My Experience with Southern Literature

I haven’t read that many books that I would consider particularly southern. In high school I read a couple books about ex-slaves and their children in the south—Beloved and Their Eyes Were Watching God. These two books gave me some perspective on some of the black slave culture both before and after freedom. However, the focus seemed more on the women’s struggles than on the southern culture. I suppose though that the flashbacks to life on the plantation at “Sweet Home” in Beloved during the protagonists’ years of enslavement do offer some perspective.

However, the most southern book I have ever read is probably the first four chapters of Bastard Out of Carolina. The imagery in those four chapters hit on nearly every stereotype I think of when thinking about the south. The characters spend a great deal of time on porches drinking iced tea, the weather is hot, and the boys are rough—one is even missing his teeth. The diner serves chicken-fried steak and collard greens, people drive trucks, and Bone is a bastard.

I looked up the trailer for the movie version of Bastard Out of Carolina too and saw some more of that southern imagery. A lot of the same elements can be seen—trucks, fighting, scorched southern scenery. And of course, the accents are pretty prominent too.

Topic for the Week of February 22

The topic I would like our blog group to write about for this week is which movie or book do you guys feel best represents the South. It can be a book or movie you read in high school or something you read or watched in your free time. You guys can even choose The Moviegoer, if you feel it represents the South the best. And don’t be afraid to choose Forrest Gump since Dr. Hoefer despises it, if you think it represents the South then go ahead and discuss why.

Chevrolet Silverado

When I think about vehicles in the south, I think about pickup trucks. More specifically, I think of the Chevrolet Silverado. The Chevrolet Silverado is a full-size pickup truck from General Motors. Ever since I was a little kid living in Atlanta, I have watched numerous Silverado commercials that clearly associate the Silverado with the South. Many of the Silverado commercials include the song “This is our Country”. This song is in the country music genre which is a form of music that is commonly associated with the South. Many of the testimonies in the Chevy music commercials are by southerners with their cowboy hats and their southern accents. So these advertisements help associate their truck with the South. The Chevy Silverado also includes a commercial with popular, retired football player, Howie Long. Living in Atlanta, I know how popular of a sport football is in the South and Howie Long being in the Silverado commercials strengthens the fact that the Chevy Silverado is a southern vehicle.

So why is the pickup truck so famous in the South? A reason for this maybe because the pickup truck symbolizes masculinity, a character trait that is valued highly in the American South. A pickup truck is considered to be a man’s vehicle, which means the vehicle is physically strong. Another one of the Silverado’s commercials is “Like a Rock”. In this commercial, the Chevy Silverado is depicted as being very tough, which would appeal to the Southern ideal of being masculine. Pickup trucks are also associated with hunting. Hunting is a popular American pastime, especially in the South so this could be another reason why we relate the truck with the South.

Southern Trucks

There are three main parts to the south that I think of when someone mentions trucks. There are the trucks that are used to haul stuff around and are used for their capacity. Such as the one pictured bellow.


These small to medium size trucks are the backbone of consumer transportation and freight hauling. Vehicles such as the Ford Ranger, the Dodge Ram, and the Toyota Tacoma are the staple trucks used for hauling wood, tools, and other mainstays.
I think that trucks are a symbol of the south because of the large distances between houses and the stores.

The second group of trucks are used to drive off-road and participate in an unique favorite past time called "mudding" in which people take their trucks and throw them at the back roads in an attempt to get dirty and have fun.



Mudding takes skill and patience to cross the areas. Originally, it was just farmers crossing their property and since then, it has been turned into a sport and hobby.

The final type of truck that represents the south is a Monster Truck. Originally developed by Bob Chandler in the 1970s with his vehicle called Bigfoot, today it has turned into a major sport for both spectators and drivers. Today the trucks are no longer lifter pickups, but purpose build chasis and drivetrain to handle the abuse from air stunts and riding over cars.



The picture is that of one of the versions of bigfoot. This one is not designed for stunts but merely to show how large one of these vehicles can become.

And finaly, I couldn't help but show the redneck extreeme of trucks. This picture shows a redneck making a pool out of his truck. Another use for something created by the backwoods of the south.

