Craft Notes
A Quick, Late Post on Light in August
I’m almost finished reading Light in August. It’s my first Faulkner. Starting at roughly the halfway point it grew into one of the most complex novels I’ve ever read; I’d like to write a fattish pamphlet on this book someday. But what I’d like to focus on here, in broad strokes, is a question regarding “how” rather than “what,” of logic and not of contradiction–specifically how Faulkner produces flat characters, that is, flat characters with depth.
Until the halfway point I mentioned earlier, I thought that Faulkner’s characters were, if not simple, then unsurprising–I expected, perhaps, the sort of character who would be presented at first as a racist, and would gradually come to light as nothing like one, as the modest guardian of the victimized race. More or less the character that commercial cinema wants us to believe always lurks within any localization of racist discourse. I eventually realized that many of the characters who seemed to me predictable were flat, pure surface depth: characters who function as signs, specific voices with almost automated responses–like binary switches–that present and order their social, political, or economic genealogies. Flat characters can be instruments of social critique, as in a Brechtian drama, or of comedy–a character who can simply be positioned and repositioned, his or her function made iterable and reiterated.
Faulkner’s flat characters in Light in August work differently. In a sense they are metacharacters who foreground the absence of a background in which to space them. For instance, we have Lena, with whom the novel begins: pregnant, unwed, she scours the south for the father of her child, who has all but jettisoned her from his life. We get traces of her history, but only glimmers and in almost the manner of a “false start” at the novel’s opening, and until the novel’s climax she remains lost in Faulkner’s dense layering of events. Yet until the end we understand that she will react in a certain southern Protestant way to, say, Byron Bunch proposing marriage to her. Namely, she will say no again and again. We know that there are socio-economic conditions radically in force in the content of her reaction without knowing how far down, so to speak, and in which direction those conditions go; in other words, we know the content of her character precisely insofar as we do not. The flatness of her character takes as its referent not a social critique but the absent depth of her character; it is in this sense that Faulkner’s characters are metacharacters. Elena’s decisions are examples of her character which are shown “beside” her character as a metaprinciple of her character (“meta” meaning both “beyond” and “beside”), but do not “belong” to her character; the decisions which would have been exemplary of her flatness refer in form only to the impossibility of saying why or how her flatness arranges itself. They are at once fundamental to her character and fundamentally absent from her character.
Her character becomes transparent and predictable only when her genealogy is opaque–when the “No” of her passivity haunts us by turns and at every turn–at the same time. Her flatness is in reality, and while remaining flat, an immense void of content which is also impossibly overabundant with the same. This contradiction of flat depth is the logic according to and in which the, again, extremely complex grafting and doubling of events in Light in August works: by and in the mechanism–the active automatism or, inversely, passive decision-making–of these flat characters who foreground only and precisely their own secrecy as characters. (There are possible exceptions–Christmas, for example. But I would go on to say he’s not one, that he is more confounding and superficially deep than any other character, or, otherwise, the essential bind by which every character abandons his or her past in the name of God.)
Tags: character, fat characters, Faulkner, flat beer, flat characters, flat sandwich, flat soda, Light in August
I love Light in August, I’ve never considered this angle before. Insightful post.
Thanks Kristen. P.S. if anyone wants to recommend which Faulkner I should hop to next, please do.
The Sound and the Fury, that book made him and it’s easy to see why.
I love Light in August, I’ve never considered this angle before. Insightful post.
Thanks Kristen. P.S. if anyone wants to recommend which Faulkner I should hop to next, please do.
As I Lay Dying is another digestible Faulkner.
We had to read The Sound and the Fury in high school, effectively ruining Faulkner for every single one of us. It’s one thing to challenge students (with, say, A Light in August or As I Lay Dying), but it’s quite another to put a book on the desk, say, “You’re not going to understand this.” Oof.
@amy have you tried picking it up since high school? i first read it at university and was captivated. though i shudder to think of what i would say had i been handed me the book in high school: “what’s this? … from the perspective of an idiot? … uh, ok. … maybe after i finish Sphere…”
Love Faulkner & this is a really nice analysis.
