The earliest reference to "That Evening Sun" is October 1930. Consequently, discussions of its origin frequently assume a 1930 composition date. It is possible, however, that Faulkner wrote this story and "A Justice" nearer to the time he began The Sound and the Fury —in the first half of 1928, possibly even before he began the novel. David Minter observes that although the evidence for this conclusion is circumstantial, it is compelling.

Many arguments placing "That Evening Sun" before The Sound and the Fury in chronological order focus on the characterizations of the children. Although Blotner does not claim proof of a prenovel date for the story, he does say that "That Evening Sun" "is the kind of story of the experiences of the Compson children which WF [William Faulkner] said S & F [ The Sound and the Fury ] developed from." In "That Evening Sun," Quentin lives to be older...