The Most Southern Place I Have Been to...

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Being a foreigner I most likely have a very different view of what constitutes the South… The Old South and The New South. Sometimes it may seem that the south is just modern day sprawl with delicious but unhealthy cooking, drinking, trucking, hunting and holding on to some old traditions of old. This is not to say that holding on to the past is a bad thing but is strange to see the mix. The most southern place I think I have ever visited is the Texas panhandle. I was fortunate to stay in the first and only remaining ranch house in Pampa. This was quite amazing to experience the history first hand. I stayed in the house of the renowned civic leader in Pampa, who may have made the single largest contribution to its development. The sheer heat and lack of moisture let me know where I was. It was strange though because although this was an ancient town, the Taco Bells and Mickey D's that lined the streets were misleading. It was quite an experience though once we drove out of the town for a few minutes. I was able to see an older Texas, miles of empty farmland. We drove all the way to a magnificent canyon where I saw the play ’Texas’ which seemed to really capture the hardships and ideals of the Old South.

I think my favorite and most identifiable artifact for the trip was the billboard for the 72 ounce steak: “if you can eat all of it its free!”

Southern Transport - Trucks

I don't believe trucks are the main mode of transport in the south and I think it would be incredibly wrong to say so. Trucks do have a lot of functionality in rural parts of the country or for transporting/towing heavy stuff like four-wheelers and boats. However trucks are used all over the country for their functionality so its wrong to associate trucks with the South. However oddly enough its not so wrong to associate southern people with trucks. Almost every "southern" boy wants one thing when they turn 16: a pick-up truck. Where this trend began however is a complete mystery. All I can do is mostly generalize based on the area I grew up.


-Blake Bauer

Southern Truckin

When I think of Southern transport the first thing that comes to mind is definitely the stereotypical pickup truck. Usually I think of the red, perhaps beat up bedded truck, but something like this second photograph does not surprise me either. Also important are the bumper stickers on the back. In the second photo there are stickers honoring NASCAR drivers, proclaiming “Rebel,” one mock North Carolina Terrorist Hunting Permit, and even a surprising Obama sticker. The attitude given off by the driver of this second truck from this article is also strictly Southern. He could not care less if someone had a problem with either the Confederate flag or Obama sticker attached to his truck.

The image of the pickup truck I see when thinking about the South is mostly the image I relate with rednecks. I have never given much thought to what types of transportation the other general Southern stereotypes I think of would drive. I suppose it would not surprise me that the rural south might drive tractors or the upper to upper-middle class might drive cars like everybody else I know.

However, trucks and truckers is a fairly large indication that we are dealing with the South. For example, the very Southern band, Drive-By Truckers with the Album title "The Dirty South," associates trucking with the South.

Topic for This Week (Feb 15)

The topic for this week is southern transport...
What does one think of when they think of The South and vehicles? Trucks? Tractors? or maybe Hybrids?

Why is the South so great?

This is a good question. I think the people who think the South is great are the people born and raised in the South. Even though I am southern, I by no means the redneck or hillbilly stereotype that is often associated with people from the south. I feel like ignorant people whose impression of the South is being this backwoods place overrun with hillbillies and rednecks are those who hate it. And likewise the people from the south who still haven't come to terms with the fact that the confederates lost the civil war are the ones who hate the North. Since the people I normally hangout with and interact with on a regular basis share the same ideologies as me, we tend to think the same way. I personally harbor no hate towards the North and have never really met anyone who is extremely opposed to the North or South.

Blake Bauer

Topic for this Week (Feb 7)

People from the South seem to really love the South. But if the South is so great, why is there so much hate for it? Do you or does anyone you know hate the South? Or, do you are does anyone you know hate the North in return? Why?

Fort Sumter

The most southern place that I can think of that I have been to is Fort Sumter. Known as the fort that the first shot of the civil war was fired is truly a place of the south.



The fort has large battery guns still stationed but plugged since the war. There are a variety of guns everything from parrot guns to the smaller mortars that were used for coastal defense. The battle at Fort Sumter started April 12, 1861. The batteries fired for over 35 hours.

Finally at the end, Fort Sumter surrendered because their supplies had been cut off and their guns were over worked.