I think Absolam, Absolam is his best. Of those less celebrated– I have a soft spot for the Reivers.
I, too, think he reached some sort of perfection with Absalom–but you have to read Sound first to get the full effect of it. And some of those ‘stories’ in Go Down, Moses–man, they stick with you.
Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. I’ll probably read Sound immediately after I finish this one, then Absalom in a couple of weeks. Or maybe I’ll devour both.
That’s fucked, Amy.
Go Down, Moses is a set of linked stories I usually recommend as the first foray into Faulkner.
People sometimes balk because it’s not the most popular. (“Shouldn’t I read Sound and Fury first? Isn’t that the good one? The title’s Shakespeare, right?”)
But Go Down, Moses, read as a whole, tells you more about family and the South and heritage and the guilt of growing old than maybe the actual experience of all those things and places does.
“The Bear”in particular. A short novella in the second half of the book. It’s Faulkner’s Moby Dick.
As I Lay Dying is another digestible Faulkner.
We had to read The Sound and the Fury in high school, effectively ruining Faulkner for every single one of us. It’s one thing to challenge students (with, say, A Light in August or As I Lay Dying), but it’s quite another to put a book on the desk, say, “You’re not going to understand this.” Oof.
As I Lay Dying and The Sound and the Fury, two of my all-time favorites. (I know, I know, “Surveys Says!” territory.)
My suggestion, humbly offered, would be to read As I Lay Dying first, as it is clearer and the chapter titles tell the reader which character’s head you’re in. Then read The Sound and the Fury, which is much more dense, and jumps around in time, sometimes from sentence to sentence. Both awesome reads. And any which way, you can not go wrong.
And for a short, sweet, tasty little side dish, check out Coming Through Slaughter by Michael Ondaatje, which I think compliments these simply and nicely. Sad and Southern.
Wow, have fun! and report back!
Alec: Light in August is a great book, but probably not the best place to begin with Faulkner. I am with Mimi for As I Lay Dying. This is probably one of the two or three best books written by an American.
I think your reading of Faulkner is interesting, but I think it also might be a little bit (understandably) biased because you probably came into it with all the baggage that goes with Faulkner’s name. If you read him without trying to analyse, I think, more than any other American author, he hits something that is beyond analysis and intellect and far beyond “good writing” or “character development”.
He is like some witch doctor whose body becomes invaded by the spirits of the dead and the spirit of a South that once was a very different and often frightening place.
Absalom is his chef d’oeuvre; almost his most complex, in my opinion.
Sorry, that should say “also his most complex.”
Love Faulkner & this is a really nice analysis.
I think Absolam, Absolam is his best. Of those less celebrated– I have a soft spot for the Reivers.
Why?
we had to read “a rose for emily” and “hills like white elephants” side-by-side for comparison in creative writing workshop in college. they asked us for our preferences. i preferred “hills like white elephants.”
I, too, think he reached some sort of perfection with Absalom–but you have to read Sound first to get the full effect of it. And some of those ‘stories’ in Go Down, Moses–man, they stick with you.
Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. I’ll probably read Sound immediately after I finish this one, then Absalom in a couple of weeks. Or maybe I’ll devour both.
Read Sound and the Fury in high school. Didn’t understand the first couple sections but I was really intrigued by them anyway. Third section, even then, was pretty fucking rad.
In favor of teaching high schoolers Sound and the Fury.
That’s fucked, Amy.
Go Down, Moses is a set of linked stories I usually recommend as the first foray into Faulkner.
People sometimes balk because it’s not the most popular. (“Shouldn’t I read Sound and Fury first? Isn’t that the good one? The title’s Shakespeare, right?”)
But Go Down, Moses, read as a whole, tells you more about family and the South and heritage and the guilt of growing old than maybe the actual experience of all those things and places does.
“The Bear”in particular. A short novella in the second half of the book. It’s Faulkner’s Moby Dick.
