Characteristics of Southern Literature

Strong sense of tradition. After the loss of the “genteel” Southern life (that was only genteel if you had lots of money), some literature glorified the traditions of chivalry and Southern honor and elevation of women’s innocence, etc. The tradition might have included an old, big house, one that had been lived in by several generations of an important family in the town, for example.
Strong sense of the past. Sometimes the characters hold to the ideas of the past; sometimes they feel the need to believe that their fathers and grandfathers were war heroes, for example.
Importance of family and community. The family is a huge presence in Southern literature, whether the Satorises in Faulkner or the sisters in Crimes of the Heart. Often the family members have to come to terms with each other as part of the plot; sometimes these connections are important way after the siblings grow up and go their separate ways. It is hard for most Southerners, even now, to understand how a brother could move away and never be heard of again.
Importance of place (setting) in a physical sense. These stories might not happen in another setting, in fact. Sense of Place, a term that Welty often used to describe this phenomenon, centered the characters and the action both; consider, for example, “The Petrified Man.” It HAS to be in a beauty shop, in a small town, in a time when people were fascinated with and unashamed to attend a “freak show.” And it takes a Southerner, bless her heart, to discuss the “two twins in a bottle.”
Emphasis on concrete imagery. Southern literature is usually quite descriptive, and the best writers use very strong imagery (like the metal and tin images to describe Abner Snopes) as one of the important tools of creating the story in all its power.
Sometimes the use of Southern gothic (decayed surroundings, bizarre behavior, insanity). Faulkner is full of these gothic elements, not just as an aspect of the setting, but also as a way of underscoring this theme of the past overshadowing the present (Miss Emily).
Sometimes the use of grotesque humor (humor that derives from cruelty or injury). Welty’s stories abound with this humor, as do those of Flannery O’Connor. We should not be laughing about the Bible salesman stealing Hulga’s wooden leg, but it is hard not to.
Use of religious imagery and backdrop of Christian church in the setting of many of the stories. Moreover, concerns with sins, redemption, and salvation often occur, one example being nearly everything that Flannery O’Connor wrote.