ACT Reading Practice Test 19

HUMANITIES: William Faulkner: Great Southern Author

Born in Mississippi in 1897, William Faulkner is touted as the master of such revolutionary literary devices as stream of consciousness, multiple narrations, and time-shifts within a narrative. During a

Line 5 career that spanned more than three decades, Faulkner produced literary works filled with emotional turmoil and unflinching honesty. His unique interpretation of history is highlighted in the symbolism and imagery of his writing. It has also been argued that Faulkner’s

10 works are some of the best representations of Southern Gothic literature ever written. It is clear that Faulkner’s Deep South roots greatly influenced his writing. He was a prolific writer whose works both parallel and depart from popular myths of

15 southern culture. Faulkner’s remarkable understanding of race relations and his clever satire of Southern characters stemmed from his memories of growing up in rural Mississippi. He set many of his short stories and novels in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, based

20 on what Faulkner referred to as “my own little postage stamp of native soil,” Lafayette County, Mississippi. It was there, immersed in traditional southern lore, that William Faulkner began to write of the great political, social, and economic transformation taking place in the

25 Deep South, depicting traditional society in timeless human dramas. Faulkner came from an old and relatively prominent Southern family. He grew up surrounded by traditional folklore, family stories, accounts from the

30 Civil War, and lectures about being a Southern gentleman. In his works, Faulkner examined how traditional values and beliefs affected Southern society after the Civil War. Faulkner particularly abhorred the rampant racism and abuse that African Americans suffered in

35 the South. Although Faulkner’s novels do not shy away from describing the brutality and anguish that life can bring, his works are filled with profound compassion and humor. Faulkner refused to avoid painful or controversial issues and he was intrigued with understanding

40 human freedom. His work explores, condemns, and analyzes obstructions to human freedom and happiness by examining racism, shame, fear, false pride, and abstract ideals. Much of Faulkner’s exploration is done using brilliant symbolism and exquisite dialogue.

45 For example, his novel The Sound and the Fury, published in 1929, dealt with the painful demise of a distinguished southern family and demonstrated a rich variety of literary styles, relying most heavily on stream-of-consciousness writing, in which a character’s

50 thoughts are conveyed in a manner roughly akin to the way the human mind actually works. Faulkner’s mastery of unique literary styles was formally recognized when, much to his surprise, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1949.

55 Always his own harshest critic, William Faulkner considered many of his books failures because they did not live up to his high expectations. However, it is clear that Faulkner’s experimental literary techniques simultaneously perplexed and challenged his readers, who were

60 more often than not inspired by his insightful analysis of the human spirit. Faulkner continued to explore the interconnections between his characters and their counterparts in the real world until his death in 1962. In the months before his death, Faulkner updated

65 his will, leaving the bulk of his manuscripts to the Faulkner Foundation at the University of Virginia, where he had been appointed its first Writer-inResidence. While the original documents are protected, electronic versions of the collection are freely available

70 to scholars of great Southern literature and others interested in gaining additional insight into the life’s work of a truly revolutionary American author.