Illinois in "Go Down, Moses" (Location)

Location Key: 
Display Label: 
Illinois Penitentiary
Map Icon: 
OutOfYoknapatawpha
Authority : 
Text (when unambiguous)
Other Texts Location Appears In: 
X: 
2381
Y: 
883
Description: 

The opening scene of "Go Down, Moses" takes place in a cell in the Illinois state penitentiary in Joliet. The cell is is described as a "steel crucible," with a "steel cot," a "steel stool," and a "steel door" (256, 257). An armed guard stands outside of it. Later in the story, Gavin Stevens calls the warden of this penitentiary. While there is a famous prison in Joliet, Faulkner probably was thinking of the nearby Stateville Penitentiary, which was the site of executions by electric chair from 1928 onward.

Role: 
Site of Event
Status: 
Continuous
Types: 
Jail

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