Biographical Influences Essay of William Faulkner
William Faulkner was a quite man who rarely spoke to anyone. Although he did not graduate High School, Faulkner had an innate ability to remember even the slightest detail of things he heard. The past has always played a role in the telling of most of his stories. However, before we can understand his style of writing, it is important to understand what influences played an important role in his writings. William Faulkner was heavily influenced by his culture, love of his family, and passion for hunting to produce some of his most compelling stories.
Many people how the culture of the South and Southern history has shaped and influenced Faulkner’s works. I have examined this theory by looking at an important figure in Faulkner’s life, the "Old Colonel," Faulkner’s great-grandfather. Although the "Old Colonel," William Clark Faulkner, died eight years before the author was born, his legacy seemed powerful Faulkner’s mind. The man was not only a Civil War officer, but also a successful planter, businessman, lawye...
William Faulkner’s short story “Barn Burning” describes a typical relationship between wealthy people and poor people during the Civil War.
Gwynn, Frederick L., and Joseph Blotner, eds. Faulkner in the University. Charlottesville: University of Virginia, 1959.
While I was watching the documentary William Faulkner, a Life on Paper I found it striking how the different people that were interviewed talked about two different sides of the author William Faulkner. His daughters, Jill Faulkner Sommers and his stepdaughter, spoke mainly about his alcohol abuse and his moodiness whereas Faulkner’s contemporaries from Oxford underlined Faulkner’s generosity and kindness. The documentary shows Faulkner not only as father of Jill and his stepdaughter but also as a father figure for many others. He had to take care of several families at once. At one point Faulkner had seventeen dependents to provide for. Many of the people that were interviewed describe Faulkner as being very generous and always willing to help others even when he had almost nothing himself. One special example is his brother Dean who died in an airplane accident and because Faulkner had bought the plane he apparently felt guilty about the death of his brother for the rest of his life as his sister-in-law says in the interview.
Not only did William Faulkner revolutionize the literature of his time period, he also effected the writings of today. By thinking outside of the box and going beyond the usual standards and rules of writing, Faulkner created an entire new pathway for generations of writers to come to follow. One day, maybe future writers will look to William and use his originality as inspiration to branch out and spark a new revolution of literature.
Many tragedies have occurred during the last century. William Faulkner believes the greatest tragedy of the last century is that modern writers no longer write of the spirit. On the other hand, in his memoir, Angela’s Ashes, Frank McCourt asserts the Catholic Irish childhood is far worse. However, both tragedies are related as McCourt’s emotional account of his misfortunes exemplifies the profound influence of literature that Faulkner desires other writers to have. In his Nobel Prize acceptance speech, William Faulkner sets the standards of good literature that Frank McCourt adheres to through his writings of suffering and compassion.
Towner, Theresa M., and James B. Carothers. Reading Faulkner. Collected Stories: Glossary and Commentary. University Press of Mississippi, 2006. 63-73 eBook Collection.
Growing up in the South, Faulkner gives a good perspective on what it was like for
As a child, Faulkner was well aware of his family background, especially the notoriety of his great-grandfather who had moved to the Mississippi Delta from Tennessee in 1841 (Zane). William Clark Faulkner was a Civil War Colonel, a lawyer, a planter, a politician, a railroad entrepreneur, and a best-selling novelist best known for The White Rose of Memphis. He died in the streets of Ripley, Mississippi, where a former business partner he had forced out of his railroad gunned him down (Padgett). While Faulkner had never met his great-grandfather, he was a powerful influence. When his third grade teacher asked what he wanted to be when he grew up, the young William replied “I want to be a writer like my great-granddaddy”(Padgett).
Overall, Faulkner masterfully blends several elements of literature with his own personal flair, producing a novel simmering with the life and story of the characters. His round-about narration technique, paired with his stream of consciousness writing, produce a twisted, difficult plot line, complete with complex and eccentric characters, all within the bounds of a single novel.
William Faulkner was a twentieth century American author who won the Nobel Prize for Literature. Most famous for his novel The Sound and the Fury, Faulkner defines Southern literature. In his mythical county of Yaknapatawpha, Faulkner contrasted the past with the present era. The past was represented in Emily Grierson, Colonel Sartoris, the Board of Alderman, and the Negro servant. Homer Barron, the new Board of Alderman, and the new sheriff represented the present.
William Faulkner was a prolific writer who became very famous during his lifetime but who shied away from the spotlight as much as possible. He is remembered as both a gentlemanly southern eccentric and an arrogant, snobbish alcoholic. But perhaps the best way to describe Faulkner is to describe his heritage, for, like so many of his literary characters, Faulkner was profoundly affected by his family.
"William Faulkner was a quiet but mischievous child, polite and rude, loving and withdrawn" (4). He did well in grade school, but began showing signs of truancy during adolescence. Faulkner dropped out of high school in eleventh grade.
The mere name Faulkner often strikes fear into the hearts of readers of American literature. His constant variation in his prose style and sentences has baffled minds for nearly eight decades. Long sentences, which sometimes run for pages without punctuation of any sort, are his trademarks; he tried to express each idea to the fullest in his sentences. Oftentimes, the sheer difficulty encountered when reading his literature has turned many a reader away. Somehow, despite this, William Faulkner has been recognized as one of the greatest American writers of the Twentieth Century. He won the Pulitzer Prize for two of his novels, A Fable (1924), and The Reivers (1962), and he also received the Nobel Prize for literature in 1949. So why is his writing considered to be so good if so many people can't stand to read it? The answer lies in the thought behind and the background of his literature. Faulkner's writing strikes a chord in readers because of his attention to detail; his novels are not merely stories, but instead they are volumes of art.
...However, this doesn’t deter Faulkner from writing very complex stories that reflect his literary prowess. Most of his characters can hardly speak correct English, and yet, his pieces are filled with words that even I have trouble discerning meaning from. In particular, Rider’s character is very blue collar. Faulkner communicates this to us in many ways, but has no trouble throwing in phrases like “the junctureless backloop of times trepan”. This occurs throughout all of these stories. It is like the characters are very natural, they know the environment, the have the skills to hunt, they work hard, and they love each other. But these ideas are contrasted by his writing style and complexity and really blend nicely to create very good pieces of literature. It was just one thing that caught my eye in reading these pieces and I am very envious of this skill he possesses.
Brooks, Cleanth. "William Faulkner: Visions of Good and Evil." Faulkner, New Perspectives. Ed. Richard H. Brodhead. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey : Prentice-Hall, 1983.