A Persistent Explorer: Reading The Sound And The Fury And Absalom, Absalom! By William Faulkner

From 1920s to 1940s William Faulkner was criticized as a nihilist lacking in humane concern due to the portrayal of vilence, sex and incest in his works. Since 1940s, however, critics represented by Malcolm Cowley reevaluated Faulkner as the greatest writer of America. My dissertation intends to prove that Faulkner has never ceased his exploration of humanity as well as of narration techniques from The Sound and the Fury through Absalom, Absalom ! . In the former book, we find Faulkner's major concern for native problems exemplified by the voiceless situation and "ghost" image of Southern women, and the disillusioned situation of Southern young men caused by the exposure of historical truth of the South hidden behind the myth. In the latter book, we find a process of maturity: Faulkner not only continues his focus on gender issue but also portrays the difference between the white and the black as well as that between the whites, which fianally leads to the destruction of humanity. Class conflict and racial prejudice are universal problems extended over the boundary of the Southern land, so it is reasonable enough to say that Faulkner explores the issue of humanity persistently and piercingly.While Faulkner was long considered a modernist elite for the modernist techniques used in The Sound and the Fury, certain characteristics of postmodern literature, such as indeterminacy of text, intertextuality and metafiction features are displayed in Absalom, Absalom! . My dissertation also tries to prove that Faulkner's persistent exploration of the narration techniques serves his theme of humanity. Though Faulkner criticizes and satirizes in the two novels, certain characters like Dilsey and Judith in these two books suggest that he is optimistic about man's future, and his belief in humanity is never shaken.