William Cuthbert Faulkner - Research Paper Example

William Cuthbert Faulkner 1. Introduction William Faulkner was a multi-faceted prolific writer who wrote poetry, short stories, a play and novels in his lifetime. He is an American writer and is considered an integral part of the Southern Literature of the United States along with other writers such as Truman Capote and Mark Twain. 1.1. Biography William Cuthbert Faulkner was born on 25 September 1897 to an old Southern family and was brought up in oxford Mississippi. He was eldest amongst the four siblings consequently he shared a very strong bond with both his parents. While his father taught him to hunt fish and track, his mother exposed him to the classics such as Grimm’s Fairy Tales and Charles Dickens. Since his mother and maternal grandmother as well as the Back woman Caroline Barr who raised him from infancy were avid readers, they acted as major catalysts in initiating, triggering and ultimately resulting in development of his creative imaginations and artistic works. In his childhood, he was a very bright student although he became withdrawn and quiet by the time he was in secondary school. Although he was reading the history of Mississippi on his own yet the academic studies held little or no interest for him. This pattern continued until his eleventh grade where he flunked once and then never graduated from high school. Faulkner was one of those lucky artists who get to taste fame during there lifetime however he mostly shied away from praise and fame. Yet it is observed that in his life he faced his fair share of financial set backs as well as other difficulties of life. William Faulkner died young at the age of 64 because of a myocardial infarction on 6 July’ 1962 at Wright’s Sanatorium in Byhalia Mississippi (Blotner 3-707). 2. Works Faulkner started writing poetry during his adolescence. His career as a novelist did not commence until 1925 when he wrote his first novel Soldier’s Pay. During his adolescence, he became friends with Philip Stone who not only acted as a mentor, in enhancing his talent of writing but also provided him with a chance to meet writers such as James Joyce. Faulkner was always fascinated by history consequently; in most of his works, history plays an important role. Another important aspect of his works is the exploration of issues of class, race and sex. According to Ferguson, “there are proportionally as many triangles in Faulkner’s novels as in the short stories, and they seem to suggest a basic lack of parity and equity in the sexual relationships he portrays” (172). In his works, he also brings in the element of mystery, which provides the readers with the pleasure of reading his short stories and novels as thrillers or detective stories. Yoknapatawppha County appears to be a common setting for many of his works which was almost geographically similar and based on Lafayette County where Oxford Mississippi is the county seat. Faulkner was in the habit of experimenting with his style and diction. He often utilized the technique of stream of consciousness in his works and generally, his writings are cerebral, emotional, at time grotesque or Gothic, subtle and complex. In 1956 during an interview Faulkner remarked on his experimentation with style in the following words, Let the writer take up surgery or bricklaying if he is interested in technique. There is no mechanical way to get the writing done, no shortcut. The young writer would be a fool to follow a theory. Teach yourself by your own mistakes; people learn only by error. The good artist believes that nobody is good enough to give him advice. He has supreme vanity. No matter how much he admires the old writer, he wants to beat him (Jean Stein). 3. Alcoholism and his Works Williamson states that, Faulkner repeatedly claimed that his writings came from ‘imagination, observation and experience’…the power of the artist sprang from the terrific tension that lay at the base of his psyche: always he was an outsider observing critically the social universe to which he was born, which he knew marvelously well, and which paradoxically gave him both sustenance and pain (184). Under this context, it can be inferred that Faulkner was not only blessed with superior power of imagination and art of creativity but also had a keen eye in observing every minor detail around him. However these powers of creativity were greatly affected and damaged because of his drinking habits as his editor also once said after Faulkner had drunk himself to oblivion in 1952 that he witnessing, “the complete disintegration of a man” (Fargnoli, Golay and Hamblin 376). Regardless of his drinking habits, it can not be asserted that he was solely dependent on alcohol since he could go