Final answer:
Southern Gothic literature, which includes works like "As I Lay Dying" and "A Streetcar Named Desire," lacks traditional heroes due to its focus on flawed characters and moral ambiguity, reflecting the South's complex history and social issues. Therefore, the South's anti-heroic literary tradition is the reason for the absence of heroes in such literature.
Step-by-step explanation:
The absence of a traditional hero in Southern Gothic literature such as "As I Lay Dying" and "A Streetcar Named Desire" is primarily due to the distinctive features of the genre, which is known for its focus on the grotesque, the decayed, and the socially rejected aspects of the South. The Southern Gothic genre emerged from a broader context where writers were grappling with the South's complex history, including themes of slavery, racial tensions, and the fallacy of Southern gentility. Writers like William Faulkner and Tennessee Williams, who contributed significantly to the Southern Gothic genre, often eschew the idea of heroes in their narratives in favor of characters who are deeply flawed or who operate within a morally ambiguous universe.
The literature of the Southern Renaissance, where Southern Gothic comes under, is characterized by its subversion of traditional values and its exploration of social norms and character fortitude amidst adversity. The Southern Gothic distinctly moves away from the illustration of virtuous heroes and instead presents characters who are emblematic of the region's own struggles with identity and social change. Thus, choice (b) 'Because the South is known for its anti-heroic literary tradition,' best explains the lack of traditional heroes in Southern Gothic works like Faulkner's and Williams's.