Research Writing Assignment on William Faulkner Essay Example

Franklin with a collection of his poems titled "Vision in Spring," Faulkner traveled to New York City, where he stayed with Stark Young and worked at Elizabeth Prall's bookstore.

Despite failing as a postmaster, Faulkner focused on his passion for reading and writing, continuing to publish in the Mississippian and appearing in the Double Dealer in June 1922. Stone helped him publish his first book of poems, The Marble Faun, with Four Seas Company and Faulkner agreed to pay $400 for production costs. He was in New Orleans with Spratling when his first novel, Soldiers' Pay, was published on February 25, 1926. The novel received positive reviews and encouraged Faulkner to write his third novel, Mosquitoes, which was completed in September 1926 and heavily drew on his New Orleans experiences with Anderson and his circle of friends. During this time, Faulkner also wrote two works specifically for Helen Baird: Mayday and Helen: A Courtship. In June 1929, he married Estelle two months after her divorce was final and spent his honeymoon correcting proofs for The Sound and the Fury.In 1934, he achieved two significant personal goals: penning his first exceptional novel and tying the knot with his long-time love, Estelle. Despite authoring many impressive novels, their marriage failed to match the triumph of his career. During the same year, he worked on multiple tales about Bayard Sartoris for the Saturday Evening Post.

Upon his return to Oxford in September of 1934, he set Absalom to the side and commenced work on Pylon. In the first portion of 1937, whilst remaining in Hollywood after a few brief visits home, he modified his Bayard Sartoris tales and wrote a

lengthy, final story for The Unvanquished novel, which was released at the beginning of 1938. By this point, he had initiated The Wild Palms and suffered a severe burn on his back during a trip to New York. After selling The Unvanquished to Hollywood, he purchased a farm near Oxford, allowing Faulkner the novelist to also be Faulkner the farmer. He concluded The Wild Palms in June of 1938.

During his travels in Europe, he embarked on a romantic relationship with Jean Stein and continued his work on the Snopes trilogy, later publishing the first volume as The Hamlet. In May 1962, Faulkner received the Gold Medal for Fiction from the National Institute of Arts and Letters in New York. However, while back in Oxford in June, he experienced a riding accident.

As he considered buying an estate in Charlottesville, he found comfort at Rowan Oak. Sadly, on July 5th, excessive drinking led to his hospitalization and the next day, which was also the late Colonel's birthday, he suffered a fatal heart attack. On July 7th, 1962, he was buried at St. Peter's cemetery in Oxford.

"Race at Morning," one of Faulkner's later stories, delves into various significant themes. The story revolves around Mister Ernest, who advises a young boy to go to school instead of working with him on the farm and hunting. Although charmed by Mister Ernest's lifestyle, the boy is informed that simply farming and hunting are no longer sufficient. During their talk, Mister Ernest mentions how in earlier times a man could rely mostly on farming for the year and hunt during the remaining period but emphasizes how things have shifted now.

According

to Bradford (54), merely being part of the farming or hunting industries is no longer sufficient. It is crucial to also be part of the business of humanity. To achieve this, a boy must attend school and not only learn how to distinguish right from wrong but also comprehend the reasons behind his actions. The boy must acknowledge that "maybe" is perhaps the greatest word in the English language because it signifies the uncertainty inherent in humanity, which drives us forward (Bradford 54).

According to Mister Ernest, the toughest trial for individuals is to confront the decision-making process and take responsibility for the resulting consequences. Although opinions differ on the value of Faulkner's literature, most agree that his most exceptional literary works spanned from The Sound and the Fury to Go Down, Moses, encompassing at least five or six truly great novels. Faulkner initially rejected the idea that humans could overcome their condition, but he later felt compelled to assert their ability to persevere. Throughout his writing career, Faulkner remained steadfast in his commitment and recurrent themes. In his Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech, Faulkner foreshadowed A Fable, Race at Morning, and The Reivers, but also alluded to As I Lay Dying, Absalom, Absalom! , and The Wild Palms.

Faulkner's thematic explorations defy easy categorization as positive or negative, comedic or tragic. Rather, his writing frequently merges these dichotomies into something more uncertain and ambiguous. Like many 20th century writers, he illuminates the struggles and challenges faced by individuals in modern society including feelings of disconnectedness, isolation, and fragmentation. Early on, Faulkner himself experienced a sense of sadness and loss stemming from a perceived lack of values and

belief systems in the world around him - an emotion that is evident in his poetry and prose. In his early writings, characters are often portrayed as half-formed androgynous beings resigned to their existence with weariness or boredom; however, as Faulkner developed as a writer he increasingly depicted young men actively searching for meaning in an otherwise meaningless world.

The individuals in question turn their focus inward, avoiding full immersion in the world they inhabit. Little Sister Death's presence is alarming and welcomed by some. Quentin Compson succumbs to this embrace and commits suicide. Horace Benbow, conversely, returns to Belle Mitchell and a life of despair. Young Bayard Sartoris distances himself from his family and community, leading him to his fatal plane crash. Darl Bundren descends into insanity as he struggles to find meaning in his and his family's journey, unable to cope with time, history, the community, and Original Sin. None of them know how to reconcile with these challenging aspects of life.

