The Works of William Faulkner

Paper Summary:

This paper introduces, discusses, and analyzes several works by William Faulkner. Specifically, it contains an analysis relating the author's life experiences to the writing he produced. The author believes that Faulkner's literary yet readable work endures because it captures the life and times of Southerners, resounding with their language, lifestyles, and customs. Additionally, the paper emphasizes Faulkner's use of setting as a powerful literary device.

From the Paper:

"Faulkner's style is literary, even when he writes of poor white Southerners. For example, in "Barn Burning," Sarty once thinks to himself, "Maybe it will all add up and vanish-corn, rug, fire; the terror and grief, the being pulled two ways like between two teams of horses-gone, done with for ever and ever" ("Faulkner 17). Faulkner's writing is complex and yet it gives a feeling of what the character is thinking and feeling in quite logical and simple terms. He also very effectively uses dialogue and dialect to indicate the characters locale, education, and even temperament. His style can be both "down home" and informal, and then learned and even sometimes cynical. In "Barn Burning" and many other works, Faulkner uses the colorful dialogue of the poor southerner to represent the family's sharecropper class. For example, throughout the story they never say "it," but always use "hit" instead. Because he understands the South so well, he can introduce the intricacies of the South to his readers quite effectively, which makes the reader feel as if they have been transported to a new place and time."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Allen, Sharon Lubkemann. "Dispossessed Sons and Displaced Meaning in Faulkner's Modern Cosmos." The Mississippi Quarterly 50.3 (1997): 427+.
• Bergman, Jill. "'This Was the Answer to It': Sexuality and Maternity in 'As I Lay Dying'." The Mississippi Quarterly 49.3 (1996): 393.
• Byrne, Mary Ellen. "'Barn Burning'": A Story from the '30s." Teaching Faulkner. Southeast Missouri State University. 29 Aug. 2001. 21 April 2003. < http://www6.semo.edu/cfs/tfn_online/barn_byrne.htm >
• Clark, Jim. "On William Faulkner." The Mississippi Quarterly 57.4 (2004): 659+.
• Faulkner, William. Collected Stories of William Faulkner. New York: Random House, 1950. --. Light in August (Corrected Text). New York: Modern Library, 2002. --. The Sound and the Fury & As I Lay Dying. New York: Modern Library, 1946.

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