Memphis: Airport (Location Key)

The Memphis Municipal Airport began operating in the summer, 1929. It is where, in "Uncle Willy," Willy Christian's black servant Secretary learns to fly as part of Willy's plan to escape from the constraints of Yoknapatawpha. At the time of that story (around 1933) it is so new that the story's narrator has to ask "What? What is it?" when he sees a sign for "Airport" (240). It is also where, in The Mansion, Gavin Stevens meets Linda Snopes Kohl on her return from Europe. Given Faulkner's love of flying, it is perhaps surprising that neither text says much about the airport itself, though the novel does mention "the restaurant" inside the terminal (215).