William Faulkner is a famous American writer, Nobel Prize winner in literature. He received the most prestigious award for the writer in 1949. His most famous works were the novels “Noise and Fury”, “Absalom, Absalom!”, “Defiler of the Ashes”, collections of short stories “The Royal Gambit”, “Big Forests”, “New Orleans Essays”.
Childhood and youth
William Faulkner was born in 1897. He was born in the small town of New Albany in the United States in the state of Mississippi. His father was a business manager at the university, his name was Murray Charles Faulkner. Well-known to the contemporaries of the hero of our article, his grandfather - William, who during the Civil War spoke on the side of the Confederates, wrote a novel that was popular at that time under the title "Memphis White Rose".
When William Faulkner was still young, his family moved north to the city of Oxford. There, the writer spent almost his entire life. It is noteworthy that he was self-taught, did not finish his studies in high school, and after that he was engaged exclusively in self-education, from time to time attended open lectures at the University of Mississippi.
To the front
In 1918, a personal tragedy occurred in the life of William Faulkner. A girl named Estell Oldham, whom he had been in love with since childhood, preferred him to another. The upset hero of our article decided to volunteer for the front, while the First World War was on. But he was not accepted into the army for several reasons, one of which was still too small growth. He was only 166 centimeters.
Therefore, he enlisted in the Canadian Royal Air Force, for which his small growth on the contrary turned out to be a plus. Faulkner entered the flight school of the English army, which was located in Toronto. But World War I ended before he completed the initial course of study.
Literary debut
After that, Faulkner returned to his native Oxford, still attended open lectures at the University of Mississippi, but soon completely abandoned them.
In 1919 he made his full-fledged literary debut. He managed to publish the poem "Afternoon Faun Rest". In 1924, the first book of William Faulkner was published - it was a collection of poems "The Marble Faun."
In 1925, an important event happened in his life - an acquaintance with the writer Sherwood Anderson in New Orleans. He recommended that the hero of our article pay more attention to prose, not poetry, since his stories are more original. Anderson also advised me to write about what he knows best - this is the American South, a specific piece of land the size of a postage stamp, as he figuratively put it.
Yoknapatof County
Soon, the writer William Faulkner invented a new county in Mississippi called Yoknapatofa, where he placed most of the heroes of his works. These novels and stories are built in a kind of Yoknopatofsky saga, which becomes the original story of the American South, starting from the time the first white settlers appeared in these places, when the Indians still lived here, ending in the middle of the 20th century.
An important place in the novels of William Faulkner is the theme of the Civil War. Southerners in it suffered a crushing defeat, which was greatly worried by several generations of Americans living in these states. The heroes of the Faulkner saga are several families - de Spain, Snowps, Sartoris, Compson, as well as other residents of this fictional family.
They wander from one work to another, turn for readers into old acquaintances, real people, whose life every time they manage to learn something new and interesting.
Sartoris
The first work of William Faulkner, which brought him fame, was the novel "Sartoris", published in 1929.
It details the Mississippi aristocratic families who are declining in the wake of the US Civil War in these states. Interestingly, it was originally released in a shortened version, only in 1973 it was published without cuts under the name "Flags in the Dust." The prototype for one of the main characters of the novel by Colonel John Sartoris was the great-grandfather of the writer William Faulkner.
The action in the novel takes place immediately after the end of the First World War. The Sartoris live in the glory of the glory of John Sartoris, who built the first railway through Yoknapatofu.
Noise and Fury
In 1929, a new novel by William Faulkner was released. His best work is "Noise and Fury", which at first for a long time did not have commercial success. Popularity came to Faulkner only in 1931 when his “Sanctuary” was released.
The novel uses several narrative styles, including the flow of consciousness technique, which was first used by Virginia Woolf and James Joyce.
The action of this work takes place in the town of Jefferson in Mississippi. The storyline focuses on the extinction and decay of the large aristocratic Compson family living in the American South. The novel describes events for about thirty years, during which the main characters face a financial collapse, lose respect in the city and even religious faith. Many are tragically killed.
