Contradictions between Faulkner Antiracialism Position and Creating of Black Characters.docx

Contradictions between Faulkner Antiracialism Position and Creating of Black Characters.docx

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ContradictionsbetweenFaulknerAntiracialismPositionandCreatingofBlackCharacters

ASearchforContradictions---betweenFaulkner'Anti-racialismPositionandCreatingofBlackCharacters

[Abstract]

WilliamFaulknerisknownasthemostrepresentativeSouthernwriterinthe20thcentury.ConcerningwithFaulkner'blackcharacters,hisanti-racialismpositionpresentsdirectly,whiletakingaconsiderationforhisfamilybackgroundandtraditionalinfluenceintheSouth,Faulknerisnotacompletecivilfighter.Heagreestogivetheequalityandfreedomtoblacksintheconditionofimprovingthemselvesandkeepingsocialstable.

KeyWords:

Faulkner,blackcharacters,racialism,traditionalculture.

[Introduction]

WilliamFaulknerisdeemedthemostsuccessfulwriterinthe20thcenturybecauseofhisimaginativepower.NootherAmericanwritershavebroughttolifesuchanabundanceandvarietyofcharacters-bothprotagonistswithdepth,intensityandroundnessandaunforgettablecastthatgethimwintheNobelLiteraturePrizein1955andworld-wideacceptance.FaulknerisadescendantofagreatmanorintheOldSouth,andheissoproudofhisfamily,whichbringssharpconflictsinhismindthatcombineswiththeloveasanativetotheSouthandthehatredasanintellectualtotheslavery.MyessaywilltrytoexplainthesecontradictionsofFaulknerinhiswritingforblackcharactersbymeansofanalysinghisanti-racialismpositionandtraditionalinfluenceforhim.

[Body]

Part1TheBackgroundofTransitionalPeriodintheSouth.

Faulknerlivesinastagecalled"theRenaissanceofthesouth",whichspringsupalargenumberofexcellentpoets,writers,literatiandcritics.Thiskindofflourishingisnotthehistoricaccidental,butinevitablyholdsaprofoundrootinsocial,cultural,andliteraryterms.

Tracingbacktothehumanhistory,itnaturallyfindsthatthemostsplendidcultureandliterarybloomingalmostappearinthecrossingofhistory,thatisthetransitionalperiodofsufferingdeeprevolutioninsociety.Forinstance,Chinainpre-qindynasty,ItalyintheRenaissance,BritaininElizabethperiodetc.

AmericansouthofFaulknerperiodisundergoingwhatissocalled"thecrossingofhistory".ThesouthhasnottotallygotinvolvedintothehistoricalprocessofswiftdevelopmentinpostwarAmericathoughtheslaveryhadbeenabolishedintheCivilwaruntilthecapitalismandthevalueofthenorthfirmlystriketheconservativeSouthintheearlyyearsof20thcentury.Themodernismofthesouth,filledwithdrasticconfrontationsbetweenthenewforceandtheoldone,startsfromthenon.Objectivelyspeaking,theconfrontationpartlyenabletheRenaissanceofthesouthtoflourish.However,therepresentativesofthesouthRenaissancecannotbesimplydividedintotheneworoldside.Basicallyspeaking,theyareconservationistsortraditionalists,feelbitteraboutthecollapseoftraditionallivingstyleandvaluesinthesouth.Buttheyhavebeeninfluencedbythenewthinking,andclearlyunderstoodtheexistingofsevereproblemsinthesouth,andthenexposethemwithoutmercy.Itisafactthattherepresentativesdonotcriticizetheoldtraditionbystandingatthecapitalismside.Onthecontrary,theyeagertorebuildthetraditionallivingstylesandvaluesinordertoresisttheinvasionofcapitalism,thatiswhytheyexposeandcriticizetheproblemsofthesouthsharply.Becausetheyhavetofightbilaterally,theyarealwaysfallingintoadeep-goingpainandcontradiction.Amongthem,WilliamFaulknerisoneofthemosttypicalcharacter.

Part2Faukner'sCritiquetoRacialism.

ItisunabletoseparatetheattentiononracialissuesandattitudestowardblacksfromSouthLiterature.AmongthosewhitewriterswhoarelivingintheSouth,Faulkneristheonewhoconcentratessomucheffortsonthinkingofracialissuesandcreatingblackgroup,andthereforetheprofoundcontradictioninhismindpresentincisivelyinracialissuesandcreatingblackgroup.

Inthesouth,theracialissues,relatingtothebasicofsociety,political,economy,cultureandmorality,arethemostsensitiveandmovingparts.QuotingasayingfromacharacterunderFaulkner'pen,theracialissuesarethecurseforthesouthsocietyandsouthpeople'sconscience.Concernedwiththisproblem,thesouthpeoplehavetwovariousopinions.Oneisextremelybeautifyforthelivingstylesandtheslaveryofthesouth.TheotherissouthwritersfirstlyviewtheirhometownwithcriticismasthearrivaloftheRenaissanceofthesouth.WilliamFaulkneristhemostdistinguishedandtypicaloneamongthem.

1.Faulkner'sAnti-racialismTalkinginPublic.

