FAULKNER, WILLIAM(Faulkner, William) (1897–1962), American novelist. Born September 25, 1897 in New Albany, Mississippi. Faulkner's father kept a toll stable in Oxford, and future writer grew up in an atmosphere of "noble poverty". Having completed an incomplete high school Faulkner dealt largely on his own. He attended several special courses at the University of pc. Mississippi, but generally remained self-taught. During World War I, he volunteered for the Royal Canadian Air Force. After the war he returned to Oxford and continued his studies at the university. His first book marble faun (The Marble Faun, 1924) is a collection of poems, mostly weak and secondary. For some time he lived in the bohemian quarter of New Orleans, later moved to New York, then to Europe and from there returned to Oxford. Finally, under the influence of S. Anderson, with whom he met in New Orleans, Faulkner began to write prose.
Some of early novels Faulkner in particular Soldier's award (Soldiers Pay, 1926) and mosquitoes (mosquitoes, 1927), are immature things, and his most read book Sanctuary (Sanctuary, 1931) was written for a sensation. Replete with dark imagery and horror, it cast a shadow over Faulkner's reputation for many years to come. Faulkner himself, having found his vocation in prose, followed it stubbornly and purposefully. He led quiet life in Oxford, away from literary society, not interested in journalism, not paying attention to criticism, and novels and stories came out from under his pen, most of which are woven from the material of life ordinary people and united by a common place of action.
The world of Faulkner's works is the fictional district of Yoknapatofa and its environs in the state of Mississippi. Outlying metropolises are represented by Memphis and New Orleans; the county seat, Jefferson, resembles Oxford in many ways. land in the early 19th century. bought or deceived by adventurers from the Indians, exploited by several generations of slave-owning "aristocrats" (Sartoris, Compsons, Sutpenes), until the Civil War of 1861-1865 undermined the source of their power. The impoverished descendants of this pre-war aristocracy - with rare exceptions, degenerate and degraded, unbalanced, mentally ill, morally devastated - are driven out and crushed by the predatory and unscrupulous tribe of the "white trash" - the Snopsy. In the background - bypassed by fate, patient Negroes, often showing more dignity than their white fellow countrymen. Over the exhausted, exhausted, poisoned by racial strife land hung thunderclouds mutual distrust, hatred and guilt. The interweaving of human passions in this difficult and turbulent social atmosphere is Faulkner's main theme. The picture he presented human existence sometimes funny and grotesque, sometimes deeply tragic, but invariably striking in its brightness.
Although Faulkner constantly claimed to have little interest in the technique of writing and preferred to call himself a "literary carpenter", he was a master of the pen and was a highly original experimenter. His novels often take the form internal monologue characters whose consciousness colors, distorts and confuses the plot in accordance with the passions and prejudices of the narrator, which are only gradually revealed to the reader. Faulkner's style is extremely original. Sharp clashes of opposing epithets create a strong effect, many novels end on an agitated, ambiguous and indefinite note, the meaning of which can hardly be formulated logically. Nevertheless, Faulkner's exploration of the controversial, impassioned, and often unenlightened soul seemed to most readers an undertaking as exciting as it was meaningful.
One of Faulkner's greatest achievements is the novel Noise and fury (The Sound and the Fury, 1929). Its background is the degradation of the once rich and glorious Compson family. The leitmotifs of the novel are philosophical pessimism, destruction way of life, personality disintegration, fear of history and time, and incest as extreme manifestation human doom.
In the novel Light in August (Light in August, 1932), compositionally less complex, subtly, although indistinctly, used christian symbolism. Main character, Joe Christmas, a sullen, arrogant mulatto, kills his white cohabitant. The townspeople pursue him, kill him and castrate him. Weave of sexual, racial and religious motives gives the story a high emotional intensity. Novel When I was dying (As I Lay Dying, 1930) in form is an alternating monologue of characters.
Novel Absalom, Absalom! (Absalom, Absalom!, 1936), ranked along with Noise and fury to the highest achievements of Faulkner, tells the story of the rise and fall of the exuberant and doomed Sutpen family. Sanctuary, originally conceived as a horror novel, after being revised, turned into a story of the martyrdom of a spoiled and frivolous girl Temple Drake. Twenty years later, Faulkner published his sequel, Requiem for a Nun (Requiem for a Nun, 1950). The Old and New South are explored in Sartoris (Sartoris, 1929) and Village (The Hamlet, 1940) - chronicles of the Sartoris and Snops families. Parable (A Fable, 1954; Pulitzer Prize 1955) is an allegory where an unknown World War I soldier is likened to evangelical Christ, protests on behalf of the wordless mass of soldiers against the spiritual blindness of the rulers of the world.
