The Reivers

I have been re-reading As I Lay Dying for my paper, so reading The Reivers at the same time really kind of highlighted how different it is from the his others. It reminded me of this movie I used to watch when I was younger, The Journey of Natty Gann, but I don't really know why. I guess it was the time period.

This book reminded me of Huck Finn, and I think that was the intention. With the characters, the young boy and Ned on adventures. It was so much lighter and even funny, and it's striking that this was his last novel. Of all of the things that could have closed out with, it's a comical, light-hearted adventure book. I would have preferred more on the Compsons or the Bundrens, but this was fine. I don't know how he died, so I don't know if he knew this would be the last. Since he had written about so much heavy, sometimes dark stuff about the human condition, it's almost sweet that this is his last. And to make it about a young boy who is put into some strange situations, some pretty questionable. It was good. I don't want to use the word "cute." But it was kind of cute.

In true Faulkner fashion, though, some of the sentences were long and meandering, and initially, I had a hard time breaking past the first few chapters. I

This is kid of off, but my paper is focusing on animals and so it was interesting how a horse came into this one again, as in As I Lay Dying, and how it was an important figure in the novel.

After reading this, I felt a great sense of accomplishment. All that Faulkner. It's nice to be done, though. I just got Absalom, Absalom! on cd and plan on listening to it and sharing how great it is with my boyfriend on the two week road trip we'll be embarking on in May. I think I will be revisiting a few of his novels, for sure.

The Big Sleep

Initially, I thought it was very unusual that this was written (partly) by Faulkner. Humphrey Bogart doesn't strike me as a Faulknerian actor, but that doesn't mean I don't think he is awesome. I read that it was based on a book by someone else, and the screenwriters were told not to mess with the script too much-- to just stick to the book, so I guess it wouldn't have as much of a Faulkner influence as needed to make it apparent. Maybe?

As a movie, though, I liked it and thought it was entertaining. As I watched, though, it became a bit more confusing with all of the different characters entering unexpectedly and then all of the dying, and that's where I finally saw Faulkner's influence. But I think it was just the book that had a Faulkner flair. I feel I am not making sense. The plot was hard to follow at times, it seemed to meander a bit, but the movie was entertaining, nonetheless.

This movie had some really great lines in it. Of course, delivered by Humphrey Bogart.

That Evening Sun

I just read some of the other posts about this story and there are some differences in my text. First, it's only called "That Evening Sun," and second, the man who Nancy is hiding from is named "Jesus" in my book. Those seem like some major differences. But all that aside, this was my favorite of the short stories assigned. I was excited to see that it was about the Compsons, and at a time when they seemed to be doing okay, not clashing and fighting or obsessing about what Caddie was doing. Was this narrated by Quentin? I couldn't really tell. I thought it was but I was not totally certain.

This story allowed the readers to get a view of the Compsons as children, moreso than in that first really difficult of Sound and the Fury. I was particularly interested in the character if Jason, because of how he was in the novel. He seemed like a normal kid. I wasn't sure how old they were supposed to be in this story.

The character Nancy was mostly the focus of this one, though, and her constant moaning or whatever she was doing was kind of creepy. Or, at least it gave me the creeps. That, coupled with the lurking Jesus outside, hiding in ditches ready to kill. And her ultimate fate, too. I think Nancy was pretty mentally unhealthy and Mr. Compson seemed to kind of pick up on this. He never seemed to anger with her, and was very patient. This was nice. I liked the character of Mr. Compson-- I pretty much liked all of the characters except for Jesus, of course. I tried to understand that watermelon/vine brief conversation that Nancy and Jesus had in front of the Compson kids, but I didn't really get what he meant. I guess he was threatening her?

This story was so dark feeling. I really liked it a lot and it made me wish that there had been a whole series of short stories dealing with the Compsons as children, so there could be more insight to their lives and all.

Faulkner's short stories, the ones we read, were all pretty good, but this one was, in my opinion, the best of them.

Dry September

The first five words of this story really struck me: "Through the bloody Septmber twilight..." How beautiful. The sentence continues, of course, but those first words were really striking to me. The first and the last: The last line from "Dry September" was also very striking: "The dark world seemed to lie stricken beneath the cold moon and the lidless stars." Wow! It seemed to really sum up this whole story. Cold, always watching the dark color of the skin... "...lying stricken" seemed to show what happened to Will Mayes, even though we never really get closure on that. I enjoyed this story as well as "A Rose for Emily" even though it made me tense and sad. The language was so remarkable-- these short stories have been very strong, in my opinion.