The fort today is a large tourist attraction and the inside has been transformed from the old ruins to having modern buildings in the center, displaying their wares and artifacts from the battle.

My Most Southern Destination: Mexico?

Trying to decide on the most Southern place I have ever been to is extremely difficult. This is not because I simply cannot decide, but because I have never been to any place that I feel could be considered truly Southern.

Growing up in Clearwater, Florida the phrase that goes around is “So south, we’re north,” and I agree. I have never really experienced any of the Southern-type things that we have discussed in class. All of my family is from the north, Canada even. All of my friends, too, are either Northern or not American.

Often I do visit family in North Carolina. However, we visit Cary (with the backronym "Containment Area for Relocated Yankees.") The only “Southern” places I know of are from television and movies. I do not know whether I am deprived. Since coming to Atlanta I have thought of maybe one day visiting Stone Mountain, but I cannot say that I really do care.

On the other hand my roommate has often expressed with some contempt some differences she has noticed here in Atlanta from her home town in Massachusetts. I'll often hear her say something such as "Well, we are in the South." I usually agree with her, but I don't really notice as much as she does. I guess I live in this weird place in between the North and the South despite its geographically very Southern location.

Stone Mountain

The most “southern place” that I have visited is Stone Mountain, Georgia. I have actually visited Stone Mountain numerous times and whenever we have out of state visitors, we usually take them there. My experiences at Stone Mountain have been fun. I enjoy many of the activities such as riding the sky lift to the top, climbing on the top of the mountain, riding the train, and watching the laser light shows at night. My favorite visit to Stone Mountain was on the 4th of July. Because it was Independence Day, the place was more festive and the laser light show included lots of fireworks.

Even though Stone Mountain is now modern looking and makes good use of technology, there are many reasons why I feel it is the most southern place I have visited. The first southern characteristic of Stone Mountain is that of the Confederate Memorial Carving. The carving is of General Robert E. Lee, President Jefferson Davis, and Thomas J. Jackson, three Confederate leaders of the Civil War. The carving is one of the main features of Stone Mountain and every time you visit it, you are reminded of these past Civil War heroes. Stone Mountain also reminds people of the South’s ugly past. The infamous KKK used to hold rallies at Stone Mountain. Stone Mountain reminds us that the south is a much better and much more accepting place today than it was in the past. Another reason why Stone Mountain is the most southern place I have visited is because of the restaurants there. The restaurants there mostly serve fried southern food. My favorite restaurant was Miss Katie’s Sideboard Restaurant, a classic southern sounding name for a southern restaurant.

Topic for week of Feb. 1

For this weeks topic everybody talk about the most "southern" place you have visited and your experience there. Utilize the map to show where these places are.

Trini Sweet-hand

When it comes to Trinidad and Tobago they are known by most for two things; partying and FOOD!!!!. Caribbean food in itself is well known for being delicious but out of the whole West Indian chain of islands Trinidad stands out the most. Growing up in any household one is exposed to a collection of food as though the world was condensed into a single place. Trinidadians are known for their “sweet-hand,” a term that is the food equivalent to the Midas touche. In my household I would regularly eat curries and stews, roasts and BBQ, mashed potatoes and steak, things from all over the world. Recently Arabic food has exploded onto the scene and like everything else “Trini’s” will take every seasoning and make it work on every meat. The meats are also an interesting aspect of Trinidadian cuisine, we will have the conventional beef and chicken, fish and pork but it is not strange to find people having ‘lap,’ iguana, ‘agouti,’ goat, etc.

In Trinidadian cooking there is rarely a piece of meat that is spared….

A major aspect of Trinidadian cooking and its culture it the use of the ‘pot.’ There is often a gathering with one major pot that everyone will help prepare and serve himself or herself from, providing an immense sense of community. Many styles of cooking also involes one major pot that has t be tended to at all times, so you will often find food stall with an old lady (tanty) tending to the pot.

Foods one needs to try while in Trinidad include, shark and bake
View Southern Times in a larger map, corn soup, double, a roti, peleau, and the list goes on. Even KFC, very different style to the US, is the number one selling KFC in the world!