Men beset by ego and pride are prone to the “sound and fury” of rageful impotence, violently oriented toward themselves and to others. Nowhere in America were men more beset by ego and pride than in the Deep South, with its stated ethos of heritage, honor, politeness, and purity — all, of course, a veneer over the abiding, pervasive racism, misogyny, and violence embedded in the culture.

Book Review: The Sound and the Fury