William Faulkners Major Works and Themes - 938 Words

Major Works And Themes Faulkner’s works consisted of many dark touchy topics such as war, racism, mental illness and suicide in all of books, short stories, William Faulkner wrote about almost every part of life, from something that could be absurd at his time, to something real like racism in the American South. Throughout his life, Faulkner was kind of a rebel, notorious for his confidence, drinking, and he would often make up stories about himself. Faulkner wrote from experience and as a person who lived in the south during times of racism, he wrote about a lot of things in the south. To be exact his specific genre or style in which he wrote in is what some call â€Å"southern gothic†. Southern gothic is a unique style of writing and only expressed by very few authors. These stories usually take place only in the south and have darkness to them. His stories would use irony to examine the values of the American south. Instead of solely trying to add suspense with the style it is also used t o explore social issues and cultural character of the south. Which leads me to one of Faulkner’s first important novels â€Å"Sartoris†. In Sartoris Faulkner focuses on a family during the world war era in the south. In the book the Sartoris family is one of the more important families in Yoknapatawpha County where the book is set. The Old Colonel, John Sartoris, represents an old and dying out order dating back to the mid 1900’s. His world revolves around his plantation home, his slaves and hisShow MoreRelatedBarn Burning By William Faulkner1357 Words   |  6 Pages William Faulkner’s O. Henry Award winning short story, â€Å"Barn Burning† was written in 1938 and published by Harper’s in 1939 (â€Å"William,† par. 12). In many ways the story is a product of â€Å"both a turbulent time in America’s history and Faulkner’s personal history† (Parker 101). America was emerging from the Great Depression just in tim e to see World War II looming on the horizon while Faulkner was struggling with â€Å"finances, a drinking problem, and a new mistress† (Parker 102). In â€Å"Barn Burning†Read MoreDeeper Insight by Use of Point of View - Summary1074 Words   |  5 Pagestheir story. However, the author of the short story â€Å"Barn Burning† uses one particular element to build up his own story in a very unique format. William Faulkner uses various literary elements in the story, but the most critical one is point of view. Faulkner uses point of view to develop characters, the theme, and the plot of the story. Faulkner’s use of point of view helps the reader understand who the characters are, how the characters develop, and aids in understanding the characters actionsRead MoreBarn Burning by William Faulkner894 Words   |  4 Pagesauthor William Faulkner formally known for his short stories with a constant theme of Southern Renaissance, racism and modernism uses these themes as a constant reference throughout the story. Faulkner focuses in depth on the antagonist, Abner Snopes and his actions and how they impact other characters throughout the story. I believe Abner was continuously portrayed as a negative character throughout the short story by Abner’s aggressiveness towards everyone he comes in contact with, Faulkner’s depictionRead MoreThat Evening Sun by William Faulkner505 Words   |  2 Pages Themes can reflect life. With the use of multiple themes writers are able to reflect on certain issues that affect their society at the time. However, the author may not realize that the themes they choose could hold a certain timeless quality that becomes relatable to future generations. This can be seen in Faulkner’s short story â€Å"That Evening Sun†, a story centralized on a boy retelling his observation of Nancy, an African-American woman who his family hired. In Faulkner’s short story, violenceRead MoreThe Resistance to Change988 Words   |  4 PagesAs a person one might find that we follow a specific routine on the day to day basis. Sudden changes to these routines feels weird and out of place. In William Faulkner’s â€Å"A Rose For Emily† based in a fictional town called Jefferson taking place during the twentieth century. The time period is indeed an important factor because southern tradition was above all of the highest importance. Th is short story gives the audience details of life during that time in which they followed the values of southernRead MoreThe Search for Time in Yoknapatawpha County1908 Words   |  8 Pagesenhances many aspects of a story by adding time, location and mood into the works. Imagine how different Harry Potter would be if it took place in South Africa, instead of the magical kingdom of Hogwarts? Setting also enhances the tone of the narrator by adding effects, such as, weather changes, time of day, time of the year and the time period of the story. Furthermore, in the short story â€Å"A Rose for Emily† by William Faulkner, the setting is a source of conflict. The narrator’s of the storyRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Influence On The Sound And The Fury2240 Words   |  9 Pageswriters do, Faulkner had many literary influences that can be seen in his writing. Faulkner once said, â€Å"I think everything a writer reads influences his work. He is completely immoral, he has no hesitancy whatever about taking what he wants from any source he wants† (Faulkner, â€Å"Blotner and Gwynn’s Classes, tape 2†). A major influence on Faulkner’s work is Shakespeare, especially on The Sound and the Fury. Faulkner used his love of Shakespeare to enable him to write a novel that took some of Shakespeare’sRead MoreA Rose for Emily by William Faulkner Essay552 Words   |  3 PagesA Rose for Emily by William Faulkner William Faulkner’s first published story was â€Å"A Rose for Emily. He wrote many stories after this but one particular that can be compared to this story is a Light in August. Throughout both of these works Faulkner uses his own events from his home in Mississippi and focuses on the themes relating to the ruins of the Deep South in the post- Civil War era. Also in both of these stories he shows how cruel and hard society can be towards individuals and towardsRead MoreThe Yellow Wall Paper And Barn Burning Essay1509 Words   |  7 Pagesthis is not necessarily seen in today’s society, it is not rare to find this theme present in a large number of works studied in American Literature. Two authors that illustrate this pervasive theme in their short stories are Charlotte Perkins Gilman and William Faulkner. Despite the fact that these short stories were written almost fifty years apart, the protagonists in both Gilman’s â€Å" The Yellow Wall-paper† an d Faulkner’s â€Å"Barn Burning† live in a society where they are severely conflicted becauseRead More William Faulkners Use of Shakespeare Essay5388 Words   |  22 PagesWilliam Faulkners Use of Shakespeare Throughout his career William Faulkner acknowledged the influence of many writers upon his work--Twain, Dreiser, Anderson, Keats, Dickens, Conrad, Balzac, Bergson, and Cervantes, to name only a few--but the one writer that he consistently mentioned as a constant and continuing influence was William Shakespeare. Though Faulkner’s claim as a fledgling writer in 1921 that â€Å"[he] could write a play like Hamlet if [he] wanted to† (FAB 330) may be dismissed as