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1、William Faulkner. A Brief Introduction. Life. Major Works and Writing Style. SymbolA Rose For EmilyBorn William Cuthbert Falkner September 25, 1897 New Albany, Mississippi, U.S.Died July 6, 1962 (aged 64) Byhalia, Mississippi, U.S.Notable award(s)Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (1955, 1963)Nobel Prize in
2、 Literature (1949)Spouse(s)Estelle OldhamPeriod Age of Modernism. A BRIEF INTRODUCTION The Age of Modernism The Southern Renaissance (In American literature, the South is a mysterious and romantic place. Lots of literary productions took it as the background.)InfluenceBackground The South: Virginia,
3、 Carolina, Missouri, Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky etc. (a large territory in southeast America; sharing similar geographical features, accent, race, climate; similar ideology and culture; different from the industrial states in the northeast America) Agriculture: main support of the southern
4、 economy (planting tobacco, cotton, rice etc.) Slavery: the darkest side of the South Owner of the large plantations: noblemen in the South (imitating the manner of noblemen and knights in Europe)Influence In the Civil War, the southern army was defeated. The conservative and proud white in the Sout
5、h had to face the reality though they were attached to their past glory. Thus, in the American southern literature, the strong tragic sense can be found.Literary scene in the South 18th century: only historical documents 19th century: gradually development; famous writers such as Edgar Allan Poe and
6、 Mark TwainInfluence 20th century: William Faulkner (most outstanding one); in the beginning of the 20th century, a group of southern writers, thus the Southern Renaissance; popular novel Gone with the Wind; later African- American writers. LIFE- BORN in a Southern family with fairly long tradition;
7、 his great-grandfather: a legendary character and a leader of a regiment in the Civil War; the family history was partly used by Faulkner in his novels- RAISED in a small town, later was used as the background in his novels named Yoknapatawpha county (约克纳帕塔法县)- NO regular school, read widely- EAGER
8、to join WWI, but the war was over when he was still trained- STAYED in University of Mississippi only one year and then took some odd jobs- WITH the help of Sherwood Anderson, he published his first novel. However, he was not widely recognized in the US though in Europe he was highly praised by some
9、 famous writers such as Sartre.- IN the late 1940s, with the recommend of famous critic Malcolm Cowley, Faulkners works were gradually recognized in the US. And in 1950, he wasawarded the Nobel Prize. Major Works and Writing StyleMajor Works19 novels, 3 short story volumes and some other works“The S
10、ound and the Fury” (喧哗与骚动)“Light in August”(八月之光)“Absalom! Absalom!” (押沙龙,押沙龙!)“Go Down, Moses” (去吧,摩西)The Analysis of Faulkners novels Special setting: Yoknapatawpha county (a typical small southern town)Faulkners knowledge of the life of the American Deep South, with its tragic history of rise and
11、 fall in its fortunes, its ways and mores, and its language, all fused in his imagination and recreated, became the substance of a Faulknerian world strangely inspiring both nostalgia and a sense of impending doom in modern readers. The Analysis of Faulkners novelsFaulkners knowledge of the life of
12、the American Deep South, with its tragic history of rise and fall in its fortunes, its ways and mores, and its language, all fused in his imagination and recreated, became the substance of a Faulknerian world strangely inspiring both nostalgia and a sense of impending doom in modern readers. The Ana
13、lysis of Faulkners novels Characterization: vivid, “flesh and blood people that will stand up and cast a shadow”; enjoying the complicated state with little interference Plot: most about history of American South (its rise and fall; glory and evil sides; family story)The Analysis of Faulkners novels
14、 Theme: in praise of eternal virtues in human history, love, pity, honor and self- sacrifice (Faulkner thought that the doom of the South was caused by ill-treatment of Indians and blacks and the way to change the meaningless modern life is recovering the traditional and eternal virtues.)The Analysi
15、s of Faulkners novelsPoint of view: a new and experimental technique multiple points of view and unreliable narratorThe Analysis of Faulkners novelsMultiple points of view refer to showing within the same story how the characters reacted differently to the same person or the same situation. The read
16、ers should make judgments through analysis. (Example: The Sound and the Fury)The Analysis of Faulkners novelsFallible or unreliable narrator: perception, interpretation and evaluation made by the narrator do not coincide with the opinions and norms implied by the author. Readers should judge by themselves.The Analysis of Faulkners novels Style: variety from