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That Evening Sun | Introduction

William Faulkner's story “That Evening Sun” is the story of three children's reactions to an adult world that they do not fully understand. It is a dark portrait of white Southerners' indifference to the crippling fears of one of their black employees. It is also an exploration of terror, vengeance, and solitude. In the story, the African-American washerwoman, Nancy, fears that her common-law husband Jesus is seeking to murder her because she is pregnant with a white man's child. Published in 1931 in Faulkner's short-story collection These 13—the book that also includes Faulkner's most anthologized story, ‘‘A Rose For Emily’’—‘‘That Evening Sun’’ has become one of Faulkner's best-known and most popular stories.

That Evening Sun Summary

‘‘That Evening Sun’’ opens as a reminiscence: the narrator, whose identity is unknown at first, reports that in Jefferson, "the streets are paved now, and the telephone and electric companies are cutting down more and more of the shade trees.’’ The time is approximately the turn of the century. The narrator first introduces Nancy, a washerwoman who takes in laundry from white people around Jefferson. The narrator then mentions Jesus suggests—but does not say—that he is Nancy's husband, and notes that ‘‘father told him to stay away from our house.’’

The story then shifts its focus to Nancy. The narrator tells of how he and his siblings would throw stones at Nancy's house to get her to make breakfast for them and tells the story of how Mr. Stovall refused to pay Nancy and beat her in the street. While in jail for this incident, Nancy attempts suicide by hanging but is cut down the by jailer and beaten again. The story... » Complete That Evening Sun Summary