Faulkner's other books include novels Pylon (Pylon, 1935), Undefeated (The Unvanquished, 1938), wild palms (The Wild Palms, 1939), City (The Town , 1957), mansion (The Mansion, 1959); novel Kidnappers (The Rievers, 1962) posthumously awarded the Pulitzer Prize.
Among Faulkner's many stories most famous enjoys Bear (The Bear) published in the book Come down, Moses (Go Down, Moses, 1942). Faulkner also owns a collection of short stories. Knight's move (Knight's Gambit, 1949), Dr. Martineau and Other Stories (Doctor Martino and Other Stories, 1934), Collection of stories (Collected Stories, 1950) and big forest (big woods, 1957). Faulkner has written and co-written several film and television screenplays. A number of his works have been filmed.
(1897-09-25 )William Cuthbert Faulkner(English William Cuthbert Faulkner, -) - American writer, prose writer, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature (1949).
Biography
Born September 25, 1897 in New Albany (Mississippi) in the family of the manager of the University of Murray Charles Faulkner and Maude (Butler) Faulkner. his great-grandfather William Faulkner(1826-1889), during the war of the North and the South, he served in the army of the southerners and was the author of the novel " White Rose Memphis". When Faulkner was still a child, the family moved to the city of Oxford, in the north of the state, where the writer lived all his life. William was self-taught: he graduated from junior high school, then educated himself and occasionally attended courses at the University of Mississippi.
In 1918, Estelle Oldham, with whom Faulkner had been in love since childhood, married another. William decided to go to the front as a volunteer, but he was not taken, including because of his height (166 cm). He then volunteered for the Royal Canadian Air Force and entered the British Army Flying School in Toronto, but before he could complete the course, the First World War was over.
Cadet Faulkner in Toronto, 1918
Faulkner returned to Oxford and again began to attend classes at the University of Mississippi, however, soon quit. The year before, in the th, it took place literary debut: his poem "Après-midi d'un faune" was published in The New Republic magazine. Then in 1924 his first book was published - a collection of poems "The Marble Faun" ("The Marble Faun").
In 1925, Faulkner met writer Sherwood Anderson in New Orleans. He recommended that Faulkner pay more attention to prose than poetry, and advised him to write about what Faulkner knows best - about the American South, about one tiny plot of this land "the size of postage stamp».
Soon a new district appeared in the state of Mississippi - Yoknapatofa, fictional by Faulkner, where the action of most of his works will take place. Together they make up the Yoknopathof saga - the history of the American South from the arrival of the first white settlers to the lands of the Indians until the middle of the twentieth century. A special place in it is occupied by the Civil War -1865, in which the southerners were defeated. The heroes of the saga were representatives of several families - Sartoris, de Spains, Compsons, Snopes, as well as other residents of Yoknapatofa. Passing from work to work, they become old acquaintances, real people about whose life you learn something new every time. The first novel in the saga was Sartoris, depicting the decline of the Mississippian slave aristocracy that followed the social upheavals of the Civil War (an abridged version of the novel was published in 1929; it was not published in full until 1973 under the title Flags in the Dust).
Faulkner's first major recognition came with the publication of The Sound and the Fury (1929). In the same year he married Estelle Oldham, after her divorce from her first husband. They had two daughters: Alabama, who died in 1931, and Jill. However, Faulkner's works were mostly critical rather than reader success, being considered unusual and complex.
To support his family, Faulkner began writing scripts for Hollywood, signing a contract with MGM in April 1932. The contract provided for a fee of $500 per week. For this money, Faulkner pledged to "write original stories and dialogue, make adaptations, refine scripts, etc., and perform all other functions normally performed by writers." The writer considered this work as an income in order to be able to engage in serious literature (“I make up my salary for literary day labor in the cinema”). Somehow, called to the studio and crossing the border of the state of California, he said to his companion: “Here it would be necessary to put up a pillar with the inscription:“ Abandon hope, everyone who enters here, “or whatever it is with Dante”. Nevertheless, despite some obstinacy and frequent absences home, he treated his work conscientiously. For example, Faulkner impressed screenwriter Joel Sayre with his ability to work. In Hollywood, it was considered a very good result if the screenwriter wrote five pages a day, and Faulkner sometimes wrote 35 pages.
The writer was associated with Hollywood for fifteen years - from 1932 to 1946, having directed several films with director Howard Hawks. In the same years, he created novels: “Light in August” (), “Absalom, Absalom! "(), "Undefeated" (), "Wild Palms" (), "Village" () and others, as well as a novel in the short stories "Come down, Moses" (), which included his most famous story "The Bear".
