The "clientele" of the store that Sutpen opens after returning from the Civil War in Absalom, Absalom! includes blacks and whites from the area (147). Shreve McCannon uses the derogatory term "white trash" to describe the white patrons, though his use of the term also indicates that it is one he wasn't familiar with as a Canadian: "what is it? the word? white what? - Yes, trash" (147).
The "clientele" of the "little crossroads store" that Thomas Sutpen opens after the Civil War includes, according to Shreve McCannon, "freed" Negroes who live in the area (147).
The "clientele" of the "little crossroads store" that Thomas Sutpen opens after the Civil War includes, according to Shreve McCannon, "freed niggers" who live in the area (147). Shreve uses the adjective "freed" because the historical context is the immediate aftermath of the Civil War and Emancipation. He uses that derogatory noun to describe these former slaves because Negroes are considered inferior - though it's interesting to note that in this same passage Shreve reveals how, as a Canadian, he is with the equally derogatory term "white trash" (147).
