Tone and Point of View in William Faulkner’s The Unvanquished

Tone and Point of View in William Faulkner’s The Unvanquished

Everyone at some point in his or her lives have looked back upon their past and recalled either a pleasant or unhappy memory that brings tears to their eyes. In the novel “ Unvanquished William Faulkner creates a character named Bayard who recalls a time when he was boy during the period of the civil war. Although Faulkner gives readers little information about Bayard we learn several things about his life during that time and about the people who were present in his life. Faulkner throughout the story of the Unvanquished used several writing techniques in allowing readers to know that the main character is a grown man looking back upon his childhood. First by the tone he sets throughout the story and last writing the story in the first person. Setting the tone to a particular piece of writing can be a very difficult task one which Faulkner never has much trouble with. While reading the “Unvanquished” a reader never loses sight of the feelings and desires of the main character present in this short story at any given time.

Due to the fact that this story is written in the first person point of view readers are not given much opportunity to truly know the thoughts and feelings of the other characters present in this story also. For example, in the chapter titled Ambuscade readers are introduced to Bayard father John Sartortis. Who appears to be a kind, hardworking man who fulfills all of his manly duties as a father, son and boss? But upon closer examination of the text the reader discover this characterization to be somewhat false because although Bayard see his father in this manner one of his slaves does not. When leaving the Sartortis property Loosh a slave ask Miss Rosa about the whereabouts of her son and why he wasn’t around to provide and take care of his family during a time when they needed him most?