In Bildungsromans, the protagonist often goes through some formative journey and learns to conform to the society in which they are raised. In the Bildungsromans of the post-Civil War American South, however, the protagonist may not only have to deal with their own “coming of age” but also that of a new society fundamentally revolutionized by emancipation and Southern defeat. Two short stories The Ethics of Living Jim Crow by Richard Wright and That Evening Sun by William Faulkner portray the experiences of children both white and black coming of age under the rule of Jim Crow. Both stories show that the culture of racism and white supremacy in the South from a young age inculcates within children their racial “expectations” and the dire consequences of not meeting them.

In The Ethics of Living Jim Crow, Richard Wright details the key autobiographical experiences in his “Jim Crow education” or upbringing as a black person in the 1930s South. 

In the first scene, which Wright describes as his “first lesson in how to live as a Negro,” Wright plays in a train yard throwing cinders at his friends. After a rival group of white children arrives tensions escalate and they begin to throw glass bottles at Wright and his friends. Wright runs home, badly cut, and tells his mother the story and in response, she slaps him saying “(He) was never, never, under any conditions to fight white folks again… (and that) they were absolutely right in clouting (him)... (and that) he ought to be thankful… they didn’t kill (him).” To Wright’s mother, her beating of Wright was probably perceived as kindness. If Wright's mother did not instill in Wright an understanding of the violent power that white people held over black people then he could come to serious harm overstepping an arbitrary racial boundary. Wright’s mother has learned that despite her love for her son, a beating now could save Wright’s life later. As the biography continues through Wright’s experiences with racial oppression, he begins to adapt a racialized performance to keep himself safe, methodically learning every topic and mannerism that would appease white audiences. However, Wright still retains that “Ef it wasn’t fer them polices ‘n’ them ol’lynch mobs, there wouldn’t be nothin’ but up uproar down here.” The threat of racial violence, both judicial and extra-judicial, was the tool used to ensure black people would remain in the cycle of racial theatre, however, the dissent of the oppressed still remained simmering under the surface.

In the short story That Evening Sun by William Faulkner, Faulkner portrays the white Compson children’s persuasion into the racist amorality of the adult world around them. Through the callousness of their parents and the amorality of their environment, the Compson children begin to mirror the racism of the Jim Crow South, While The Ethics Of Living Jim Crow is told from an adult's perspective reflecting on their childhood experiences, That Evening Sun is taken from the experiences of a child entering an adult world they do not understand and is narrated as such. This modernist narration creates a story with many dialogue interruptions, nonlinear events, and general narrative fogginess. In one scene, Nancy is telling Dilseys about her fear that Jesus has come back to murder her. Jason ignores this discussion instead of interrupting with “Jesus is a n*****.” Jason said… Dilseys a n***** too… I ain’t a n*****.” Jason is completely unaware of the very serious reality around him which reflects a childish but also very callous perspective. He is already beginning to mirror his mother and father, completely ignoring Nancy’s mortal distress. Jason does not understand the concept of race and tries to figure out his place in the world by defining himself against those he understands as other. Furthermore, by using the racial slur to describe Dilsey and Jesus he begins to equate blackness with inferiority. In the final scene, after Mr. Compson leaves Nancy by the fire crying, he and the children are walking back to the house and Quentin asks “Who will do our washing now, Father?” Quentin is mature enough to understand that Nancy is being left to die yet does not care. Nancy’s value, from his perspective, resides only in her labor for the Compson family and he doesn’t see her as a human being. This portrayal of Quentin’s adaptation of ultimate callousness adds to Faulkner’s description of the amorality of Southern society. There are many references to Jesus’s absence in the story; These references refer both to the in-book character but also to the religious figure. To Faulkner, this town is so callous, segregated, and fallen that it may be beyond the light of God.

Faulker and Wright choose to narrate their stories from seemingly opposite perspectives but both stories share many insights into maturing into racial expectations. Through fear, both of the other and the oppressor, children were taught to conform, however, this system was far from foolproof, and the tensions that simmered underneath often burst to the forefront.