According to Honnighausen (69), eating the apple only provided knowledge of good and evil but not the distinction between them. This results in overwhelming forces and influences that Faulkner's characters struggle to integrate into a cohesive whole instead of fragmented parts. Although Faulkner primarily wrote about Yoknapatawpha residents, he viewed Southern individuals as representative of the general human condition (Williamson 99). Although he acknowledged their predicaments, he did not believe that their dilemmas were exclusive to the South.

Contrarily, the author discovered both positives and negatives in his hometown, including common elements that impact everyone. One noteworthy benefit is the sense of community, which can occasionally have a negative impact when driven by animosity,

intolerance, and unwarranted conformity. Nevertheless, in Faulkner's work, it consistently serves as the essential backdrop for people's existence. Though not a saving grace, it can facilitate self-redemption. In Light in August, Joe Christmas is unable to find his place as he doesn't fully comprehend his own identity.

The text discusses individuals who become consumed by their personal obsessions. Similar to Ahab's pursuit of Moby Dick, a man becomes fixated on discovering his inherent identity as either white or black, leading to his ultimate demise. In contrast, Lena Grove and Byron Bunch strive to create a stable family and life within the community, relying on its strengths rather than isolating themselves like Gail Hightower and the aforementioned man.

The strength of a community does not rely on the elite class occupying the top positions of a social hierarchy. Rather, it often stems from the integrity and bond to the land possessed by yeoman farmers, who can empathize with Lena and Byron. This is evident in Intruder in the Dust as the community unites to clear Lucas Beauchamp's name with the help of Gavin Stevens, Aleck Sander, Chick Mallison, Miss Habersham, and even the Gowries. The Snopes trilogy also depicts how Flem obtains wealth and status through the aid of Gavin Stevens, Chick Mallison, and V.K., acquiring a wife, control of the bank, and a mansion as a result.

The downfall of Flem, as chosen by Sarty Snopes in "Barn Burning", is brought upon him by the values of the community presided over by Ratliff. While Sarty chose the community's values over his father's, Flem chose his own ruthless ambition over family. As a result, he faces Mink's bullet

without any attempt at self-preservation. In Faulkner's works, those who isolate themselves from the community forfeit an essential source of strength and foundation. Faulkner also explores themes of history in his writing, such as Gail Hightower's preoccupation with his grandfather's Civil War experiences that hinders him from living in the present. Similarly, Ike McCaslin's reaction to uncovering his family's history in "Go Down, Moses" leads to an ineffective rejection of the land and a vacuous life as a hunter's uncle and not a father to any child.

In the novel Absalom, Absalom!, both Quentin Compson and Shreve McCannon use their imagination to reconstruct the past and understand the downfall of the Sutpens. However, Quentin is unable to fully incorporate the past - whether it is his own in The Sound and the Fury or Sutpen's - and remains frozen in the present with a sense of helplessness. Shreve, on the other hand, views uncovering the truth about the Sutpens as a game, and does not appear to gain any greater understanding by the end of the book. For these characters, time is treated as a linear element that they try to slice away like seconds on a clock.

In Faulkner's works, time past and time future are contained in time present. This is demonstrated by characters such as Temple Drake in Requiem for a Nun, who cannot escape history, and the Reporter in Pylon, who sees that one cannot live successfully without history. The character Bayard Sartoris in The Unvanquished also embodies this idea of learning from the past to live in a viable present. Faulkner emphasizes the importance of adapting to change to avoid it

controlling one's existence (Honnighausen 50). However, Faulkner does not hold millenarian beliefs and acknowledges that man cannot return to Eden. His criticism is not directed solely at villains like Jason Compson, Flem Snopes, and Popeye, but also at ineffectual idealists such as Gavin Stevens, Horace Benbow, and Ike McCaslin.

Undoubtedly, Jason Compson is an utterly contemptible figure devoid of sympathy, mercy, or affection. Faulkner denounces those who cannot love and those who manipulate the love of others. However, in reality and in literature, it is "simple" to criticize such individuals. In The Wild Palms, Faulkner reveals that love can also prove to be ruinous, as seen through Harry Wilbourne's experiences (Faulkner 145). Nevertheless, an impractical mindset and naivety can be as destructive, if not more detrimental.

Despite their sympathy-inducing nature, Stevens, Benbow, and McCaslin ultimately cause more harm than good. Stevens misinterprets events in Go Down, Moses and Light in August, while in Requiem for a Nun, The Town, and The Mansion, he only watches over situations without taking action due to his moral rigidity and self-righteousness. These traits make him unable to combat the forces at play in characters like Linda Kohl, Temple Drake, or Flem Snopes. Benbow is even less effective as he collapses and becomes powerless in the face of evil (Padgett 1).

