The South

Styron's novel is set in Virginia in the 1940s. All throughout the narrative are references to the Confederacy and a way of life which ended with the American Civil War. LIE DOWN IN DARKNESS paints the South as a place of which its inhabitants are fiercely proud and yet somewhat humbled by the knowledge that times are changing. Relationships between blacks and whites in the novel very closely resemble the relationships between masters and slaves. The only difference is that in 1943, blacks are paid wages for attending to the needs of their white employers. There is also, however, a sense of stability within the black characters which does not seem to exist in the whites in the story. Ella Swan, La Ruth, and the others who go to watch the "immersion" are aware of their status as a community; a cohesive group. On the other hand, Loftis...