Activity #1

Gaining insight into William Faulkner's background and life was very interesting and will certainly help me better understand his writing. First of all, I find it fascinating that he is recognized as a great American writer when he never even graduated high school. This highlights his profound abilities because it shows that he did not need education to make his writing great. Another aspect of his life I found interesting was that he was able to enter the Canadian Air Force, but wasn't able to actually fight before the war ended. I found it funny that he bought an officer's uniform and exaggerated his experience while training. He enjoyed the praise he received from others. This shows something about his character, and I wonder if these aspects of his personality will be revealed in any of his characters in The Sound and the Fury.
It was helpful to learn about his other works of writing compared to The Sound and the Fury. His third novel was based off of his own native county. He described the experience of writing about something familiar and personal, and said that this helped him realize how important it is to take bits and pieces of your own experiences and share them with the world.
It was a shock to me that when Faulkner first wrote this book, he didn't think it was "publishable." His humble attitude is both odd and compelling. I really liked his Nobel Prize speech and the ideas he expresses. The fact that he sees his work not as his own but as the reader's drives me to want to read his book even more. It was interesting to read about his perception of what an author should be. He thinks that the writer must "teach himself that the basest of all things is to be afraid." Writing should confront the truest emotions, and for that to happen, the writer must dig down deep instead of just writing on the surface. He shows that his writing is vulnerable, and although he may not admit this, that is what makes it so great. He says that he "declines to accept the end of man." He believes that man will "prevail" because of the emotion we possess, and we must hold onto this emotion. I find his ideas to be great descriptions of what a writer should be.