An Analysis on Faulkner’s Works from the Aspects of Death Themes

【摘要】“死亡”是文學(xué)作品中永久而古老的母題，被大多數(shù)作家在作品中以重要的意義呈現(xiàn)。在?？思{對(duì)“死亡”的大量書(shū)寫(xiě)中，主要展現(xiàn)了三種有關(guān)“死亡”的意義：對(duì)現(xiàn)實(shí)的抗?fàn)?、生命受難的解脫、以及身份的認(rèn)同。

【關(guān)鍵詞】《喧嘩與騷動(dòng)》；《我彌留之際》；《八月之光》；死亡

【Abstract】The theme of death is one of the major motifs in Faulkner’s novels， which aroused many scholars’ interests and further studies on it. However， death is not purely death， behind it， there is the declination of the American southern literature in Faulkners’ works. This book report aims to analyze the deep meaning of death themes mainly in the Sound and the Fury， As I Lay Dying， and Light in August.

【Key works】the Sound and the Fury； As I Lay Dying； Light in August and death

【作者簡(jiǎn)介】劉杏妍，河海大學(xué)外國(guó)語(yǔ)學(xué)院。

1. Introduciton

Death and love are eternal and ancient complex in literary works， because the fear of death and the desire for the opposite sex are the most primitive and basic spiritual experience of human beings.

2. The meaning of death

2.1 the struggle against the reality in the Sound and the Fury

In the deep understanding of the meaning of death， we can notice that Faulkner used death as a weapon， in order to help the hero to get out of the cage to realize the struggle against reality. The significance of Quentin’s death in the Sound and the Fury is a profound manifestation of it. The loss of virginity of Quentin’s younger sister broke him down totally， for his traditional beliefs had collapsed into pieces. His death was so peaceful and quiet. Quentin’s death is the continuation of his spiritual meaning and his salvation， with his death， people can feel his desperate struggle against reality.

2.2 suffering brought by death in As I Lay Dying

Addie， on her dying， used her death as the only and final indictment of her life. She didn’t have the ability to change her life when she was alive， the only way to make a requirement was death， she finally had the right and chance to express her ture feelings and what she really wanted， which was the demands after her death. However， during the trip， Addie’s suffering did not finish， but for Addie， it’s better for her to die because she can finally drop the suffering when she was alive.

2.3 confirm of self-identity in Light in August

An important feature of Faulkner’s creative thought is his concern for the existence of man’s identity. In the historical and cultural background of the southern America， the questioning and quest of the identity of the people are inevitable. Faulkner created a group of people who have been asking the question “who am I？” since their birth， and he linked the answer to death. Faulkner gives the death option to these people who are in quest of their identity. Death makes them equal to others in their eyes.

3. The time view of Faulkner

In Faulkner’s view of time， time goes backwards always. The theme of death deepens the characters’ experience of time in this concept of time. Quentin， in the Sound and the Fury， tried every way to stop time instead of giving in to time. But for him， time has already been a trap that he can not escape.

4. The historical view of Faulkner

In fact， to interpret death in Faulkner’s works from the perspective of historical theme， can no longer simply to analyze someone or someone’s end of life， but to stand in the social and historical background， to explore the death of American southern traditional culture and values.

5. Conclusion

To sum up， William Faulkner， representative of southern writer， depicts vivid pictures and meaningful motifs in his works， in which the death theme gives us so many deep meanings to explore. Through the analysis of the three books， we basically know the hidden side of death， which is not purely simple on the surface. Based on the historical stage， the death is not pure as well， it suggests the declination of aristocratic families of southern America. Faulkner tries to remind people that everyone cannot escape the change brought by the change of the times. No matter from which point of view， we can learn that death in Faulner’s works has much more meaningful understandings which worths our exploration.

參考文獻(xiàn)：

[1]?？思{，李文俊.我彌留之際[M].上海：上海譯文出版社，2010.