1、l One of the most influential writers of the 20th centuryl One of the leading American writers in the literary history of the United States.l A representative of the writers using stream of consciousness.I. Life and Careerw Born in Albany Mississippi; 4-5 moved to Oxford, Mississippi, model of his f

2、ictional Jefferson, Yoknapatawpha county, his family members prototypes for his fictional characters.w 1925, first novel published, Soldiers Pay 軍餉w 1929, two novels: Sartoris, The Sound and the Furyw 1929-1942, most productive: 2 short-story collections, a volume of poetry, 11 novelsw Early 1940s,

3、forgotten by the publicw 1945, a second rise to fame, higher than the firstw 1949, Nobel Prize for LiteratureII. Major Worksw 19 novels and 4 volumes of short stories (75), two volumes of poetry w His works are regarded as the summit of Southern literature.w The mythical county of Yoknapatawpha: 15

4、saga novels and most of his short stories; symbol of his works; one of the most famous imaginary places in literature.Best-known works (1929) 喧囂與騷動w As I Lay Dying (1930) 我彌留之際w Sanctuary (1931) 圣殿w Light in August (1932) 八月之光 (1936)押沙龍！押沙龍！ (1942) 去吧，摩西w Trilogy of the Snopes family The Hamlet (194

5、0) 村子 The Town (1957) 小鎮(zhèn) The Mansion (1959)大宅w Short Story collection: The Unvanquished, 沒有被征服的人(1938)Awards1.One of three finalists for the first Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Award(1946)2.Nobel Prize Winner(1949) As I Lay Dying（1930） For his powerful and artistically unique contribution to the mod

6、ern American novel.3. Pulitzer Winner twice: A Fable , 1955 The Reivers , 19634. National Book Awards twice: Collected Stories，1951 A Fable ， 1955William Faulkner won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1949. The Sound and the FuryDescribed the decay and downfall of an old southern aristocratic family,

7、 symbolizing the old social order, from four different points of view:Part1: Benjy (the youngest son), a foolPart 2: Quentin (the oldest son)，a suicidePart 3: Jason (the second son)，a cynical manPart 4: Dilsey (the maid), the omniscient viewThe Compsons are one of several prominent names in the town

8、 of Jefferson, Mississippi. Their ancestors helped settle the area and subsequently defended it during the Civil War. Since the war, the Compsons have gradually seen their wealth, land, and status crumble away. Mr. Compson is an alcoholic. Mrs. Compson is a self-absorbed hypochondriac who depends al

9、most entirely upon Dilsey to raise her four children. Quentin, the oldest child, is a sensitive bundle of neuroses. Caddy, his sister, is stubborn, but loving and compassionate. Quentin commited suicide after Caddys losing her virginity and their familys decline. Jason has been difficult and mean-sp

10、irited since birth and is largely spurned by the other children. Benjy is severely mentally disabled, an “idiot” with no understanding of the concepts of time or morality. Major themes: Here is “a tale/Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,/ Signifying nothing.” 1. The spiritual deterioration whi

11、ch characterizes modern life stems from the loss of love and want of emotional response. 2. The novel also tells a story of deterioration from the past to the present and the author idealizes the past. Techniques and Style1. Characterization: authorial transcendence2. A fallible narrator: stream of consciousness & interior monologue3. Multiple narrators: multiple points of view4. Disruption of time sequence5. Open-endednesswStyle: Words are often run together, with no capitalization and no proper punct