According to Williamson (10), Ike McCaslin is one of Faulkner's most delightful young characters who, like Pilate, tries to evade responsibility for his family's failures and the nature of humanity by relinquishing his inheritance. Although Faulkner believed in man's ability to triumph over the tragedies of life, his works do not portray heroes achieving effortless happiness. That Evening Sun (1931) represents the

most intricate example of an open ending that demands readers' attention. Faulkner's approach differs from the techniques of Hemingway, Chekhov, and Cheever by heightening the uncertainty of the ending, but also delaying Nancy's impending death at the hands of her husband, Jesus.

The strategy for the narrative at the beginning is not direct. Rather, Quentin logically and coherently starts discussing Monday washing rituals, which hint at a difference between the current mechanized present and a slower, more refined past. However, Quentin then shifts to discussing a specific Negro washerwoman named Nancy who could carry a bundle on her head without it wobbling or wavering. This image of Nancy crawling on her hands and knees through a fence with her head held high while holding the bundle steady implies repetition without requiring resolution, indicating an indirect storytelling style. Quentin then recalls how Nancy worked for his family when Dilsey was sick and how the Compson children had to go wake her up from her house. The children assumed Nancy's delay was due to drinking, but later learn about her suicide attempt and drug use.

In this discussion, the assertion that Nancy was using cocaine was made by a jailer and is not very accurate. The story provides more firsthand and reliable evidence suggesting otherwise. The narrative voice also changes throughout the story. Initially, using formal diction, the narrator comments on seeing Nancy's apron swelling while she cooked for them when Dilsey was ill in her cabin and before their father told Jesus to stay away from the house. However, the narrator later repeats the same information in sentences with minimal embedding without any other marker. Dilsey remained

sick in her cabin, and their father ordered Jesus to stay off their property.

On page 292, it is stated that Dilsey remained ill for a considerable amount of time. The narrator and others were in the library following their evening meal.

Suddenly, the sentences in the story have become one-third of their original length, giving the impression that we are inside the mind of a child who meticulously recounts their memories. This approach continues throughout the rest of the narrative until the point where it unexpectedly switches to direct speech. Nancy faces a dilemma: avoiding Jesus, her presumed returned husband who is waiting to punish her (the father of her unborn child is a white man). She devises a solution by following a sequential plan. Initially, she accepts Mr. Compson's offer to escort her home and hopes to make it through the lane without incident.

On page 294, it is stated that despite Mrs. Compson's objections to being left alone, the speaker, Nancy, is granted a pallet in the kitchen. However, her fears persist and she makes a certain sound that Quentin Compson cannot describe. As a result, her pallet is moved to the children's room.

As Nancy's agitation increases and she goes to great lengths to convince the Compson children to stay, we sense the approaching climax of the story when interpreting it through conventional narrative signals (Leona 12). In an effort to entertain the children, Nancy tells a fear-laden tale that thinly disguises her own anxieties. Candace interrupts with the belief that someone is approaching, while Nancy desperately hopes for something not to happen - particularly not the end of herself, as she expresses

fear about encountering someone with a razor in their mouth again (p. 295).

As Nancy approaches what she perceives as an unavoidable conclusion, she prolongs the moment of its arrival, and her actions become a reflection of her internal state. Closure is the last thing Nancy desires, as the representative of closure wields a razor in his mouth. The evolution of Nancy's portrayal throughout the story portrays a progression, from a washerwoman with an unwavering hat and balanced load, to a woman whose hands shake uncontrollably, to a weary lady who sits with her cabin's door open. A balanced contrast exists within the imagery patterns; the initial image of coldness, with Nancy by a frigid stove, is inverted in the cabin's heat and fumes and Nancy burning her hands on the lamp. Nancy's fear culminates in tears streaming down her face, each one appearing as a tiny, fiery ball of light. (p.)

Upon her father's arrival, the protagonist's demeanor shifts from complaining about her fate to accepting it, as demonstrated in her statement "I reckon what I going to get aint no more than mine." This is a stark contrast to her previous repeated statement of "it aint no fault of mine." As she becomes quieter, her restless movements cease and her face and hands show a sense of peacefulness (p. 306-308).

Despite the final paragraphs and structural issues, That Evening Sun contains a complete story about Nancy's downfall due to real or perceived reasons. The narrative encompasses both social and psychological destruction, particularly when placed within the context of the final segment of The Collected Stories. Scholar Philip Momberger argues that this segment marks a total decay

of village and community. However, Faulkner's use of structure and concluding paragraphs creates a sense of suspension that contradicts the story's finality in many ways.

By alternating between direct and indirect methods, the author continually shifts the reader's expectations. Throughout the passage, he strongly suggests that Nancy is conjuring up her own fears. The final sections of the text reveal Nancy reverting back to her previous denial of responsibility with the phrase “It aint no fault of mine”, and restarting the ominous “sound”. The story concludes with a comical children's argument, providing a stark contrast to the anger and rebellion that was expected from Jesus' intentions. However, what leaves a lasting impression is the ambiguity of the ending, making it unclear whether Nancy ultimately lives or dies and leaving readers to decide for themselves.