Ethical Reading Of William Faulkner’s The Sound And The Fury

This thesis attempts to analyze the cause of Compson family’s tragedy in the light of Ethical literary criticism, as well as to explore William Faulkner’s ethical thoughts in the novel. The background of The Sound and The Fury is at the end of the American Civil War when the South is in the period of reconstruction. The collapse of Southern plantation economy and the emerging of the northern capitalist economic forces have a great impact on the Southerners, who was known for their pride. The drastic change of the whole ethical environment inevitably brings about the change of the ethical relationship, the ideology of the people (including the ethical and moral concepts and values), the disintegration of family system and indifferent interpersonal relationship.First, the thesis is devoted to the introduction of William Faulkner and the research background of The Sound and The Fury, then introduced the concept of ethical literary criticism, its theoretical basis and the difference from the moral judgment and the significance of studying The Sound and The Fury with this literary criticism method. In the main body of the thesis, the author first analyzed the ethical environment of the novel. After defeated in the Civil war, the South went through social and economic transformation where the ethical order collapsed and family system fallen apart. And the Southerners lost their spiritual guidance and became spiritual orphan. Then, the thesis focused on the studying of the ethical tendency of major characters. Benjy as a fool has his own ethical orders, which is build upon his sensory world. He is living in a world with Caddy being a dominant part of it and repeating every moment of it. Quentin’s confusion of ethical identity leads him to committing suicide. As the eldest son, there is nothing wrong for Quentin tries to protect his sister’s virginity and maintain his family honor. Instead of saving Caddy from degeneration, he expressed much incest love for Caddy, confused the brother-sister love with man-woman love. In another aspect, he confused his ethical identity not as a son, a brother or an individual, but as a patriarch, the male dominant of the family. But because of the weakness of his personality, he can’t fulfill his obligations, thus make himself more pessimistic, hopeless and de desperate. Jason’s bully and cruelty are out of his ethical values of selfishness and self-interest, but it served him right that all his unrighteously-saved money was stolen by his niece. Dilsey the black servant in the family gave her love selfless to the whole family. Christian ethics is the source of her kind heart. But her love is still too weak to save the family. The thesis also explored Faulkner’s ethical ideas and principles in The Sound and The Fury, as well as the factors contributing to them.Through ethical reading of The Sound and The Fury, the tragedy of the Compson happened against the whole ethical environment in the South where family ethical relations breaks up, leaving no love and warmth in the family. And William Faulkner expressed his ideal of humanity, kindheartedness and toleration of human kind in the novel.