On The Christian Elements In Absalom, Absalom!

Christianity has profound impacts on the Western literature. The Christian influence on Western writers is deeply reflected in their ways of thinking, value judgments, artistic ideas, and their preference of the subjects, structure and imagery for their works. Without Christianity, western literature would have been quite different from what it is like today. Until the 20th century, this influence had not diminished and a number of modern writers still drew materials and concepts from Bible to express their thinking on modern society and human nature. The American writer, William Faulkner, is an outstanding representative. "Absalom, Absalom!"as one of his masterpieces, also shows prominent biblical allusion, therefore the exploration of the Christian elements in "Absalom, Absalom!"is significantly meaningful.Firstly, this article will discuss how Christianity influences the Western literature, especially the American literature, down through history in its developing process. It will explain the Christian element in "Absalom, Absalom!"by tracing the social, historical and cultural backgrounds. Following that, it will focus on Faulkner's personal growth, life experience and the process of his writing, to specify how Christianity rooted into his works through each access, and hence to further explore the inevitability of the Christian element in Faulkner's "Absalom, Absalom!".Secondly, this article will analyze how the Christian images and stories are displayed in the novel. From the story structure, three related stories in "Old Testament"have been selected by Faulkner's in "Absalom, Absalom!"as its framework. These ancient fratricidal stories regain its vigor in this modern novel, and scenes of historical images of the tragedy described in the novel give the novel a religious grandness. Characters in the novel also have strong Christian characteristics. The article starts from Sutpen, Judith and Coldfield to understand how Faulkner adds religious significance to the rich connotations of the images. In the novel's narration and linguistic expression, religious imagery and the use of the Bible discourse are very often seen. The paper selects only a few notable aspects to discuss.Finally, Faulkner's use of biblical allusion does not confine to the textual content, while digging into the depth, the author's religious viewpoints and feelings can be touched. He criticizes the racism in the south, he accuses the reality in which women are tortured, he sees the corruption of human nature in modern society and he realizes the deviation of morality from traditional values, and he appeals for restoration of the Christian idea of "mercy and love." These have shown Faulkner's humanitarian spirit of Christianity. Faulkner does not simply insert religious content into modern stories; he applies the modern approach of stream-of-consciousness, and displays the modern charm through the manifestations of the old stories. He makes his own contribution to the glory of modern literature.In short, "Absalom, Absalom!"is an immortal masterpiece, in which Faulkner borrows Christian elements to express his thinking on human nature, and points out the direction for the spiritual reunification of human beings.