Novels
Faulkner's grave
- Soldier's award / Soldiers Pay (1926)
- Mosquitoes / mosquitoes (1927)
- Sartoris / Sartoris (Flags in the Dust) (1929)
- Noise and Fury / The Sound and the Fury (1929)
- When I was dying As I Lay Dying (1930)
- Sanctuary / Sanctuary (1931)
- Light in August / Light in August (1932)
- Pylon / Pylon (1935)
- Absalom, Absalom! / Absalom, Absalom! (1936)
- Undefeated / The Unvanquished (1938)
- wild palms / The Wild Palms (If I Forget Thee, Jerusalem) (1939)
- Village / The Hamlet (1940)
- Come down, Moses / Go Down, Moses (1942)
- Ash Defiler / Intruder in the Dust (1948)
- Requiem for a Nun / Requiem for a Nun (1951)
- Parable / A Fable(1954, Pulitzer Prize)
- City / The Town (1957)
- Mansion / The Mansion (1959)
- Kidnappers / The Reivers(1962, Pulitzer Prize)
Born in New Albany (Mississippi) in the family of the manager of the University of Murray Charles Faulkner and Maude (Butler) Faulkner. His great-grandfather, William Clark Faulkner (1826-1889), served in the army of the South during the War of the North and the South and was the author of the then famous novel The White Rose of Memphis. When Faulkner was still a child, the family moved to the city of Oxford, in the north of the state, where the writer lived all his life.
In 1918, Estelle Oldham, with whom Faulkner had been in love since childhood, married another. William decided to volunteer for the front, but he was not accepted. Then he entered the military flight school, but before he could complete the course, the First World War ended. Faulkner returned to Oxford and began attending classes at the University of Mississippi, but soon quit. The year before, in 1919, he had made his literary debut with the publication of his poem "Après-midi d'un faune" in The New Republic.
In 1925, Faulkner met writer Sherwood Anderson in New Orleans. He recommended that Faulkner pay more attention to prose than poetry, and advised him to write about what Faulkner knows best - about the American South, about one tiny plot of this land "the size of a postage stamp." Soon a new district appeared in the state of Mississippi - Yoknapatofa, fictional by Faulkner, where the action of most of his works will take place. Together they make up the Yoknopathof saga - the history of the American South from the arrival of the first white settlers to the lands of the Indians until the middle of the twentieth century. A special place in it is occupied by the Civil War of 1861-1865, in which the southerners were defeated. The heroes of the saga were representatives of several families - Sartoris, de Spains, Compsons, Snopes, as well as other residents of Yoknapatofa. Passing from work to work, they become old acquaintances, real people, about whose life you learn something new every time.
Faulkner's first major recognition came with the publication of The Sound and the Fury (1929). In the same year he married Estelle Oldham, after her divorce from her first husband. They had two daughters: Alabama, who died in 1931, and Jill. However, Faulkner's works were mostly critical rather than reader success, being considered unusual and complex. To support his family, Faulkner began writing scripts for Hollywood and did this for fifteen years - from 1932 to 1946. In the same years, he created novels: Light in August (1932), Absalom, Absalom! (1936), The Undefeated (1938), Wild Palms (1939), The Village (1940) and others, as well as the novel in short stories Get Down, Moses (1942), which included his most famous story, The Bear ".
Award only Nobel Prize in literature in 1949 brought Faulkner, whose work has long been loved in Europe, recognition at home.
William Faulkner is an American writer.
Belongs to the largest writers in the United States, masters of the new American prose of the 20th century, which became known in Europe from the 20s, and in the 30s received world recognition. This most American of American authors has become one of the colossi of world literature. Relying on colloquial and American folk traditions, Faulkner combined these elements with literary modernism and the most daring European experiments in symbolism and in the literature of the "stream of consciousness", creating their immortal masterpieces.
Born in New Albany, Mississippi, the eldest of four sons, he grew up in Oxford, where the University of Mississippi is located. Faulkner was named after his great-grandfather, Colonel William C. Faulkner, a Civil War veteran who made his fortune building railroads and at the same time former author popular novels. His image was imprinted in the mind of a descendant, becoming a source of stories about the past of the South and about civil war, as well as the history of the Faulkner family, whose fame had faded significantly by that time.
Once owned by the family Railway was sold, Faulkner's father acquired a paid stable and a hardware store in Oxford and eventually became the business manager at the university.
Despite a passionate love of reading, William studied rather poorly and was expelled from high school. He had to go to work as an accountant in his grandfather's bank. In 1918, when Faulkner's girlfriend Estella Oldham married another, Faulkner joined the Royal Canadian Air Force. However, the war ended before he completed his basic training. Returning to Oxford, Faulkner took courses at the university for some time, worked in a New York bookstore. He changed jobs and professions frequently.