without spirits for long periods of time (Blotner 404). The reason for the author’s drinking habits was the two tragedies he suffered in his life i.e. the death f his pre-mature daughter Alabama and his brother Dean who was killed in a plane crash in 1935 (Blotner 350). As Bryer also states, “Faulkner’s alcoholism was merely a way of escaping social obligations and an anodyne for physical pain or to see him rely on ‘shyness’ as a categorical explanation for many of the mysterious aspects of Faulkner’s behavior” (277). Through his works, Faulkner tries to expose and ridicule the myth about happy families. He projects his belief that the idea of a ‘happy family’ or human bonding is a façade to hide the actual pain and suffering of men, women and children. Hence in his family-centered literature he depicts various scenarios where every individual and human relationship, may it be between husband and wife or child and parent or amongst siblings every individual suffers because of ravages of alcoholism. As Paquette and Ferleger also comment on Faulkner’s characters that, “they frequently swill alcohol, chain-smoke and are either underweight or overweight… most of Faulkner’s physical descriptions convey an image of frail, weak and sallow population…Many of Faulkner’s characters are addicted to alcohol and are chronically trying to recover from its effects” (165). This depiction can also be associated with autobiographical strains in Faulkner’s works since a similar deterioration of relationships is also observed in his dealings with his wife, his second daughter Jill and his friends. Then again he was raised in a family where he had a father who was alcoholic as well and although he always denied the fact that alcohol had any adverse effect on his familial relations yet the readers or observer are able to see his folly. Although it cannot be denied that alcohol was something that the author held very dear as he once said, “there is no such thing as bad whiskey. Some whiskeys just happen to be better than others. But a man shouldn't fool with booze until he's fifty; then he's a damn fool if he doesn't” (Wintle, and Kenin 284). It is observed that Faulkner always asserted that he did not drink while he was under the process of creating something new (Blotner 508). This also explains the fact that he had a lower dependability on alcohol as compared to his fellow writers. However, critics believe that alcohol acted as a catalyst to ignite his fire of imagination. Floyd also says that, “Goodwin asserts that alcohol fueled Faulkner’s genius, allowing the shy and introspective man the confidence he needed to write” (48). Williamson also shares a similar view on the role of alcohol in Faulkner’s life as he also sates that for Faulkner, “alcohol was a tranquillizer…several people close to Faulkner agreed with his stepson Malcolm who said simply that when Faulkner was pushed he hit the bottle” (66). 4. Conclusion Drinking alcohol is a common and easy method for human beings to be able to find temporary escape from their present. The temporarily induced stupor is a welcome change from monotony of life and the miseries that fate and this world inflicts upon an individual and many human beings fall a prey to this hazardous and destructing habit. Hence, it is observed that for a versatile genius such as William Faulkner alcohol acted as a tonic for not only in dealing with his problems but also to create his masterpieces. Moreover his writings also reflect upon his personal experiences and sufferings that he faced during his life. Works Cited Blotner, Joseph Leo. Faulkner: A Biography. Mississippi: The University Press of Mississippi, 2005. Print. Bryer, Jackson R. Sixteen Modern American Authors: A Survey of Research and Criticism Since 1972. New York: Duke University Press, 1989. Print. Fargnoli, A Nicholas, Michael Golay, and Robert W. Hamblin. William Faulkner: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work. New York: Facts On File Inc.,2002. Print. Ferguson, James. Faulkner’s Short Fiction. Knoxville: The University of Tennessee Press, 1991. Print. Floyd, Michael. Substance Abuse: A Patient-Centered Approach. Oxford: Radcliff Medical Press Ltd., 2002. Print. Paquette, Robert L., and Lou Ferleger. Slavery, Secession, and Southern History. Virginia: The University Press of Virginia, 2000. Print. Stein, Jean. “William Faulkner, The Art of Fiction No. 12”. The Paris Review. n.p. 1956. Web. 26 April 2012. Williamson, Joel. William Faulkner and Southern History. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993. Print. Wintle, Justin, and Richard Kenin. The Dictionary of Biographical Quotation of British and American Subjects. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd.,1978. Print. Read More