Chris McAndrew
Dr. McNamara
Intro to Literature- Section 111
23 November 2010
William Faulkner
William Faulkner once said, “A man's moral conscience is the curse he had to accept
from the gods in order to gain from them the right to dream.” A quote that is well known in the
literature world, Faulkner showed his right to dream with every form of work he did. He was
loved by many people, and his works are still read today. With such heart and talent he put into
every piece, William Faulkner is agreeably one of the best American writers of all time.
Born in New Albany, Mississippi in September of 1897, Faulkner was the oldest of four
brothers. After moving to Oxford, Mississippi, he began writing poetry at the age of 13. Though
he loved to write poetry, he didn’t show it. In high school, he was the starting quarterback on the
football team, and even joined the Canadian Air Force right after high school. He had a dream of
fighting in the military, but was denied by the United States Army for being too short. Faulkner
did not see any action in the war, but he was known for telling stories of how his plane was shot
down in France (Liukkonen 1). Faulkner’s military choice was very pleasing to his family,
because of his lack of academics and structure. His father was angry because all of his other
siblings had good academic and successful dreams and knew what they were doing. His brother
even founded the First National Bank of Oxford in 1910 (Padgett 1). Once Faulkner was
McAndrew 2
accepted into the Candian Air Force, he had a sense of accomplishment, and he and his family
were very proud.
After serving in the Air Force for World War I, he enrolled at the University of
Mississippi and wrote many poems and other pieces. Faulkner had many of his first published
pieces here. He often wrote for the school’s newspaper and mostly wrote poems and short
stories. Also with his time at the university, he helped out with the drama club, and even wrote a
one-act play for them (Padgett 1). Many believe this is where he gained his interest for one of
his future occupations in Hollywood as a screen writer. Unfortunately, he left the university
without graduating, and left Mississippi completely. He moved to New York City for some time,
then to New Orleans; where he was persuaded by Sherwood Anderson to begin writing fiction
instead of his usual poetry (Liukkonen 1). Sherwood believed his poetry was very dry and much
too complicated for anyon’s understanding. He knew that if William were to start writing fiction
that his works would be very popular. Anderson even back Faulkner up in many of his earlier,
less known pieces (Padgett 1). Faulkner also ended up marrying his high school sweetheart,
Estelle Oldham. She had been previously married to yet another school-time friend, but divorced
when William showed an interest in her.
From here, Faulkner began releasing and publishing his works in books. His first book,
The Marble Faun, was released in 1924 and was not very popular. Becoming very upset with
little success, he fled to Paris for some time. After his return, he published his first novel,
Soldier’s Pay, in 1926. He began to see some success from this, so he continued to write.
William found fiction writing to be very entertaining, and he began working in his second novel
after the publication of his first. In the same year, Faulkner published Mosquitoes, his second
McAndrew 3
published novel. Again, this book would be very unsuccessful and is still thought to be one of
his weakest works (Padgett 1).
Determined to become a successful novelist, Faulkner wrote yet another novel. This one,
Sartoris, was released in 1929, and is believed to be where he began to see much success in the
fiction world. This novel was one of fifteen works that were set in Yoknapatawpha County, a
county that he made up for his stories. The novel was later renamed Flags In The Dust in 1973.
Although Sartoris was very popular, it wasn’t until he wrote his first masterwork, The
Sound and the Fury, in 1929 that he began to be acknowledged. After this success, he began
publishing many great works such as: As I Lay Dying and Light In August. While continuing to
write, he became very successful and respected. His works of this time period were published
many different times and won various awards. He even became a Hollywood screenwriter for a
period of time. Some say this is where he saw his flaws come into place. He began to drink
heavily and actually placed himself in Wright’s Sanatorium to recover from his extended days of
binge drinking (Padgett 1).
Faulkner had some troubles, but he still continued to write and publish great works, and it
wasn’t until later in his life when he began winning many prestigious awards. Probably his most
prestigious award was one of his firsts, in 1949. Faulkner received the Nobel Prize for literature
and for his huge contributions to American literature and his many successful works. This award
was a great honor, and he even donated much of his winnings. Winning the Nobel Prize is one
of the greatest accomplishments that one could have, and even though it is very prestigious,
Faulkner did not want to attend the ceremony to accept it. After his family, wife, and many
others pleaded his attendance, he went to the ceremony and wrote a speech. Although he did not
McAndrew 4
even want to attend the ceremony for this prize, his speech later became one of the most quoted
of all Nobel Prize speeches (“William Faulkner” 1).
Faulkner was the recipient to many other prestigious awards as well. He won two
Pulitzer Prizes for his novels A Fable and The Reivers. These were very popular novels, and
Faulkner was believed to be one of the most successful writers to ever win this award. His
awards did not even stop there. William won two National Book Awards for A Fable and
another for his book of collected stories in 1951 (“William Faulkner” 1). Again, these awards
are very prestigious and he was very well respected during these times. Winning these awards
only furthered he respect and fame in the American literature world. In the modern world,
William Faulkner even has a collection of postage stamps in his honor.