Faulkner made his debut in literature with the cycle of poems "The Marble Faun" (1924), in which the influence of the poetry of the French Symbolists is noticeable. The decisive influence on Faulkner was the writer Sherwood Anderson. They met in 1925 in New Orleans. Anderson helped Faulkner publish his first novel, The Soldier's Award (1926), and encouraged him to delve deeper into his southern roots. Instead, Faulkner traveled to Europe on a freighter, cycled through Italy and France, and on his return completed his second novel, The Mosquitoes (1927) - satirical image literary circles New Orleans. His third novel, Flags in the Dust, was rejected, but Faulkner revised it and retitled it Sartoris (1929). It was the first novel in the sprawling saga of Yoknapatofa County, a fictionalized version of his hometown of Lincoln County. On a map of this imaginary world, he wrote: "The sole owner and proprietor is William Faulkner."
In imitation human comedy» Balzac Faulkner attempted to artistically recreate the scene and its history in a series of novels with recurring characters and a gradually developing plot that told about the rise and fall of the South from the time of the displacement of the Indians, the formation of plantation society and its inherent chivalric code of honor, and up to the tragedy of slavery and replacement of former values with modern values of the mercantile, acquisitive North. Faulkner's cycle about a paradise lost due to the limitations of human capabilities and unbridled passions is embodied in the narrative of various characters and the stories of their families, in the chronicle of the region and in the past, which Faulkner elevates to the level of myth and universal generalization, showing the comic and tragic in the life of his Sartoris, Compsons, McCaslins, Bundrenses, Snopes and others. Their stories are often refracted in multiple narrative perspectives, non-linear time sequences, and an obscure, shifting style full of hints and innuendo. For example, "The Sound and the Fury" (1929) - the story of the decline of the Compson family, told from the perspective of its four representatives, the most memorable of which is the feeble-minded Benji. Faulkner builds the novel in such a way that the revelation descends gradually, while weaving the streams of consciousness of several characters and creating a highly symbolic pattern.
In 1929, already an established novelist with a well-defined theme and a well-developed method, Faulkner married a divorced Estella Oldham and settled on the outskirts of Oxford. Over a twelve-year period from 1930 to 1942, he created novels: When I was dying (1930), Sanctuary (1931), Light in August (1932), Absalom, Absalom! (1936), The Invictus (1938), Wild Palms (1939), The Village (1940) - the first part of the Snopes trilogy, Get Off the Mountain, Moses (1942).
Despite the hype in France and in a small circle of writers, Faulkner's prose never received recognition from a wider audience - with the exception of the film adaptation of the novel "The Sanctuary": the story of a schoolgirl raped and set foot on the path of prostitution. This led to Faulkner's work in Hollywood as a screenwriter and "finisher" of other people's scripts, before he reached the height of his fame with the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1949.
Faulkner's last works include The Defiler of Ashes (1948), a collection of stories published in 1950, The Parable (1954), the completion of the Snopes trilogy - the novels The City (1957), The Mansion (1959) and his last comic novel"The Kidnappers" (1962). Settling near the University of Virginia, Faulkner ended his career somewhat confused by his own success and often posed as a simple farmer rather than a world-famous writer.
William Cuthbert Faulkner - famous American writer whose works have long become classics of world art. In 1949 he received the Nobel Prize in Literature. In 1955 and 1963 he won the Pulitzer Prize.
The future writer was born in the Mississippi city of New Albany. As a child, he moved with his family to Oxford, where he lived for the rest of his life, creating a lot of magnificent works. Faulkner's first poem (The Afternoon of a Faun) was published in 1919 in The New Republic. For a long time he was engaged in poetry, but after meeting the writer Sherwood Anderson in 1925, on his advice, he began to pay more attention to prose. He wrote about what he knows best: the American South. To do this, he came up with his own district in Mississippi, which was called Yoknapatofa and subsequently posted here most stories and adventures of the characters in their books.
William Faulkner's books are like one very long novel, a literary series that spans several centuries. The history of the South of America from W. Faulkner begins with the arrival of white settlers in these places, inhabited. The Yoknapatof saga ends in the middle of the 20th century. Similar are not only the lands of a fictional district in Mississippi, but also several families that pass from one book to another. The Sartoris, de Spains, Compsons, Snopes and many others are familiar and beloved to those who are familiar with the work of this extraordinary writer.
On June 17, 1962, William fell off his horse and was taken to the hospital. The writer, prose writer, literary modernist, who is still considered unsurpassed, died in the American city of Baihelia on July 6, 1962. Last work Faulkner's book "The Kidnappers".
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List of books:
red leaves
Absalom, Absalom!
small village
wild palms
To the stars
When I was dying
Undefeated
