Characters in a Story by William Faulkner.

¶ … characters in a story by William Faulkner. The story That Evening Sun provides an interesting study in characters because it places children with an adult but the adult is not considered equal. There were two sources used to complete this paper.

Throughout history many authors have developed their characters to interact with each other so that the reader can come to know them as well as the author does. In one story by William Faulkner called That Evening Sun the character Nancy and the children are a main focus of the story at hand.)One of the most interesting points of the story is the fact that the children are actually portrayed as equal to Nancy. It is a commentary on the era as well as the attitudes of the era.

Nancy

Nancy is a Negro who lives in the era in which blacks were treated like second class citizens. It is interesting to watch her character unfold as she was not totally submissive in spite of her "station" in life. She was someone who was willing to manipulate and argue to try and get her way which was strongly discouraged by African-Americans at the time. As the story moves forward the reader can feel the fear that Nancy experienced as well as a tug of uncomfortableness because she acts in ways that do not draw firm lines between her adult status and the children in the story.

THE CHILDREN

There are three children in the story and while their characters initially appear to be supporting in nature as the story unfolds they show themselves to be the focus of the underlying message. Each of the children have little dialogue when the story begins but toward the end of the story the dialogue increases and the truth of the relationships and equal status of the children to the negro comes out.

HOW IT IS PORTRAYED

While the story is set in an era in which children were more often seen and not heard the children in this instance are vocal. This is the first indicator that the children consider themselves as equal to Nancy. In later scenes the reader discovers that Nancy also considers the children her equals but in the beginning it is evidenced more by the children's attitude than anything Nancy says or does.

In the beginning of the story the children's attitude of equalness to Nancy when they throw rocks at her house to tell her to come and cook them breakfast. The opening scenes are a bit deceiving because Nancy's response initially indicates she feels she is the adult and they are the children.

What yawl mean, chunking my house?" Nancy said. "What you little devils mean?"

Father says for you to come on and get breakfast," Caddy said. "Father said. "Father says it's over a half an hour now, and you've got to come this minute." ain't studying no breakfast," Nancy said. "I going to get sleep out (Faulkner, I)."

The above passage would be typical of the way an adult might talk to a group of children who had decided to throw rocks at her house, however, as the story continues the reader can begin to see that the children and Nancy are on equal social footing in their minds and their words.

One of the first indicators of this equal attitude is the fdact that Jason thinks nothing of reminding everyone that he is not an African-American the way Nancy is. Jason repeats the same sentence several times throughout the story.

A ain't a nigger," Jason said. "Am I, Dilsey?

A reckon not," Dilsey said. She looked at Nancy. "I don't' reckon so. What you going to do, then (Faulkner, III)?"

While in most cases the adult is the caretaker and their position is that of authority and protection of children this set of characters takes a turn when Nancy is afraid to go home by herself. It is here that the changes take place and the reader senses Nancy's belief that she has more in common with the children than their parents.

She looked at us, at all three of us at one time. "You member that night I stayed in yawls' room?" she said. She told about how we waked up early the next morning, and played. We had to play quiet, on her pallet, until Father woke up and it was time to get breakfast. "Go and ask your maw to let me stay here tonight," Nancy said. "I won't need no pallet. We can play some more (Faulkner, IV)."

The above passage strengthens the underpinnings of the story in which Nancy aligns herself more with the children in the story than she does with the adults. This continues as she begins to badger them the way a child would badger an adult for something they wanted. Nancy badgers the children to come with her to her house and spend the night. She goes so far as to tell them they do not need to clear it with their mother first. The children show in these passages that they do consider themselves equal to Nancy in all areas as they discuss whether or not they should do so.

Don't bother her," Nancy said. "We can tell her in the morning. She both mind.

She wouldn't let us," I said.

Don't ask her now," Nancy said. "Don't bother her now."

She didn't say we couldn't go," Caddy said.

We didn't ask," I said.

We'll have fun," Nancy said. "They won't mind, just to my house. I been working for yawl a long time. They won't mind (Faulkner, V)."

The discussion no longer centers around the right or wrongness of Nancy making the request but instead whether or not they might get away with going to her house with her. If one had not been reading from the beginning and instead only picked the story up from this point one would have a difficult time trying to determine which of the characters was older than the others.

After the children get to her house they display even more qualities of believing the are equal to Nancy because they do not view her as someone who can protect them. They also manipulate her into providing fun for them or they threaten to leave.

We ought to go," Caddy said. "unless we have a lot of fun." She and Nancy came back to the fire, the lamp (Faulkner, V).