William Faulkner

1. William Faulkner 1897-1962 Nobel Prize for Literature 1949 Created Yoknapatawpha, Mississippi

3. “Given the choice between the experience of pain and nothing, I would choose pain.” • “Hollywood is a place where a man can get stabbed in the back while climbing a ladder.” • “If I were reincarnated, I'd want to come back a buzzard. Nothing hates him or envies him or wants him or needs him. He is never bothered or in danger, and he can eat anything.” • “The past is never dead. It's not even past.”

4. Look for the implied, the abstract, the symbolic • Look for “the old verities and truths of the heart.” • Find passages that suggest meaning beyond plot • Be willing to ask ‘why’

5. Considerations for “Barn Burning” • Describe the buildings in the story. How are they presented to the reader? What is their significance? • What are the possessions of the Snopes family? Describe them. What significance do they have in the story? • Locate and explore references to the idea of “owning people” and to the discrepancies of wealth in the story. • Locate the major references to AbnerSnopes. List words and phrases used to describe him. What do you notice?

6. Theme • Must be a generalization about life that is specific enough to reflect the significant aspects of story (possible lesson, suggested moral, implied main point…) • Must be expressed in full sentences with a clear stance (see above) • Must encompass the entire story (literally and implied) • Avoid clichés. • Avoid being so general that theme could apply to any number of stories.