The barber shop dialogue was really captured real tension between the men. The horrible McLendon and his getting the whole horrible mess going... I thought it was interesting that Faulkner never gives any details about what actually had happened between Will and Minnie. And that her being older and unmarried would be a reason that she would create stories about men. Minnie was an intriguing character and I would have liked to have gotten to know her a bit better than was offered. Same for Will. We don't really get into their lives very much, moreso Minnie's. This, though, kind of steered the story to excentuate the innocence of Will, I thought, and the injustice and prejudice of many whites in this time period. A white woman's word was more valuable than the life of a black person's life. People who didn't even really know her were willing to murder just because she said something happened. This really brings home what, or maybe what Faulkner thought, was a likely scenario. Maybe?

Since there is such a lack of information on Will's life and Minnie and Will's interaction, there is still a question left in the mind of the reader as to what really happened. Did Minnie lose it because something terrible happened or because she had lied about it? Faulkner leaves the conclusions to the reader, but I felt it was a bit leaning more toward Will being innocent.

The last scene showed McLendon in a really poor light, and continuing in the mind of the reader uncalled for brutality that he was capable of. His wife stayed up past a certain hour and she gets smacked... That's pretty ridiculous. Faulkner seems to zero in on the characters that are supposed to be disliked, like Jason in Sound and the Fury and Popeye in Sanctuary, and I think he really didn't want the readers to like McLendon from the beginning.

I enjoyed this story and it, along with "A Rose for Emily" was less Faulknerian than his novels, in my opinion, and a lot more accessible.

A Rose for Emily

"A Rose for Emily" brought me back to grade school. We read this at some point either in seventh or eighth grade and I didn't realize until I began reading that I had read it before. The curiosity of the neighbors-- the nosiness-- immediately conjured memories of the first time I had read the story.

I enjoyed this story a lot. It was the first I read of the series of assigned short stories, and I was struck by how different it was from all of the Faulkner we had read thus far. It was very accessible-- so accessible that it was assigned reading at a Catholic grade school.

After reading, however, I wondered who the narrator was and why the story was called "A Rose for Emily" when I don't recall a rose being mentioned. But maybe it passed me by and I didn't realize. A rose offered to Emily, I guess, would have been when one was courting or when she was dead, as a sign of respect. I was confused about that as well.

The character of Emily brought to mind the character or Flannery O'Connor's Joy in "Good Country People," although Emily was far less gruff, I thought. Faulkner really illustrated the character of Emily pretty clearly, and did so in such a short story that it really showcased the depth of his abilities.

Another question I had after reading was how did the grey hair get on the pillow next to the dead man if the room had been sealed for so many years? Did I miss something here? He said there was dust everywhere... How did she get in? And did her negro house man know what was going on? He bolted pretty quickly after the people were let into the house, so to me, that said that he was aware of Emily's bed partner. But how did she get in?

This was a really great story but it left me with many questions for Faulkner.

Light in August

Something that stuck out to me in this novel were the names of the characters. Lena Grove, Lucas Burch, Byron Bunch, Rev. Hightower, Mr. McEachern, Miss Burden (who, in my head I kept calling Bundren)-- all of the names have significance to the character. Every new character that was introduced made me stop and think about what the possible meaning of their name could be.
I liked how the book was framed by Lena Grove, having come a "fur-piece" and then, by the time it ends she is back in focus and still has "a fur-piece to go." This is a small detail, but I liked it.
I also liked that Light in August had about a bunch of different people, very different people, who were all separate from society in some way. Lena was pregnant out of wedlock but a very likable character, which was nice after reading Sanctuary and not liking anyone. I liked a lot of the characters in this book. Byron Bunch separates himself from people purposefully, Rev. Hightower had scandalous past because of his wife and is in Jefferson despite being targeted at times. And Joe Christmas is an angry guy who seems to really hate women. This made me wonder about Faulkner's possible deep seated feelings toward women, but I might just be looking too far into Christmas' actions. He seemed to beat up every woman he came across. He was mean, but his character was really interesting. Kind of like how Jason in Sound and the Fury was, for me. I didn't like Jason but his character was fascinating. It was the same way with Joe Christmas for me. Joe's childhood was so sad. I felt really bad for his foster mother and her repeated attempts to be kind to him, which were met with rejection. He was kind of a brat, in a way, but he obviously has major issues that he is trying to work out -- unsuccessfully.
What happens to Miss Burden confused me. I guess I didn't really understand the relationship between Joe Christmas and her, either. I might have missed something (as I tend to do when reading Faulkner), but why did she want to kill him? Was it because she was pregnant? And why did he kill her in a such a horrible way? (Not that being murdered could be pleasant, but it seemed really brutal).
Light in August was a really good read. I was nervous about it because of Sanctuary, but was pleasantly surprised. As I Lay Dying is still my favorite, but this one was really great too. I was so wanting some kind of a Bundren appearance in this book! But no luck.

