recognizing this responsibility fifteen years later. He can be trusted to get the facts correct, but the author leaves it to his audience to appreciate their significance.

New Kinds of Narration
‘‘That Evening Sun’’ exemplifies the innovative narrative techniques that authors like Faulkner introduced. While it is relatively conventional compared to some of Faulkner's other works—such as parts of The Sound and the Fury, which are narrated by a boy with mental disabilities who lacks a sense of time—the story employs a narrator whose voice and perspective shift throughout. Quentin Compson, the story's narrator, begins the narrative as an adult man (presumably twenty-four years old) but gradually reverts to his identity as the nine-year-old boy within the story. His sentences shorten, his vocabulary becomes simpler, and his insights grow less sophisticated. The narrative explores both Quentin's evolving comprehension of the adult world and Nancy's fears, presenting a man who mentally transports himself back to his childhood fifteen years prior. This approach allows readers to better understand Quentin's seemingly indifferent reactions to the events described, as opposed to having a narrator external to Quentin's experiences.

Jim Crow
Following the Civil War, Northern politicians and anti-slavery advocates aimed to transform the South through Reconstruction. Over more than a decade, the Federal government enacted laws and Constitutional amendments to grant African Americans in the South full citizenship rights. Numerous black lawmakers were elected from Southern districts. (Later, white Southerners sought to discredit Reconstruction by mocking these black lawmakers, and even today, some American schools teach that Reconstruction overreached and that competent black lawmakers in the 1870s were implausible.) However, after Reconstruction ended in 1877, all federal government branches, in cooperation with Southern states, worked to reverse the advancements African Americans had made.

Despite the Constitution guaranteeing their right to vote and receive fair trials post-Reconstruction, black Southerners soon faced an alternate system of legal control: Jim Crow. ‘‘Jim Crow’’ referred to the laws, customs, and ideologies that maintained African American oppression in the South after Reconstruction. This system involved literacy tests for voting, tolerance of lynching, restricted access to public facilities for African Americans, and the widespread activities of the Ku Klux Klan. Jim Crow laws remained in place well into the 1960s until the civil rights movement began to make significant progress in the South. Yet, even in the twenty-first century, remnants of semi-official racism persisted in various parts of the South.

Point of View and Narration
Quentin Compson, one of Faulkner's most unforgettable characters, narrates the story. In the narrative, Quentin is a nine-year-old boy, but as the storyteller, he is twenty-four. Faulkner allows Quentin to narrate in both voices: the story starts with the voice of the adult Quentin but soon shifts to the voice of the younger Quentin. It can be challenging to discern when the narrator reverts to his younger self, as much of the story is conveyed through dialogue. However, the sentences in the first part of the story are lengthy and filled with adjectives and conjunctions. By Part II, the sentences become short, declarative, and often jump around conceptually, reflecting the thoughts of a young boy.

Later in the story, the narrative begins to shift back, with the older Quentin reflecting on the story's significance to his maturation process. In the sixth section, the voice becomes more intricate and almost lyrical: ‘‘I couldn't see much where the moonlight and the shadows tangled,’’ Quentin says at one point, and he also speaks of "the sound that was not singing and not unsinging." His reluctance to confront the gravity of the situation indicates his greater maturity. As an adult narrator, Quentin understands that readers will grasp the importance of Nancy's fear, whereas a younger narrator might feel the need to explain it explicitly. Quentin's silence on why this story holds such significance for him paradoxically highlights his maturity.

Irony
Faulkner employs irony in various ways throughout the story. One of the most striking uses of irony is the name of Nancy's tormentor, Jesus. In the version of the story published in the magazine The American Mercury in March 1931, Faulkner named this character "Jubah," but reverted to the original name when the story was included in the collection These 13. "Jesus" refers to the Christian savior, but ironically, the Jesus in the story poses a threat to Nancy. Faulkner amplifies the irony when the children hear Nancy moaning the name to herself: '''Jesus,' Nancy said. Like this: Jeeeeeeeeeesus, until the sound went out, like a match or a candle does.’’ Although the children are too young to understand, Nancy has ‘‘committed a sin’’ against Jesus by being pregnant with another man's child. Instead of forgiving her, this Jesus might be seeking revenge. Some critics suggest that Nancy is a prostitute, further linking this Jesus to the Christian Jesus, who also associated with prostitutes.

The title carries a layer of irony. The phrase "That Evening Sun"—or, as it appeared in the American Mercury version, "That Evening Sun Go Down"—is borrowed from the opening line of the well-known song "St. Louis Blues" by W. C. Handy. In the song, the singer dreads the approaching night because it reminds her of her absent lover. In Faulkner's story, the darkness similarly reminds Nancy of someone, but rather than missing him, she fears he is lurking, intent on killing her.