The novel consists of four parts, which are interconnected by a large number of identical episodes, which are demonstrated from different points of view, placing emphasis on different events and themes. The non-linear structure of the narrative makes the presentation difficult. It is interesting that at first the author uses italics to help the reader understand when there is a transition from memories from the past to present-day events, but then this technique also ceases to be applied. It is known that initially he even wanted to use a different printing ink, separating one episode from another. As a result, transitions often become so confusing and abrupt that it becomes very difficult for an inattentive reader.
Four parts
The first part of Noise and Fury is written on behalf of Benjamin Compson, a mentally disabled man who is 33 years old. The reader still does not manage to understand the features of his disease, apparently, he has oligophrenia. The narratives on behalf of Benji are constantly characterized by frequent and inconsistent chronological leaps.
The second part is dedicated to his older brother Quentin, including the events that precede his suicide. The third part is written on behalf of Quentin's younger brother, the cynical Jason. And in the fourth, final part of the work, Faulkner introduces the image of an objective author-observer, dedicating her to one of the black servants of the Compson family, whose name is Dilsey. In it you can find references to the thoughts and actions of all members of the family.
The release of the new novel coincided with Faulkner's marriage to Estell Oldham, waiting for her to divorce her first husband. They had two daughters. Jill and Alabama, who died in infancy. It is worth noting that the works of Faulkner were very popular among critics, but not among readers who considered it too complicated and too unusual.
Collaboration with Hollywood
With the advent of the family, the hero of our article has a need to earn more money than before. Therefore, he began writing scripts for Hollywood films. In 1932, he even signed a contract with the famous film company Metro-Goldwin-Mayer. According to him, he received a week of $ 500, which was substantial at that time money.
Faulkner's responsibilities included writing original dialogues and stories, adapting and reworking scripts. The writer regarded this work as a way of making money that would allow him to seriously concentrate on serious literature.
Colleagues recall the hero of our article as a very obstinate screenwriter, who also often went home. But with all this, he treated his work as conscientiously as possible, striking others with his efficiency. So, the standard norm for Hollywood screenwriters was to write 5 pages in one working day, Faulkner managed to write 35 pages in the same time.
His collaboration with Hollywood eventually lasted for a decade and a half. From 1932 to 1946, he supplied the directors with his scripts, especially his joint work with Howard Hawks.
In parallel, he, as originally planned, continued to work on his works. According to reviews by William Falkner of readers and authoritative literary critics, his most amazing works belong to this period. This is “Light in August”, “Wild Palms”, “Undefeated”, “Village”, “Absalom, Absalom!”, A novel in short stories “Come Down, Moses”, which includes the famous novel “The Bear”.
Absalom, Absalom
Faulkner's 1936 novel Absalom, Absalom! already at the beginning of the XXI century, was recognized in America as the best work of the southern United States of all time. It talks about three families for quite some time - before, during, and after the Civil War.
The main story is dedicated to the fate of Thomas Satpen, who came to Mississippi to get rich and build a patriarchal family. The reading of this work is complicated by the fact that the events in it do not develop in chronological order, one can often find contradictions in detail, a description of the same situation from different points of view. Thanks to this technique, Satpen's character and personality can be revealed from all sides.
Awarding Nobel Prize
The writer, already popular in America, gained worldwide recognition in 1949 when he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Swedish academics appreciated his significant artistic contribution to the development of modern American romance.
Throughout his work, he repeatedly noted how important it is to study the history and fate of one particular family, because in reality we know so little about the people who surround us, even about those whom we consider closest in our lives. Here is one quote from William Faulkner:
Man knows so little about his neighbors. In his eyes, all men - or women - act out of motives that would move them themselves, if he was so insane as to act like another man - or woman.
It was after the awarding of the Nobel Prize that Faulkner’s novels became popular in Europe.
In 1962, Faulkner dies at the age of 64.