Sanctuary

Sanctuary was not my favorite Faulkner novel. After reading As I Lay Dying-- which I loved-- this one was a big let down. We were told in class that Temple Drake was similar to Miss Quentin, and so I was expecting a more likable character (because I really liked Miss Quentin's character despite her flaws). Temple Drake was precocious and sneaky and, unfortuanately, that got her into a lot of trouble. I was kind of expecting for there to be a big turnaround for her, like she would get away from that horrible, trashy life and overcome all of that. But she really kind of didn't. It seemed like there was a constant feeling that there was something bad coming for her. Something bad because of her being sneaky or whatever. She just keeps going down a worse and worse path. Even when she seems like she could easily get out, she doesn't.
The poor infant that was in the box was pretty strange. That kind of came from left field. Popeye was repulsive. What a horrible, scary character! The whole beginning part with Benbow really kind of confused me at first- like, why is he staring down this man? Why is he taking him away? Benbow, I guess, was the only character that was normal-ish.
The title in itself is something that doesn't really happen. No one found sanctuary. No one was happy. No one was good. Or that's what I got from it. I did find myself having to go back and read parts repeatedly just in an attempt to grasp what had just happened. When I looked up stuff online for back up information, I saw that Temple had been raped by a corn cob. How could I have missed that?! But somehow I did. There was a lot of confusion for me with this novel, but I am learning that that is what goes with my readings of Faulkner: Confusion comes with the territory.
The ending was kind of a bummer. The end was pretty bleak.
After hearing that Faulkner wrote this for money, I think that that was what put me in a strange mind against it. And maybe why I didn't like it. I didn't like the trashiness of it, either and I didn't really care for the characters and I think I was just expecting something more. I think that reading As I Lay Dying and really liking it had me prepared for even greater things, but it didn't happen.
I'm sorry to say that the more Faulkner I read, and the more I learn about him the more I want to read John Steinbeck. Don't know if that makes sense.

As I Lay Dying

So far, As I Lay Dying is my favorite of the Faulkner books we have read. I read in a few places that it was supposed to be darkly comic, but I just did not see the humor in it except for at the end when Cash is describing the new Mrs. Bundren's eyes. The characters of Vardaman and Cash were my favorites and Addie was my least. The whole journey, to bury this woman who was miserable in life and (if she was speaking from the grave, which I am still not clear on) miserable in death. I don't really think it was necessary to bury her in Jefferson, but that Anse was set on it, I thought, was his saving grace. He was not the best father, for sure, and his motives in pushing forward on the journey to bury his wife were questionable, but at least he did fulfill her wish.

Vardaman and his "my mother is a fish" lines were and are still slightly confusing to me. With him, he seemed to be continually grasping for something that is certain, like "Darl is my brother. Jewel is my brother." When he said "My mother does not smell like that" I wanted to cry. He was not really allowed to acknowledge the state that his mother was in, even though he seemed to be very aware-- with the smell and his chasing away the vultures. I felt so bad for Vardaman.
I liked Cash, too, because he seemed so focused on whatever task was at hand and he never complained, even when his leg turned black.

When it came to the dead body, I noticed that the only people to show revulsion were either women or black people. I could not recall an instance where he wrote that a white man had reacted to the smell of Addie through facial expressions or disgust. Maybe I'm wrong about that.

The animals in this book were pretty prominent. Jewel's horse, the fish, the mules, the cat, the ever-present vultures-- there were animals present throughout, and they were pretty significant, although silent, characters. The growing number of vultures was something that was really unsettling. I looked up vultures and I read that a group is called a "wake." Which was pretty fitting.

I really liked As I Lay Dying. I read it twice and I think that it served me very well to do that. I think for me, that's how I got a better grasp of this book, even though I still don't know if I fully "got it." I tried, though.

Devilment

The other half of The Sound and the Fury was much more enjoyable of a read, at least for me. The character of Miss Quentin was given life and she was my favorite of the book. And even though Jason was a horrible, repulsive character, it was his and Miss Quentin's interactions (or lack of interaction) that was the most interesting to me. Even him alone, with just his thoughts and later his actions (when from a general point of view) were the parts of the book that made me react the most. Like, his burning of the tickets was infuriating and when he refuses to give Miss Quentin her money... it was so frustrating that it elicited a response from me. The guy was awful but his character was so well done.
Miss Quentin was the standout character to me. Not because she was an amazing person as Dilsey was, but because of what her life was and how she handled it and herself with this family that couldn't care less for her. The only one that seemed to care about her was Dilsey and Miss Quentin was not all that nice to her. That was really sad, I thought. She was a child who was born under unfortunate circumstances and lived in a place where those circumstances were not allowed to be forgotten or forgiven. She sought love in other places since she was not shown any at home.
The mother was sickening. She was so blind and just gross when it came to Jason. It was hard to read at times. How she saw all of her other children, and how she was such a victim... how she allowed Jason to treat Miss Quentin and Dilsey and Dilsey's children. That she would say that they were eating "his" bread. Wow, it was annoying.
I honestly don't think I really got The Sound and the Fury. Maybe another read would serve me well, but in the end I just felt like I was totally missing something, and I think that something may have been lost in the first and second chapters where I felt like I was lost in the woods.

