William Faulkner

1. The role of Deisy and other narrators in Faulkners The Sound and the Fury
2. William Faulkner - The Sound and the Fury
3. The structure and the style in William Faulkners The Sound and the Fury
4. Characters in William Faulkners The Sound and the Fury
5. The Religious Motif in The Sound and the Fury
6. As I Lay Dying
7. The Symbolism in "As I Lay Dying"
8. Compare writings styles of Hemingway and Faulkner

Answers:
BIO -(1897-1962), American novelist and short-story writer who was awarded the Nobel
Prize for Literature. William Faulkner wrote As I Lay Dying (1930) and other novels,
short stories and plays. Many of his stories took place in fictional Yoknapatawpha
County, Mississippi, and Faulkner's writings gave an almost mythological status to the
culture of the southeastern United States. He also wrote screenplays for Hollywood,
including the 1944 adaptation of Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep starring Humphrey
Bogart and Lauren Bacall. His most famous novels include The Sound and the Fury
(1929), Light in August, Absalom! Absalom! and The Reivers. In 1949 he was awarded
the Nobel Prize in literature. During World War I, when Faulkner was trying to get into
the Royal Air Force in Canada, he changed the spelling of his name so it would look
more English. Faulkner did join the RAF, but never made it overseas. Faulker was
preceded as Nobel Laureate by T.S. Eliot (1948) and followed by Bertrand Russell
(1950).
1. The role of Dilsey and other narrators in Faulkners The Sound and the Fury - Dilsey
is one of the black servants of the Compson family. She and her husband, Roskus,
have lived on the Compson property for years and years. Dilsey, in fact, seems to
single-handedly raise each and every one of the Compson kids. As the matriarchal head
of the Gibson family, Dilsey heads up a household which both works with and for the
Compsons. Dilseys mostly silent and undemonstrative. She hums as she makes
breakfast, but her motions are quiet, understated, and effective. Most characters seem
to forget that shes the reason that the Compson house doesnt collapse around their
shoulders. Dilsey just fades into the background.

2. William Faulkner - The Sound and the Fury - The Sound and The Fury is a
complicated story of tragedy, lies and destruction. The whole Compson family is filled
with negativity and bad decisions. The family is broken down little by little until it is finally
destroyed. Ms.Compson is supposed to be in control but she is a neurotic self-centered
woman that escapes responsibility by depending on Dilsey for every need. Ms
Compson also created hostility between the Family. The Sound and the Fury is a novel
about the loss of traditional Southern values after the Civil War. This corruption is shown
through the Compson family. Mr.Compson tries to instill these notions into his four
children, but each is so occupied by their own beliefs and obsessions. Caddy is perhaps
the most prominent figure in the novel. The three Compson boys obsess over her,
looking to her as a mother figure and source of love and understanding but ironically, it
is Caddy that serves as the familys downfall. Engaging in sex and getting pregnant,
Caddy not only shames her family but also tramples all the ideals of the old South, as
does her daughter after her. Quentin relies on his knowledge of Southern codes to
provide order, yet Jason cares only for himself and his personal gain. Time is also an
important concept in Faulkners novel. Benjy, who is mentally retarded and has no
concept of time. Quentin meanwhile is obsessed with the past and is trapped in these
thoughts. Jason concentrates only on the present and future. The Sound and the Fury is
about the downfall of the old South, Faulkner uses the Compsons servant Dilsey as a
symbol of hope for the future. Dilsey is perhaps the only character that is unchanged.

3. The structure and the style in William Faulkners The Sound and the Fury - The
story takes a place over a period of four days, each of which is seen through the eyes of
a different character. The first part is the monologue of Benjy on April 7,1928.The
second belongs to Quentin on the day of his suicide June 2,1910.Jason,the son, is the
focus of the third section April 6, 1928. The fourth section takes place on Easter Sunday,
April 8, 1928. Each section adds bits and pieces of the history of the Compson family.
Benjys section covers a period of 25 years; Quentins is about the familys early
relationships. Jasons reveals the dark side of the Compson family. Dilseys section
reveals her enduring qualities. She cared for and tried to keep the family intact for
decades. The term stream of consciousness refers to a technique of narration where
the author writes as though inside the minds of the characters. Using this technique,
Faulkner varies it with each section to fit the mind of each individual narrator. Benjys
section is simple, the final section have a quiet, dignified style.

