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Essay on William Faulkner
Faulkner, William, an American novelist, is known for his epic portrayal, in some 20 novels, of the tragic conflict between the old and the new South. Faulkner's complex plots and narrative style alienated many readers of his early works, but he was recognized later as one of the greatest American writers.
Born in New Albany, Mississippi, Faulkner was raised in nearby Oxford as the oldest of four sons of an old-line southern family. In 1915 he dropped out of high school, which he detested, to work in his grandfather's bank. In World War I (1914-1918) he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force but never saw battle action. Back home in Oxford, he was admitted to the University of Mississippi as a veteran, but he soon quit school to write, supporting himself with odd jobs (Edmond, 2003).
William Faulkner is one of the most gifted and prolific writers in American history. Faulkner wrote by observing. By doing this he was able to create incredibly life like characters (Edmond, 2003). Faulkner’s early life influenced his writings in The Sound and the Fury by teaching him to write about the things that he knew best, and by simply observing his surroundings. Faulkner’s early life was a series of challenges and new experiences. Through all of these he met new and different people to base characters on. Every one of these new experiences gave Faulkner more inspiration to write. By meeting new people and doing new things Faulkner developed characters. He based most of these characters on Southerners that he knew.
Faulkner's first book, The Marble Faun, a collection of pastoral poems, was privately printed in 1924. The following year he moved to New Orleans, worked as a journalist, and met the American short-story writer Sherwood Anderson, who helped him find a publisher for his first novel, Soldier's Pay (1926)....
