Comparison Table

A Table I created comparing Faulkner and Nietzsche can be found Here.

Acquired Second Reader & First Three Pages

Good news: I just got a second reader for my thesis. The way the honors program works here in Berkeley is that you have your first professor who teaches you literary theory the first semester and acts as a general guide the second semester. Each student then has to find a second reader amongst the faculty who is a specialist in the field you are researching.

Luckily, Professor Donna Jones has agreed to be my second adviser for my thesis.

Also I have written the first three pages of my paper, and will have about ten more pages written soon: Click Here.

Eyes: Faulkner's Perspective on Mankind

Critic Richard Godden cites Paul Virilio as saying that in A Fable, the bird's-eye-view of earth is taken by the pilots, who photograph the landscape for the purposes of knowing how best to demolish it. Virilio suggests that the privileged perspective on human activity is made by the very one's who are intent on destroying it. As a parallel, I hope to make a comparison between the way mankind is viewed in A Fable, and the image of the "eye" of the billboard which appears at the end of The Sound and the Fury. What is the "privileged perspective" in The Sound and the Fury? Does the billboard represent Capitalism/Materialism? Is it a Paternal Eye, the eye of "Father," the eye of God?

Also, as I was in the shower, I realized I should probably hold off on reading the 200 pages left in A Fable until later. I will stick to reading the rest of As I Lay Dying, and completing The Birth of Tragedy tomorrow. I think I will get too stressed trying to shove A Fable into my schedule, and it won't be as productive a criticism.

The Sound and the Fury and As I Lay Dying and Birth of Tragedy (equals) Nihilistic/Existential Tragedy in a Family Setting

A Fable is probably best matched up with what I may go on to call Faulkner's War Trilogy:
Absalom, Absalom! and The Unvanquished and A Fable (equals) Faulkner's Criticism of War and Will to Power

Anyway, let's hope I can keep this blogging up!

Much Love...

Frustration...A Near Repudiation

I repudiate my repudiation...

I have the first fifteen pages of my thesis due Friday, which really isn't that much of a problem and I am excited about it, but Faulkner's A Fable is giving me a hard time. I finished The Sound and the Fury, and was at first let down by the ending, until I realized that the book is supposed to be about nothing. The ending, which is actually three endings in one, is suppose to expose the failure of three kinds of systems which attempt to add meaning to the meaninglessness of life:

1. Pragmatism/Materialism, as represented by Jason
2. Ignorant Bliss, as represented by Benjy
3. The Aesthetic Ideal/Morality/Cultural Dignity and Values, as represented by Quentin
4. Christianity, as represented by Disley (Although I am still skeptical as to whether Faulkner implies that Christianity "fails" to add meaning to life, or if the Compsons simply fail to grasp the hope it offers....

It seems like I have to reread the book, because now I actually know what to look for. Either way, stylistically, the book is brilliant, even if you don't know what is going on. There is one line that reads

I could hear Shreve working the pump, then he came back with the basin and a round blob of twilight wobbling in it, with a yellow edge like a fading balloon, then my reflection.

Anyway, back to my original frustration: A Fable. The story is an allegory of World War I, and was considered by Faulkner to be his masterpiece. Yet, most scholars regard The Sound and the Fury to be his greatest work. The story is complex and very long, and I feel like the entire middle section could be cut out. Some of Faulkner's usual techniques, like his overly qualified sentences, run far too long, probably causing what feels to me the unnecessary length of the work. The story centers around a French corporal of Jewish origin, who through his squad of twelve men, convinces both the French and German lines to stop the war. The world looks on, awaiting to see what meaning they will rest their lives upon without a war to fight. The corporal is a Christ-figure, of course. It should be interesting if I can make some comparisons between hi and the Superman of Nietzsche.

Here is a general approach to Faulkner I have thought about taking from reading so far: He seems to like to set up different systems which attempt to give meaning to life, and watch as they all self-destruct. What is left is unavoidable nihilism, what Paul Tillich called, the "threat of non-being." How do Faulkner's characters cope with nihilism? Do they overcome it? Is Quentin Compson's choice to jump off a bridge the only answer?

Critic's Quote on Faulkner/Nietzsche

"The link between Faulkner's novel and the philosophies of Nietzsche and Schopenhauer, once identified, is hard to deny."

- The Birth of Tragedy from the spirit of the blues: Philosophy and history in If I Forget Thee, Jerusalem
Patrick McHugh. The Faulkner Journal. Orlando: Spring 1999. Vol 14,
Iss. 2; pg. 57, 18 pgs.

Full-Text Here

Faulkner and Nietzsche Link: Progress!

Thankfully, my professor arranged an appointment with the class to visit the university librarian. She introduced me to an excellent resource in the form of the Modern Language Association International Bibliography. It is a great research resource, but you may need to have a proxy with your school's library in order for it to work. Take the half hour to go to your school's librarian and see how you can fix your laptops browser to access resources like the MLAIB through a proxy server.

Anyway, here is the Holy Grail I have been looking for: A Bibliography of Scholarly Works Comparing Faulkner and Nietzsche.

I know the Wikipedia page on Faulkner only mentions the relationship between the two, but now these two links can provide some further material for those interested.

All the Best....