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William Faulkner's 'Absalom !'

1228 Words5 Pages

Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner was an interesting, but ultimately painful read. This book, being written by Faulkner, is written in his (infamous?) stream-of-consciousness style, including also multiple unchronological storylines. The story is about a Harvard student, Quentin, learning about and later reiterating to his friend, a set of incidents surround the family of a mysterious man named Thomas Sutpen and his family, their rise and downfall. It seems that the theme of this novel may be the summed up by the phrases “the sins of the south” and “it doesn’t always work out,” because of the various tragedies that befall the town of Jefferson and the sins, which may have accelerated the fall. The intended audience, to my knowledge, are …show more content…

Now, don’t get me wrong. I love a good classic book for I have read many, but this monstrosity of a novel is much different than anything I have ever experienced. Absalom. Absalom! is set in the Antebellum South, however spans multiple generations. It, as I have already told, mainly chronicles the life of those connected to Sutpen, but as heard through the ears of Quentin from his father and Miss Rosa, and old lady whose sister was married to Sutpen and eventually married Sutpen as well. Since the book is told out of order, forgive me if I mess any of this chronology up. Sutpen arrives in Jefferson, Mississippi, having only two pistols, some gold (enough to buy a bunch of land), and some French-speaking black slaves. The town is very suspicious of him because he is a recluse who seems to be quite cold-hearted and calculating. The only friend Sutpen really makes is with the father of the daughter he wants to marry, who later starves himself to death for a mysterious reason which may have had to do with Sutpen. Eventually, and after a few small incidents, Sutpen marries her, Ellen, and they have two children: Henry and Judith. Sutpen becomes a very successful plantation owner and the community

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Joe Kaestner Mrs. Wescott English 8H 4A January 12, 2018 Book Report 3 “Some things you must always be unable to bear. Some things you must never stop refusing to bear.” Chicks’s clever and intelligent uncle gave sage wisdom, which is prevalent in William Faulkner’s famed masterpiece, to Chick after the horrid events over the past week that had almost wrongfully lynched a black man. Intruder in the Dust, set in the 1940’s, teaches valuable lessons about racial equality to readers in present times by imaginary time travel with its artistic writing. Intruder in the Dust presents an interesting and ever twisting plot that keeps the reader on its toes while displaying eloquent pieces of Faulkner’s grand craftsmanship.

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Introduction The focus of this research paper is the analysis of how the Southern moral code affects the main character from the novel The Unvanquished by William Faulkner. First, there is a description of the story in which the most important events are explained. Then there is a part which contains basic information about the Southern moral code and how it is depicted in the novel. After that, the focus shifts onto the characters, especially the main protagonist and his selection of choices throughout the book and what influenced him.

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