The Southern Ideology Of Class In William Faulkner’s Absalom, Absalom!

William Faulkner has always been recognized as an initiator of the Southern Renaissance and the speaker of ruling class. Critics on William Faulkner, however, failed to criticize him adequately in terms of class. In the present paper, this factor has weighed in to unveil Faulkner’s implications of the form of antagonism between ruled class members, the construction of racial identity and the propagation of social "equality" and "openness", which have been revealed as three conscious ruling policies designed by ruling class to serve specific social purpose and maintain class relations. Thus this discovery just validates Faulkner’s divergence from the rest of Southern Renaissance writers, who were known to have been exorbitantly keen on defending the legitimacy of their rule. And such a discovery has been made by delving into Faulkner’s novel, Absalom, Absalom!, and shed light upon by analyzing the foreshadows cast upon the protagonist Sutpen and other characters.This thesis is divided into three parts. The first part contains a brief introduction to the research methods, the author and his writings. Then it critically summarizes the criticism on Absalom, Absalom! and classifies them into three trends:racial, feminism, and new historical studies.The second part is divided into three chapters, each one of which represents one policy respectively used by ruling class to maintain certain class relationship as exploded by Faulkner. Chapter one begins with the overt division of social castes which leads to little Sutpen’s consciousness of racial difference. And this just shed light on upper class’s form of antagonism between blacks and poor white by emphasizing of the racial difference and making blacks became the scapegoat for the white rulers.Chapter two discusses Sutpen’s and Bon’s blurred racial identity. Thomas Sutpen, a white man, was always suspected by others as black for his vulgar behavior. However, faced with the ruthless Sutpen, who shows no traits for being an upper man, and his well armed and loyal Negroes, those ruling people received him as a white planter. On the other hand, Charles Bon, a person with black blood, was regarded as a white aristocrat by Jefferson people because of his born elegance and nobility, which is Faulkner’s big blow on the assumed innate difference between white and black. And both Sutpen and Bon’s situation uncovered the construction of "white identity" by the ruling class to made estrangement between slaves and poor white in fear of their unite against the rule.In chapter three, the problem of social strata and consciousness of Southern region in the antebellum years is discussed. Then after the discussion of General Compson and Mr. Coldfield’s acceptance of Sutpen, the fallowing part describes Faulkner’s exposure of the final ruling policy for the Southern privilege people, which is the propagation of the equality and openness of the South as to legitimate their identity as ruling class.The conclusion part sums up the whole thesis. In addition, it points out that Faulkner’s greatness lies in his breakaway from the fetters of his own identity as a ruling class member while revealing the voiceless situation of the poor white and blacks and exposing the dirty tricks of the ruling class to maintain their power.