Intruder In The Dust

Consider the novel’s use of stream of consciousness, close-reading one passage that makes use of the device. What is the passage trying to communicate, and how does stream of consciousness help communicate it?

Examine Gavin as a representative of the law. Does he believe the law can deliver justice for Lucas? Why or why not?

Gavin locates hope for The Future of the American South in Charles’s generation, but young people are not the only ones who challenge the racist status quo. Consider Miss Habersham’s character. How is she different from the mob? How does she fight against them?

William Faulkner has received praise but also considerable criticism for his literary treatment of racism, enslavement, and segregation. Research and report on some of these criticisms. Having read Intruder in the Dust, do you agree or disagree with his critics? Why or why not?

Consider the theme of Debt and Pride, comparing and contrasting Charles’s debt to Lucas and Lucas’s debt to Gavin. How do these debts illuminate race relations in the novel? Why are Charles and Lucas so eager to repay their debts? Are their reasons the same or different?

How does the novel use graves as symbols to advance the theme of Race and Justice? What do graves say about the nature of justice and truth and the relationship between the two?

How does the legacy of enslavement continue to manifest itself in the mid-20th century setting of the novel?

What is the role of the mob in the novel? How do they conceive of justice? What do their actions suggest about the nature of racism and people’s capacity to change?