Participation Type
Paper
Session Title
Session 6.08 Literature and Poetry
Presentation #1 Title
Justified: Elmore Leonard's Intersection between Appalachian Good and Evil
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
America is currently fascinated with the hollers of Harlan County. Elmore Leonard’s short story “Fire in the Hole” inspired the widely popular Justified, an American televised drama series. The success of the television series, in turn, inspired the recently deceased Leonard to write his last novel, Raylan, based on the television series’ protagonist, deputy United States Marshall, Raylan Givens. My paper will focus on the connections between Appalachian literature and pop-culture’s current interest in working class, everyday folks who love and hate, play and work, tread a thin line between right and wrong. Within the pages of Leonard’s manuscripts, the Appalachian spirit emerges in the hard-working, determined people of Harlan County. Between the two protagonists, Boyd Crowder and Raylan Givens, exists a poignant intersection between this good and evil balancing rope—the fine line between law and crime. Brought up together in Harlan County, the boys chose different pathways; Givens followed a career in law enforcement while Crowder chose a life of crime. Though they are often at odds due to their vastly different approaches to finding meaning within their corners of the mountains, they are strangely alike. Both Mountain men, Givens and Crowder push against the encroaching influences that threaten to interrupt and destroy the Appalachian life they cherish. Both men also find a way to cling to their heritage and work within the parameters allowed to them in a manner that places Appalachian life in a satisfying light.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Virginia Payne Dow is currently a Ph.D. student at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She finished her doctoral course work in Literature and Criticism this past summer and is currently working on her dissertation. Dow teaches full-time at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia.
Justified: Elmore Leonard's Intersection between Appalachian Good and Evil
Harris Hall 130
America is currently fascinated with the hollers of Harlan County. Elmore Leonard’s short story “Fire in the Hole” inspired the widely popular Justified, an American televised drama series. The success of the television series, in turn, inspired the recently deceased Leonard to write his last novel, Raylan, based on the television series’ protagonist, deputy United States Marshall, Raylan Givens. My paper will focus on the connections between Appalachian literature and pop-culture’s current interest in working class, everyday folks who love and hate, play and work, tread a thin line between right and wrong. Within the pages of Leonard’s manuscripts, the Appalachian spirit emerges in the hard-working, determined people of Harlan County. Between the two protagonists, Boyd Crowder and Raylan Givens, exists a poignant intersection between this good and evil balancing rope—the fine line between law and crime. Brought up together in Harlan County, the boys chose different pathways; Givens followed a career in law enforcement while Crowder chose a life of crime. Though they are often at odds due to their vastly different approaches to finding meaning within their corners of the mountains, they are strangely alike. Both Mountain men, Givens and Crowder push against the encroaching influences that threaten to interrupt and destroy the Appalachian life they cherish. Both men also find a way to cling to their heritage and work within the parameters allowed to them in a manner that places Appalachian life in a satisfying light.
