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Southern literature (sometimes called the literature of the American South) is defined as American literature about the Southern United States or by writers from this region. Characteristics of Southern literature include a focus on a common Southern history, the significance of family, a sense of community and one’s role within it, a sense of justice, the region's dominant religion (Christianity — see Protestantism) and the burdens/rewards religion often brings, issues of racial tension, land and the promise it brings, a sense of social class and place, and the use of the Southern dialect.〔Patricia Evans.("Southern Literature: Women Writers" ). Accessed Feb. 4, 2007.〕 == Overview of Southern literature == In its simplest form, Southern literature consists of writing about the American South—the South being defined, for historical as well as geographical reasons, as the states of South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, Kentucky, West Virginia and Arkansas.〔Joseph M. Flora & Lucinda H. MacKethan (eds.) ''The Companion to Southern Literature: Themes, Genres, Places, People, Movements, and Motifs'', Louisiana State University Press, 2001. These are the states as listed in this study.〕 Pre-Civil War definitions of the South often included Missouri, Maryland, and Delaware as well. In addition to the geographical component of Southern literature, certain themes have appeared because of the similar histories of the Southern states in regard to slavery, the American Civil War, and Reconstruction. The conservative culture in the South has also produced a strong focus within Southern literature on the significance of family, religion, community in one's personal and social life, the use of the Southern dialect,〔 and a strong sense of "place."〔Kate Cochran. (Review ) of Robert Brinkmeyer, Jr., ''Remapping Southern Literature: Contemporary Southern Writers and the West'', University of Georgia Press, 2000.〕 The South's troubled history with racial issues also continually appears in its literature.〔Fred Hobson. ''But Now I See: The White Southern Racial Conversion Narrative'', Louisiana State University Press, 1999.〕 Despite these common themes, there is debate as to what makes writers and their literature "Southern." For example, Mark Twain, a Missourian, defined the characteristics that many people associate with Southern writing in his novel ''The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn''. In addition, many famous Southern writers headed to the Northern U.S. as soon as they were old enough to make it on their own. So while geography is a factor, the geographical birth of the author is not ''the'' defining factor in Southern writing. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「southern literature」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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