Asahumanitarian,Faulknerhasneverstoppedcondemningtheracialism,theslaveryandthepersecutionstoblacks.Hiscriticsfortheslaveryexistinhisliteraturemorethanspeechesandarticlesthoughheisquiteconservativeinpoliticalandfullofloveforhishometown.Forexample,FaulknerhasmadeaspeechinSeptember11,1955.Hesaid,"Ialsocriticizethedatethatthefirstblackmanescortedhereandtreatedasaslave."Onthatday,hepointedout,"underthebackgroundoftheslavery,thesocialstatusofblackpeopleisthesameasanimals".Sohecompletelyopposesthelynch,andlashestheKuKluxKlanasthevanguardofFascism.

Furthermore,inthearticleof'Mississippi',hedeclaresthatwhathehatesmostisthereasonthatpeopletortureblacksrandomlyisnotbecausewhatabominablecrimetheyhavedone,butbecausetheircolorofskinisblack.SuchkindofspeechstatementofFaulknerisnumerous.

Meanwhile,itisafactthatthesocialbackgroundofthattimewasfullofracialism,andhowbraveFaulknerwaswhenhemadethesestatementsinthepublicbeforethebreakoutofthecivilrightmovement.Forthisreason,hesuffersruthlesscurseandthreatenfromthesouthnewspaperandlocalpeople,eventhemisunderstandingofhisfamily.

2.TheCritiquefortheSlaveryinFaulkner'sWorks.

Asawriter,Faulkner'sconcerningtowardraceandsympathyfortheblackentirelyexpressinhisworks,especiallyinthosehighlypraisednovelslike"TheSoundandtheFury","Absalom,Absalom","GoDown,Moses"and"IntrudersintheDust".Inthesenovels,eitherthethemesofthemareracialissues,orthemaincharactersareblacks,andthelivesofslavesinnovelsarequitedifferentfromthehappyliveswrittenbytraditionalnovelistsintheSouth.

（1）.TheAnimal-likeFateofSlavesintheSouth.

Contrarytothecomfortable,peace,andhappylivesofslavesundertheprotectionandcareoftheirkindmastersinmanorliterature.,inFaulkner'works,theblackarenothumanbutfortune,draughtanimalsorbeast,arethesymbolofsocialstatusandthetoolofsolvetheirsexualdesire.

Takethe"GoDown,Moses"and"Absalom,Absalom"asexamples,alotoftragicfatesofblackscanbeseendirectly.In"Absalom,Absalom",blackslavesarechasedbygundogs,andthentheyaretrainedtohuntdownanimals.Intheslavemarket,slavesareboughtandsoldlikeanimalsdoes.Mr.CompsontoldIkkemotubbethatSutpenwasasshrewandcarefulashewaspickingupanimals.Actually,themiserablesituationofblackshasnoanyimprovementeventhoughtheslaveryhasbeenabolishedfordozensofyears.In"GoDown,Moses",awordsayingbyapoliceofficerwhenablackwasburntbybrutalrioters,cantypicallyrepresentstheattitudeofwhiteracialists:

"thesecursedniggersarenothumanbeingalthoughtheywalkwithlegsandspeakhumanlanguage.Asfarasnormalemotionsandmoralofhumanconcern,theyaretotallyacrowdofwildbulls".

（2）.TheMiserableLifeofFemaleSlaves.

Inaddition,Faulknerparticularlycriticizesslaveholdersforrapingblackwomencruelly.Whytheabominablebehaviourisaccessibleinthesouth?

Becauseboththebodyandspiritofblacksarebelongingtotheirmasterswhocanwilfullyaskblackgirls,housemaidorfemaleslavesworkinginthefieldtosatisfytheirsexualdesire.Whatmakesourhacklesriseisthesevomitingslaveholdersevenviolatetheirhalf-breeddaughters.ThatiswhathappenedintheGoDown,Moses".Beautifulblackgirlsweretrainedfortheonlyusageoffemale.Towardtheencouragementofabusementforfemaleblacksandsavagetramplingthehumanityofthem,Faulknerexpresshisintensewrath.

（3）.TheMiserableLifeofHalf-breeds.

Accordingly,moreandmorehalf-breedswerebornduringthattime.Itisestimatedthattheincreasingrateofhalf-breedsisthreetimesthanthatofthetotalnumberofslavesfrom1850to1860.

Thehalf-breeds,arethecursedonewhohoverbetweenthewhiteandblackthatneverbeadmittedbybothsides.Infact,themostmiserablecharactersinFaukner'sworksarehalf-breeds.Forexample,Boonsonandhissonin"LightinAugust",theyliveinasituationthateitherthewhiteortheblackduringtheirlifetime,andarelynchedinbyguns;in"Absalom,Absalom",inordertobeacceptedasahuman,Boonsonisunexpectedlykilledbyhiswhitebrotherathisownfather'sgate.

WhathavebeenmentionedabovearethecriticismofFaulknerfortheslavery.Ofcourse,thereisnodoubtthathisstrongcondemnationsforracialism,intenseimpartialityandsympathyforblacksshouldbecommended.However,theinfluenceoftraditionalculture,moralvalueandwrongracialismisrooteddeeplyandsecretlyinhismind.Faulkner'worksareabrightmirrortoreflectthesecontradictionsdirectlyandsharply.

3.ThePraiseofFaulknerforthe"GoodQualities"ofBlacks.

Certainly,thiskindoftraditionalinfluenceisnothatredfortheblack.Instead,Fauklnertryshisbesttopraisethose"goodqualities"ofthem.Atthattime,thetraditionalvaluesforhimmanifestconsciouslyorunco