Chapters 1 & 2 - Sound and the Fury

The first chapter of The Sound and the Fury was really, really difficult for me to get through. I felt like throwing the book out the window and giving up on Faulkner forever. But, I felt compelled to seek some guidance from a friend of mine and what he shared comforted me in that I discovered that it was not just me being an idiot and not comprehending what was happening, but it was just, in general, a really difficult read. However, this did not ease the burden of the read by any means, I still had to fight my way through it, and even when I was done with it, my sense of accomplishment in finishing that one chapter was not able to get rid of the thought blaring in my mind: what just happened? So, being a dedicated reader, I closed the book, and started all over again. The second time around helped a bit more but the fashion in which this chapter was written was completely baffling to me, even knowing that the narrator was mentally retarded. When thinking of Mosquitoes and Soldiers' Pay, this novel is so much more heavy and hard to grasp. Mainly in the first paragraph, while reading it through for the second time I kept wondering why Faulkner would want to write in such a way that seems intentionally confusing. I brushed that off, though, by thinking it was just me. The repetition of the phrase : Caddie smelled like trees almost killed me.
The second chapter, I was told by the person mentioned above, was to be much easier to comprehend. I did not find this to be the case. Again, the memories and the ambiguity of what is going on was really a bit much for me at times. I felt like I needed a companion to the decipher every line I was not understanding, which seemed like all of them. I know there is an unhealthy obsession with Caddie amongst her brothers, and the assertion that one committed incest as a way out of a bad situation (meaning Caddie's pregnancy) was pretty striking. The character goes to Harvard and such a thing as that strikes me as something that would be said by someone who just did not know any better. This really brings home the extent of the obsession with Caddie, and the frustration he has with her life and, in particular, her sex life. I do not really understand why there is such a fixation on her sexuality, since they are brothers, and on her in general but it's saddening how it plays out. That is probably complete ignorance of something on my part. The focus on time was very striking when it came to Quentin, even though his suicide did not come until later.
Speaking strictly of the first two chapters, this is one of, if not the, most difficult book I have ever read. The last chapter was the only one that I could say that I actually liked. And I am hesitant to say that because I feel like I am missing something and I don't want to sound foolish.

Soldier's Pay

This was my first time reading Faulkner and at first I was pretty intrigued and excited to see how the story progressed. Unfortunately, as the page numbers grew, my interest waned. I kept feeling like I was missing something, and that I should go back and reread chapters to understand what was going on. Teresha mentioned Kate Chopin’s novel, At Fault. Soldier’s Pay was certainly not the painful read that Chopin’s novel turned out to be, but it did stir in me the same feelings-- like, when will this be over? mainly. There were times the descriptions Faulkner used were so vivid and beautiful, and I even wrote some lines down. He did repeat himself a few times as when describing women’s mouths as scars, and he seemed to favor saying that someone’s eyes darkened when that were angry -- which I liked.

Character-wise, I was kind of wanting more of a clearer picture of Donald before the war. I know there were details given, but I felt that there was something missing that made it less sad or tragic than it should have been. The most sad character, to me, was Emmy. She got the short end of the stick in so many ways. She loved Donald so much, he had sex with her and then forgot her, even still, she cared for him when the woman he was to marry hardly visited, and Emmy’s hesitance/silence when asked if she would marry Donald ended up being so sadly decisive. Emmy was so different than Cecily, and Cecily, as reckless and unsure of everything as she was, ended up, pretty much, getting what she wanted. I did not dislike her character, but she was hard to understand. She was young, and Faulkner did a really good job of capturing her confusion about the predicament she was in, and how she handled it was, I thought, very immature but honest, nonetheless.

George Farr was my favorite of all of the characters. I really liked the chapter where he was drunk out in public at a drugstore and got a call from Cecily and immediately tried to sober up by drinking water. I liked him a lot-- he was so devoted even when he should not have been and even when he knew better. I was glad he ended up with Cecily, even though she was flaky.

Januarius Jones’ character was one that I kept asking myself why was even included in the book. I did not and still do not really understand the significance of him in Soldier’s Pay. He was annoying and reminded me of the character Ignatius from John Kennedy Toole’s A Confederacy of Dunces. Not just because he was fat, but because he was so arrogant and there did not seem to be a real reason for him to be so.

This book, overall, was not the best. It started out with so much promise (to me) but ended up fizzling out by the middle. There were beautiful descriptors but overall I stopped caring about most of the characters and, really, what happened at all.