The Representation Of Southern Spirit In William Faulkner’s The Reivers

William Faulkner (1897-1962) is the great writer of the American southern literature inthe20thcentury. His last work is The Reivers. In the form of memoir, it narrates aneleven-year-old boy’s growing-up story in a four-day journey. It is also the last book ofYoknapatawpha County, displaying Faulkner’s nostalgia on the southern traditional values.Since its publication, the novel’s structure, narrative method and artistic characteristics havebeen catching critics’ attention. Many critics think the novel lacks techniques and depth,which in some degree hinders a further study of the story’s fundamental theme.In the title page of the novel, Faulkner hopes that children could have their own freewill in the capitalized society, from which it can be seen that Faulkner has a great expectationtoward freedom. Freedom is always a classic topic in the western countries. Rollo May pointsout that freedom and determinism give birth to each other. Freedom comes alive only whenpeople see it in opposition to determinism. However, human being is the being of existenceother than a collection of forced responses given by determinism. Based on this view, thisthesis believes the novel represents the existential state of southern spirit from the warriorspirit, the knight spirit and the gentleman spirit in connection with freedom and determinism,implying the development and outlet of the southern spirit in a commercialized community.This thesis consists of three chapters. Chapter one analyzes the warrior spirit inconfronting determinism through the southerners’ arousal of freedom. By means of departingfrom the security offered by traditional culture, Faulkner believes that the southern warriorspirit attempts to confront and accept the dangers and challenges of commercial society. Thewarrior spirit makes southerners follow the steps of commercial society and live in the realworld. Chapter two focuses on the knight spirit in rebelling against the determinism throughthe pursuit of freedom. Through southerner’s rebellion, Faulkner wants the southerners torebel against determinism and accept such challenges in commercial society. Chapter threecenters on the gentleman spirit in conquering determinism through the realization of freedomin the modern commercial society. Faulkner indicates that the gentleman spirit is such anideal to overcome alienation and survive in the southern community. Meanwhile, thesoutherners devote themselves to reconstruct their southern traditional values. On the basis of the above analysis, the conclusion indicates that through the spiritual outlook of people in thetransformation of American south, Faulkner expresses that southerners have to follow timesin the commercial society and immerse themselves in the reality. Only by facing thechallenge of commercial society and keeping themselves in the southern community, can theyreconstruct their southern traditional values.