The Representation of Violence in Tom Franklin’s Poachers

Tom Franklin's novella Poachers deals with the themes of violence, poverty, and loneliness, which are the basic elements of Southern Gothic literature. The work is a complex narrative of violence that takes place in the American South and focuses on the darker aspects of human nature. The story of the main characters, Kirxy and the Gates brothers, reveals the physical and psychological effects of violence. Franklin draws the reader into the violent world of the characters by intertwining nature descriptions with violence. Regional elements of Southern culture and social exclusion reinforce the characters' tendency towards violence. In addition, personal reasons such as war traumas are among the reasons for the characters' violence. Poachers reveals the human tendency towards evil and deeply examines the individual and social dimensions of violence. The purpose of this article is to exhibit Franklin's representation of violence in Poachers and analyze its effects on the characters.