One of the many reasons why Faulkner is so highly regarded in the literature world is
because of his style and techniques. He believes in the use of big words and sentences to make
the story sound more like himself. Faulkner was a gentleman and believed in writing the same
way. Many believe this is why his poetry did not become so successful. When looking at any of
his works, the reader must understand Faulkner’s point of view and get past the difficult writing.
In looking at his masterpiece, Absalom, Absalom!, the reader may find it hard to understand what
is happening because his use of different styles. In this story, in particular, Faulkner uses a very
hard pressed style of lack of information. He jumps around in the story many times; he will tell
the reader about one event, then go on to another one. This often confuses the reader and is also
why many Americans dislike Faulkner’s techniques (“William Faulkner’s Writing Style” 1).
His style varies with every story he writes. When looking at another one of his famous
pieces, A Rose for Emily, Faulkner often jumps around and does not get to the point. He also
tries to use a lot of foreshadowing. Throughout this story, he foreshadows Emily’s future and
McAndrew 5
what is to become of her. He even foreshadows the death of Baron, her lover (A Rose for Emily
4). This story, begin very famous, is often used in many scholarly books. Many universities and
other scholarly institutions believe in using Faulkner as a great example of early and successful
American Literature. Though he does use many long sentences and difficult words, readers are
often so interested with his writings that they continue to read no matter what. This is one of the
reasons that he was able to publish and become so successful with many of his works. Faulkner
was always able to keep his reader interested in his subject.
With such success in his day, Faulkner kept writing and kept receiving praise for his
works. He is known as one of the most influential writers in all of literature. Many authors,
even today, still speak of how influential his writings are to their work. American writers use
many of Faulkner’s techniques in their stories and credit him for such wonderful style. Although
most of his style was confusing so some readers, authors like Stephen King use the bases of this
style to write successful novels (Kleiman 1). Also, many high schools, universities, and other
scholars use Faulkner’s work to analyze American Literature. Being known as one of the most
successful and most respected American writer’s, Faulkner is still talked about today and his
works are still very popular. His pieces are published in many different books, and collections.
With this, his work will always remain very influential in American and its literature teachings.
Faulkner’s work was not only very influential in America; he spent many of his years in
foreign countries where he worked on his pieces. While working in Japan, he was always
working with other authors. Showing how he used his different styles and techniques, he had a
very large influence on Japanese novelists as well (Nobuaki 1). William’s work and styles were
popular around the world, and many national writers used and critiqued these styles in their own
ways. With Faulkner moving all around European countries during his time of writing his
McAndrew 6
works, his style spread throughout the world. This is mostly thanks to his popularity and well
respected writing. When other authors saw that him or read his pieces, they saw how well his
techniques and styles worked with novels and used it in their own ways. Just like in America,
Faulkner’s works are published in many scholarly books in teaching literature. His style is so
well known, and thought to be a huge transition in American Literature at the time.
With such success in the literature world, it’s no wonder why William Faulkner is so
highly regarded. His work is still used today and used to teach people of great writing. His style
is incorporated in many modern writings, and his techniques have been modified by many
present day authors. Although he may have had a rough past, his accomplishments have
overcome everything. Winning many prestigious awards, Faulkner is still regarded as one of the
greatest writers of all time; not only in American, but also many other countries. There is no
doubt that his work has paved the way for many authors, and his literature will forever be taught
and known as some of the best works ever written.
McAndrew 7
Works Cited
Faulkner, William. A Rose for Emily. First ed. New York City: Random House/Vintage, 1930.
Print.
Kleiman, Shoshana. "Faulkner Influence in Stephen King Stories." French Creek Press. French
Creek Press, 26 Apr. 2010. Web. 22 Nov. 2010.
<http://www.frenchcreekpress.com/2010/04/26/faulkner-influence-in-stephen-kingstories/>.
Liukkonen, Petri. "William Faulkner." Www.kirjasto.sci.fi. 2008. Web. 22 Nov. 2010.
<http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/faulkner.htm>.
Nobuaki, Namiki. "A William Faulkner Encyclopedia." William Faulkner Encyclopedia. 2001.
Web. 22 Nov. 2010. <http://www.isc.senshu-u.ac.jp/~thb0559/No3/Namiki.htm>.
Padgett, John B. "MWP: William Faulkner (1897-1962)." The Mississippi Writers Page. The
University of Mississippi, 2008. Web. 22 Nov. 2010.
<http://www.olemiss.edu/mwp/dir/faulkner_william/>.
"William Faulkner." American Writers. National Cable Satellite Corporation, 2010. Web. 22
Nov. 2010. <http://www.americanwriters.org/writers/faulkner.asp>.
"William Faulkner's Writing Style - CliffsNotes." CliffsNotes - Absalom, Absalom! CliffsNotes
Study Guides - CliffsNotes, 2000. Web. 22 Nov. 2010.
<http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/literature/Absalom-Absalom-Critical-EssaysWilliam-Faulkner-s-Writing-Style.id-262,pageNum-32.html>.