The Problem of "Plantaloon in Black" in "Go Down Moses"

Abstract

The Problem of “Pantaloon in Black” in Go Down, Moses Critics who argue that Go Down, Moses is simply a collection of short stories and not a unified novel often point to Faulkner’s narrative digression in “Pantaloon in Black” as evidence. This essay argues to the contrary: that “Pantaloon in Black” is in fact the most essential piece of Go Down, Moses. In order to demonstrate this I take Faulkner’s construction of racial blackness in the novel, his dynamic interplay between comedy and tragedy, and his use of dueling and gambling as motif so as to show that “Pantaloon in Black” is in harmony with the whole of Go Down, Moses in compelling and sophisticated ways.