4. Characters in William Faulkners The Sound and the Fury - The Sound and the Fury
is a story that shows different aspects of a family. William Faulkner made it clear that
one of the most important aspects of this novel is the theme of lost. Faulkner gave the
views of four different individuals who all had one main obsession, their sister Caddy,

who in a way symbolizes the lost that each person. Caddy, who did not have a part in
the novel to tell her side of the story, was viewed very differently by each of her
brothers. This novel tells a story of the Compson family on their way of distinction. The
story begin with Benjamin who is mentally challenge tells the first section of the story;
Benjamin has no motion of time. Therefore he constantly goes back in forth with the
present and past.

5. The Religious Motif in The Sound and the Fury The Sound and the Fury there are
ideas and elements on Christianity. The volume of religious symbols and parallels is at
first not clear, but it then becomes more and more obvious.

6. As I Lay Dying - William Faulkners As I Lay Dying is with its multiple narrators and
hickish language. The narrator's language is delivered with speaking to each other and
they confuse the reader. Vardaman, who is the youngest narrator, gives us insight into
the goings-on of the Bundren family. He also gives us a look into the characters of the
other narrators in this novel. It is his childish mind that provides us with this viewpoint;
he is innocent and unbiased. At the beginning of the novel, Vardaman has gone fishing,
and returns with a large fish. He has returned just in time to meet Peabody, the doctor,
going into his house. He is instructed, by Dewey Dell, to clean and gut the fish, and to
get it ready for her to cook for dinner. Addie dies shortly after Vardaman arrives home,
and, because Peabody had arrived on the scene directly before the incident, Vardaman
decides that Peabody is the offending party in the death of his mother. Vardamans
language reveals Vardamans character as an intellectual. Vardaman is more than just a
character. Faulkners intent with Vardaman is to form a direct connection to the reader
through the character of Vardaman. The primary example of this intent is Vardamans
mother/fish complex. There is a chapter in the book which consists of a single sentence;
Vardaman says, simply, My mother is a fish. The reader is quite confused. If the reader
chooses to read more deeply into the novel, it is not difficult to see that, in fact,
everybody in the book is also confused. Vardamans feelings become our feelings, and
this type of character/reader interaction is repeated several times during the book.

7. The Symbolism in "As I Lay Dying" - Tools, in the form of Cashs carpentry tools
become symbols of living and stability. Addies coffin is also one of the symbols. It
comes to stand for the enormous burden on the Bundren family. Addie is placed in the
coffin upside down. Like the Bundrens lives, the coffin is thrown off balance by Addies
corpse. Vardamans Fish is one of Christianitys symbols is the Jesus fish. When Addie
dies, Vardaman associates her with his fish, which he has just killed and cleaned
himself. When Vardaman focuses on his family eating the fish, that symbolise Jesus

and the Last Supper. Addie is a symbol of Christ because, she might die like Christ,
having sacrificed her life for others, but she is never resurrected.

8. Compare writings styles of Hemingway and Faulkner - Ernest Hemingway and

William Faulkner were two of the most prolific writers of the 20th century. They are two
very different writers. Faulkner writes many long sentences while Hemingway writes
mainly short ones. Hemingway's style is straightforward, journalistic, employing simple
language and short, tightly constructed sentences to tell his stories. The sensory details
he offers are easily understood - the afternoon is hot, the room is muggy. He is
interested in what the characters say and do, and less concerned with creating an
atmosphere or a sense of internal consciousness. Faulkner is completely the opposite.
His sentences are long and circuitous, running on for pages and playing all kinds of
experimental tricks with punctuation. His word choice is rich and complex - you have to
read Faulkner with a dictionary. He was interested in the atmosphere of the story - the
sensory details are complicated and contribute to the internal consciousness of the
characters. There is always a subtext in Faulkner - a mystery that is only hinted at, a
complicated relationship that is implied, a rich but guilty history that still resonates in the
present. They were both arrogant, though, and neither esteemed the work of the other similar to Hemingway's conflict with Fitzgerald over appropriate subject matter.