Reflections of the Civil War in Southern Humor

Nonfiction, History, Americas, United States, Civil War Period (1850-1877)
Cover of the book Reflections of the Civil War in Southern Humor by Wade Hall, NewSouth Books
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Wade Hall ISBN: 9781603060868
Publisher: NewSouth Books Publication: August 1, 2015
Imprint: NewSouth Books Language: English
Author: Wade Hall
ISBN: 9781603060868
Publisher: NewSouth Books
Publication: August 1, 2015
Imprint: NewSouth Books
Language: English

As one of the organic forms of literature, humor has always responded to and reflected the needs of the people at a given time, and the Civil War and its aftermath were days of the South's greatest need. Historians have suggested many reasons for the South's fearless stand against "overwhelming numbers and resources," to use General Lee's words. In this short study, author and historian Wade Hall adds one reason to the list: the humor of the Southerner -- as soldier and civilian -- during the war and the bleak days that followed it. The South arose from the ashes of humiliation and defeat smiling -- though sometimes through tears. The Southerner's sense of humor helped him to fight a war he believed honorable and to accept the bitter defeat which ended it. Without the escape valve of humor, many a "rebel" would have succumbed to despair. The Southerner could smile wistfully as he looked back on a proud past and hopefully as he looked forward to an uncertain future. He smiled because he read humorists like Bill Arp, who once wrote somewhat serio-comically that the South was "conquered but not convinced." In this study, Hall has attempted to represent all the types of humor written in the South between the beginning of the Civil War and the beginning of World War I, specifically 1861 and 1914, including war memoirs, novels, plays, short stories, poetry, and songs. After a survey of humor written during the war, Hall discusses the soldier, the Negro, the poor white, and the "folks at home" in wartime, as they are reflected in the postwar humor.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

As one of the organic forms of literature, humor has always responded to and reflected the needs of the people at a given time, and the Civil War and its aftermath were days of the South's greatest need. Historians have suggested many reasons for the South's fearless stand against "overwhelming numbers and resources," to use General Lee's words. In this short study, author and historian Wade Hall adds one reason to the list: the humor of the Southerner -- as soldier and civilian -- during the war and the bleak days that followed it. The South arose from the ashes of humiliation and defeat smiling -- though sometimes through tears. The Southerner's sense of humor helped him to fight a war he believed honorable and to accept the bitter defeat which ended it. Without the escape valve of humor, many a "rebel" would have succumbed to despair. The Southerner could smile wistfully as he looked back on a proud past and hopefully as he looked forward to an uncertain future. He smiled because he read humorists like Bill Arp, who once wrote somewhat serio-comically that the South was "conquered but not convinced." In this study, Hall has attempted to represent all the types of humor written in the South between the beginning of the Civil War and the beginning of World War I, specifically 1861 and 1914, including war memoirs, novels, plays, short stories, poetry, and songs. After a survey of humor written during the war, Hall discusses the soldier, the Negro, the poor white, and the "folks at home" in wartime, as they are reflected in the postwar humor.

More books from NewSouth Books

Cover of the book The Salvation of Miss Lucretia by Wade Hall
Cover of the book Row Away from the Rocks by Wade Hall
Cover of the book Looking for the Future by Wade Hall
Cover of the book American Happiness by Wade Hall
Cover of the book The Last Queen of the Gypsies by Wade Hall
Cover of the book In the Land of Cotton by Wade Hall
Cover of the book A Yellow Watermelon by Wade Hall
Cover of the book Stealth Reconstruction by Wade Hall
Cover of the book Grievances by Wade Hall
Cover of the book Better Than Them by Wade Hall
Cover of the book Why Public Schools? Whose Public Schools? by Wade Hall
Cover of the book The Wrong Side of Murder Creek by Wade Hall
Cover of the book Requiem for a Flower Child by Wade Hall
Cover of the book Fugitive Days by Wade Hall
Cover of the book The South's New Racial Politics by Wade Hall
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy