Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom!: An Innovative Narrative Technique
Shawn Montano
Guilt should be viewed through the eyes of more than one person,
southern or otherwise. William Faulkner filters the story, Absalom, Absalom!,
through several minds providing the reader with a dilution of its representation.
Miss Rosa, frustrated, lonely, mad, is unable to answer her own questions
concerning Sutpen's motivation. Mr. Compson sees much of the evil and the
illusion of romanticism of the evil that turned Southern ladies into ghosts.
Charles Bon and Henry Sutpen are evaluated for their motives through Quentin
Compson and Shreve McCannon. Quentin attempt to evade his awareness, Shreve the
outsider (with Quentin's help) reconstructs the story and understands the
meaning of Thomas Sutpen's life. In the novel Absalom, Absalom!, a multiple
consciousness technique is used to reassess the process of historical
reconstruction by the narrators.
Chapter one is the scene in which Miss Rosa......
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Approximate Word Count: 2095
Approximate Pages: 9 (260 words per double-spaced page) |