Setting
"That Evening Sun'' is set in Faulkner's well-known fictional town of Jefferson, located in his imaginary Yoknapatawpha County, around the turn of the century—some critics pinpoint it to 1898 or 1899. William Faulkner hailed from Oxford, in northern Mississippi, and in much of his renowned fiction, he creates a detailed fictional counterpart to his hometown. Oxford is transformed into "Jefferson," and through his works, Faulkner charts the town's and county's history from the era of Native Americans to the 1950s. Families like the Compsons and black residents such as Dilsey reappear throughout his stories. Jefferson is a small Southern town, dominated by a few prominent families and still grappling with the aftermath of slavery and the Civil War. Few authors have depicted Southern family life with as much affection and humor as Faulkner, yet few have also scrutinized the toxic legacy of slavery as critically. In this narrative, the reader witnesses these elements collide, revealing the dark, menacing side of Jefferson that surfaces after the sun sets.

1898: In the South, black individuals are barred from voting, and white individuals can assault black individuals with minimal fear of repercussions.

1990s: Despite the persistence of some racism, the South now provides more equal opportunities for African Americans than in the past. Cities like Memphis, Atlanta, and Dallas have black mayors, and African Americans represent numerous Southern districts in Congress.

1896: In Plessy v. Ferguson, the United States Supreme Court officially endorses racial segregation, declaring that "separate but equal" public facilities are Constitutional.

1990s: President Clinton emphasizes that racial harmony and understanding should be the nation's top priority, and establishes a commission to explore ways the government can foster a more diverse society.

1898: As the United States is still recovering from its civil war, it is on the verge of emerging as an imperialist power by declaring war on Spain. The Spanish-American War will grant the United States its first colonies outside the Western Hemisphere, including Guam and the Philippines.

1999: Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States stands as the world's most influential power. In conflicts such as those in Iraq, Yugoslavia, and Haiti, the United States leads the global military forces.

1931: When Faulkner writes his story, America is grappling with the impacts of the Great Depression. President Herbert Hoover is held responsible for widespread poverty, unemployment, and suffering.

1999: The American economy is stronger than ever, experiencing the largest peacetime expansion in history.

Sources
Brooks, Cleanth, William Faulkner: The Yoknapatawpha Country, Yale University Press, 1963.

Cantwell, Robert, Review in New Republic, October 21, 1931, p. 271.

Carothers, James B., "Faulkner's Short Story Writing and the Oldest Profession," in Faulkner and the Short Story, edited by Evans Harrington and Ann J. Abadie, University Press of Mississippi, 1992.

Ferguson, James, Faulkner's Short Fiction, University of Tennessee Press, 1991.

McDonald, Edward, Review of These 13, in the Philadelphia Record, October 4, 1931, p. 14-B.

Peden, William, Review of Collected Stories, in Saturday Review of Literature, August 26, 1950, p. 12.

Review of These 13, in Time, August 28, 1950, p. 79.

Skei, Hans H., William Faulkner: The Novelist as Short Story Writer, Universitetsforlaget, 1985.

Trilling, Lionel, Review in The Nation, November 4, 1931, pp. 491-92.

Further Reading
Cash, W. J., and Bertram Wyatt-Brown, eds., The Mind of the South, Vintage Books, 1991.
This acclaimed nonfiction book, originally published in 1941, has been celebrated as a groundbreaking work. It explores the Southern class system and its enduring legacies of racism, religiosity, and culture.

Inge, M. Thomas, ed., Conversations with William Faulkner, University of Mississippi Press, 1999.
This compilation of interviews spans from Faulkner's early writing years in 1916 to the early 1960s when he was working on his final novel. These conversations provide a detailed portrait of Faulkner's daily life and home, and they also address the many myths he both encountered and helped create.

Kartiganer, Donald, and Ann J. Abadie, eds., Faulkner at 100: Retrospect and Prospect, University of Mississippi Press, 2000.
This collection features presentations by literary scholars from the 1997 Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha Conference in Oakland, Mississippi. Although each speech is brief (approximately twenty minutes), they collectively cover a wide range of topics related to Faulkner's works.

Minter, David L., William Faulkner: His Life and Work, John Hopkins University Press, 1997.
Minter's book utilizes both published and unpublished interviews with Faulkner, along with his letters and writings, to reveal the many intriguing aspects of Faulkner's personality.

Williamson, Joel, William Faulkner and Southern History, Oxford University Press, 1995.
Williamson's book serves as both a biography of William Faulkner and an exploration of his fictional worlds. It offers a detailed examination of Faulkner's history and, through the depiction of him and his ancestors, provides a captivating insight into Southern culture.