visit the Judge. The Southern dialect and culture is studied by the narrator, Jack Burden. Warren employs Burden's somewhat cynical perception to help characterize the South, as through Burden's analysis of social scenarios, we are able to grasp the innuendos of the interactions. Not every culture, or class, has the same variety of underlying currents of meaning within conversation. Burden's commentary on present social scenarios is rather insightful.