ENG 175
Sakai essay 3
September 16, 2018
Faulkner's use of space in Absalom, Absalom!
When looking at spatial elements of the novel Absalom, Absalom! written by
William Faulkner we can see how significant Sutpen's Hundred is in relation to the time
period. Faulkner seems to use the plantation home in the south to further tell the story
of the Civil War. The war began as the northern part of the United States declared that
slavery was illegal. The south pushed back on this by succeeding from the union and
going to battle with the northern army. Over one million americans lost their lives in a
battle that turned a nation against each other all over the right to own slaves. The
reason the South fought so hard to keep slavery was that it was their way of life. Similar
to Thomas Sutpen plantation owners used slaves to tend to the fields and to work as
servants in the home. To purchase slaves a person would go to a selling place. The
selling place is described similarly to a cattle sell. At Sutphens hundred slaves were
treated as animals would be treated. Not only did the slaves at Sutpen’s hundred get
purchased with a lack of respect they were also treated with a lack of respect by
Sutpen. The novel states “two of his wild negroes fighting, naked, fighting not like white
men fight, with rules and weapons, but like negroes fight to hurt one another quick and
bad.” Faulkner (p. 20 Kindle Edition). Sutpen dehumanized the slaves by treating them
as his personal entertainment and his workforce. Even after the Civil War was over and
Sutpen returned home to a land where slaves were free. Sutpen's mansion burning to
the ground can be seen as the end of slavery and a man whose legacy came to an end.
People of the North did not truly understand what it was like to live in the south.
The relationship between Quentin and Shreve exemplifies the disconnect between time
and space that Faulkner weaves throughout the novel. Shreve’s character represents a
lack of awareness of the southern way of life. Faulkner uses the setting at Harvard
represent the perceived neutrality of the North. This neutrality makes Faulkners spatial
choice of Harvard all the more important because it allows these two people from
different backgrounds the opportunity to converse, share, and learn from one another.
This is one thing that is lacking in today's society is the ability to leave our differences
behind and have neutral conversations. People have different perspectives and that is
okay because we may not agree with them but that does not mean we can’t learn from
them. Neither the North or the South actually “won” the civil war because once that first
shot was fired at a fellow American over slavery the entire country lost. If people like
Sutpen hadn't been so narrow minded and would have seen the bigger picture the fact
of the matter is the Nation would not be so divided as it is today and a war amongst
family, friends, and neighbors could have been avoided from the very beginning.