The Ghost Haunting American South

Jesmyn Ward(1977-)is an American novelist and has won the National Book Award for Fiction twice.All set in the fictional town Bois Sauvage of the Mississippi Gulf Coast based on her own community in DeLisle,her three novels is much recognized for depicting racism,poverty,violence,and trauma that haunt the American South.Sing,Unburied,Sing(2017)is her latest and riskiest work;with the application of supernatural elements,it weaves past,present and future together,and explores how to deal with the legacy of slavery and economic inequality in contemporary America.The novel,consisting of 15 chapters,is alternately narrated by three characters,teenage black boy Jojo,his mother Leonie,and a ghost named Richie.Revolving around their haunted road trip to Parchman prison,which is characterized with gothic gloom,the author presents her contemplation of the history and legacy of slavery in Southern life.Since the 19 th century,Southern Gothic as a literary genre arises from its often violent and traumatic history.Ghosts,as an important feature of Southern Gothic,are wandering on the wild and desolate landscape,such as the decay of slaveholding plantation where Parchman prison stands,and Jojo's grandparents' house built in the rural South.The characters are endowed with supernatural powers,for instance,Jojo can see and talk to ghosts,and can understand the thoughts of animals;his little sister Kayla has the power to comfort the agonized ghosts with her songs;grandma has healing powers,psychic foresight and is able to communicate with the dead.Sing also deals with some other common themes in Southern Gothic literature,including mentally disturbed people,and grotesque rituals or superstitions.With the inclusiveness of Gothic literature and her ingenious use of metaphor,the author combines the genre with Southern experience,and gives the picture of a benighted South from which the nation,as a whole,wishes to dissociate itself.Therefore,this thesis will place the novel within historical and social context,and study its Southern Gothic features from the perspective of characters(including the ghosts),settings,plots and narrations.Chapter One provides the general information ofJesmyn Ward and literary reviews of her works at home and abroad.Chapter Two elaborates on the definition and features of Southern Gothic literature,with an emphasis on the issue of race.Chapter Three and Four offer detailed analysis on the Southern Gothic features in Sing,and their values in revealing the themes.Chapter Five comes to a conclusion of the role that Southern Gothic plays in depicting Southern life and culture.