# Stories about class conflicts between white Southerners where poor whites are not the villains **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 19, 2018, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-about-class-conflicts-between-white-southerners-where-poor-whites-are-not-the-villains/809137 "2018-02-19T19:00:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Grumbacher\_Red](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85e7bf/32.png) [@Grumbacher\_Red](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumbacher_Red)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2018, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-about-class-conflicts-between-white-southerners-where-poor-whites-are-not-the-villains/809137/41 "2018-02-20T16:13:10Z")
> [@Stana\_Claus](#): > > Not really about class conflicts, but certainly showing an atypical view of a rural southern boy’s life from the 1930’s through WWII - Run With the Horsemen, The Whisper of the River, and When All the World was Young, plus several collections of short stories by [Ferrol Sams](https://www.amazon.com/Ferrol-Sams/e/B000AQ1RFQ). There are lots of interactions between different classes and races that don’t follow the stereotypical patterns, plus they are very enjoyable reads. I highly recommend them to anyone who isn’t familiar with Mr. Sams’ work. These look very promising! Thank you for the suggestions! ---
**Author:** ![Grumbacher\_Red](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85e7bf/32.png) [@Grumbacher\_Red](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumbacher_Red)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2018, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-about-class-conflicts-between-white-southerners-where-poor-whites-are-not-the-villains/809137/42 "2018-02-20T16:22:25Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > So, you want stories about class conflict in the South, but where race isn’t the central theme? I’m not sure where that leaves you. Well evidently that leaves me with a pretty good field of options, as all these wonderful suggestions indicate. I said upthread I realize it is unrealistic to expect that race won’t be an angle at all, just that it doesn’t have to be the centerpiece of the story. That’s the problem with so many people’s perception of the South, that it is ALL of the white people against ALL of the black people ALL of the time, and that just isn’t the case. There are huge class divides among Southern white people, and there’s lots of cases where the black people are allied to one side of that or another. The real stories of the South are about class conflicts among white people with the black people caught in the middle. There are good and bad people found in all these groups, and when you find a story teller who lays it out like that, it is praiseworthy indeed! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2018, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-about-class-conflicts-between-white-southerners-where-poor-whites-are-not-the-villains/809137/43 "2018-02-20T17:05:58Z")
I’m not saying that there aren’t other class struggles in the South. I’m saying that the biggest one is race, and any accurate portrayal can’t just ignore that. ---
**Author:** ![jkirkman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ac8455/32.png) [@jkirkman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jkirkman)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2018, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-about-class-conflicts-between-white-southerners-where-poor-whites-are-not-the-villains/809137/44 "2018-02-21T01:52:29Z")
> [@Grumbacher\_Red](#): > > Yeah, I have some contempt for Erskine Caldwell. I think I may go back and look Tobacco Road over again just to be sure I still hate it. I remember being really put off by this scene where a young girl just walks around the side of the house in the yard masturbating. :dubious: Oh, I don’t know. It wouldn’t surprise me much to see that when I am in the Tobacco Road Walmart every week or so… ---
**Author:** ![CurrlyD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@CurrlyD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurrlyD)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-about-class-conflicts-between-white-southerners-where-poor-whites-are-not-the-villains/809137/45 "2018-02-22T05:59:07Z")
> [@Stana\_Claus](#): > > Not really about class conflicts, but certainly showing an atypical view of a rural southern boy’s life from the 1930’s through WWII - Run With the Horsemen, The Whisper of the River, and When All the World was Young, plus several collections of short stories by [Ferrol Sams](https://www.amazon.com/Ferrol-Sams/e/B000AQ1RFQ). There are lots of interactions between different classes and races that don’t follow the stereotypical patterns, plus they are very enjoyable reads. I highly recommend them to anyone who isn’t familiar with Mr. Sams’ work. I couldn’t agree more! Mr. Sams grew up a cracker, like us, and his writing is wonderful. S. Claus nailed it. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-about-class-conflicts-between-white-southerners-where-poor-whites-are-not-the-villains/809137/46 "2018-02-22T16:20:15Z")
I’ve never read I Am a Fugitive from a Georgia Chain Gang! but I’ve seen [the HBO version](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_Who_Broke_1,000_Chains). Should be what you’re after. ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2018, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-about-class-conflicts-between-white-southerners-where-poor-whites-are-not-the-villains/809137/47 "2018-02-23T17:21:01Z")
Oh why not? _Prince of Tides_, by Pat Conroy. The father and Callanwolde are monsters, but they’re flat figures. They don’t seem to be aware of their evil as much as they seem trapped on the only path that they know. The only real villains, who deliberately choose to gain at the expense of others, are Reese Newbury and Lila, who starts poor but is rich by the end of the story. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-about-class-conflicts-between-white-southerners-where-poor-whites-are-not-the-villains/809137.md?page=2)