On The Existential Themes Of Faulkner's The Sound And The Fury

William Faulkner not only depicts the actual life of Mississippi which he was familiar with in his works, also takes it as the starting-point for exploring the condition of human existence as a whole. He associates the personal experience of the protagonists in his novels with the fate of the human beings to investigate the main issues of the existence of the human beings. Based on the research fruits home and abroad, this thesis tentatively provides an interpretation of his novel The Sound and the Fury from the perspective of existentialism. Although Faulkner isn't an existential writer in the strict sense, his novels reveals the thoughts of existentialism and focuses on the value of the individual through the living experience in the deep sense.The major thematic concerns that we recognize, such as:absurdity, despair and estrangement, isolation are deeply explored here. Mr. Compson is weak in personality. He passes the traditions of the family and the old south to his children, especially to his eldest son, Quentin, but breaks the traditional concept of value by his nihilism and cynicism. The fall of family and his failed idealism are just exemplifications of his defeatism. He evades the reality by resorting to alcohol and leaves this world in drinking. Yet, Mrs. Compson is a cold, vain, self-pitying Southern "lady" withholding her thoughtfulness to his husband and maternal love toward her children. They make their children feel like living in a dungeon. Their inadequacies are the root of the family's tragedy, and they cannot shrink the responsibilities for the degeneration of the whole family. Their children's tragedies are their own, too.The structure of my thesis goes in the following way:Apart from introduction and conclusion, this thesis consists of six chapters. In chapter one, it mainly states the general principles of existentialism. The key theme of existential literature are presented, such as absurdity, despair and estrangement, isolation. On the other hand, it analyzes how Faulkner formed his deep understanding towards the predicament of human beings. In chapter two, by analyzing the social environment from two aspects, i.e. the economy decline and moral decline. In chapter three, it focuses on the issues of absurdity and escapement. In chapter four, it focuses on the issues of estrangement and isolation among members of the Compson, the tragic fate of the main characters. In chapter five, I analyze the themes of despair and anxiety. In chapter six, the black servant Dilsey faithfully serve the Compsons without any complaint in the process of self-realization.The changes of the society may result in the changes of people's ways of life. The disintegration of the old social order and old ideology may make those, who depend on the traditional concept of value, lose their psychological balance and the root of life, therefore feeling the social and spiritual crises. After the breakdown of the traditional concept and before the reestablishment of a new one, different people have different ways to face the crises. But depravity, evasion and suicide cannot free oneself form and solve all the problems. so they should bravely face up to the changing world and life. In the novel, what the author advocates are courage, honor, hope, sympathy and even sacrifice. It is quite true that "man will not only endure:he will prevail". Nowadays, we live in such a society also full of "sound and fury" that we must still uphold the traditional virtues of the human beings, adjust ourselves to the fast-changing pace of the society and face various difficulties, faithfully and unbendingly.