Thanks for your reply. I wasn't thinking of a particular novel when I constructed the collage, but lots of different stories and ideas were running through my head at the time. I guess from Frederick Douglass to Faulkner to Zora Neal Hearston to Margaret Mitchell and a thousand more, I have an image in my mind of how the Old South has been represented in literature. I am mostly thinking of the rural South and its legacies.

I wanted to explore the problems from the Old South as compared to what the American South faces today. I see two huge looming problems that will become forces to be reckoned with in the years to come- and the two certainly have a great deal of overlap. The first is poverty in the rural south. Certain remote areas (in Mississippi, Alabama, GA, etc) continue to remain disconnected with the rest of our increasingly technologically connected society. The implications of this disconnect will be drastic in the future as children of the next generation do not have access to strong systems of education and healthcare and are not presented with exciting opportunities.

The second issue is related to immigration and stereotypes. The number of immigrants, illegal and otherwise, continues to climb and change the dynamic of our society. Until the government decides to provide sufficient resources for this increasing population and people end their stereotyping of immigrants, our society will continue to polarize and judge in ignorance.

Perhaps the greatest problem results from the collision between these two issues-- that is, immigrants moving to very rural areas in the South. They live in remote areas and are unable to learn the language and navigate the systems of our government. I know this is an ever-growing problem in certain areas of the South. I think that's why I decided to include the American flag in the collage-- to keep in mind that there are many people new to America still trying to figure out its meaning.

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