As I Lay Dying and The Sound and the Fury, two of my all-time favorites. (I know, I know, “Surveys Says!” territory.)
My suggestion, humbly offered, would be to read As I Lay Dying first, as it is clearer and the chapter titles tell the reader which character’s head you’re in. Then read The Sound and the Fury, which is much more dense, and jumps around in time, sometimes from sentence to sentence. Both awesome reads. And any which way, you can not go wrong.
And for a short, sweet, tasty little side dish, check out Coming Through Slaughter by Michael Ondaatje, which I think compliments these simply and nicely. Sad and Southern.
Wow, have fun! and report back!
Alec: Light in August is a great book, but probably not the best place to begin with Faulkner. I am with Mimi for As I Lay Dying. This is probably one of the two or three best books written by an American.
I think your reading of Faulkner is interesting, but I think it also might be a little bit (understandably) biased because you probably came into it with all the baggage that goes with Faulkner’s name. If you read him without trying to analyse, I think, more than any other American author, he hits something that is beyond analysis and intellect and far beyond “good writing” or “character development”.
He is like some witch doctor whose body becomes invaded by the spirits of the dead and the spirit of a South that once was a very different and often frightening place.
Absalom is his chef d’oeuvre; almost his most complex, in my opinion.
Sorry, that should say “also his most complex.”
Why?
we had to read “a rose for emily” and “hills like white elephants” side-by-side for comparison in creative writing workshop in college. they asked us for our preferences. i preferred “hills like white elephants.”
Read Sound and the Fury in high school. Didn’t understand the first couple sections but I was really intrigued by them anyway. Third section, even then, was pretty fucking rad.
In favor of teaching high schoolers Sound and the Fury.
“a rose for emily” is like o.k., but it’s also like nothing compared to his novels. I read it in the same amount of time it took me to read As I Lay Dying, and I am usually a very slow reader. teachers might as well just assign the novel, time constraints aren’t really an issue (was once assigned to read don quixote in two days which I was definitely unable to do, so reasonability is not always an instructors aim). not that the story is totally worthless, and of course you’ve maybe probably read a faulkner novel or two. I’m just talking. also would like to send along nice thoughts about Go Down, Moses for the conversation up above, but posting from a phone and too hard to make separate posts.
“a rose for emily” is like o.k., but it’s also like nothing compared to his novels. I read it in the same amount of time it took me to read As I Lay Dying, and I am usually a very slow reader. teachers might as well just assign the novel, time constraints aren’t really an issue (was once assigned to read don quixote in two days which I was definitely unable to do, so reasonability is not always an instructors aim). not that the story is totally worthless, and of course you’ve maybe probably read a faulkner novel or two. I’m just talking. also would like to send along nice thoughts about Go Down, Moses for the conversation up above, but posting from a phone and too hard to make separate posts.
[…] Just in case, here are some links to garner their support. Every opinion must be considered, but flat characters in Faulkner’s Light In August? Bilateralism abounds in our sharing with you an Asylum review of Tony and Susan. Sure, every […]
This shit always happens to me with HTMLGiant.
I started reading Light in August last week (first Faulkner) and 40 pages in I went and bought Sound and the Fury, which sits there and awaits me.
Thanks for the post!
in the middle of light in august myself—http://www.deckfight.com/search/label/Faulkner
hated as i lay dying. sound & the fury was great. after light in august, going into sanctuary & absalom, absalom
sanctuary is great
So excited to see this post. I read LIGHT for the first time last month and can’t stop thinking about it. A very potent but painful read. I read a lot of Faulkner in college and in my twenties but never this. I don’t think any American writer captured the toxicity of the race, class and gender system of the South quite as vividly as Faulkner. And for the first time, I caught echoes of Stein, which I totally did not expect.
My vote is for his “trashy” novel, SANCTUARY, written purely for money–it’s pulp but it’s still Faulkner!
I don’t know shit about shit, but The Sound And The Fury was the first thing that made me care about literature. It was “that thing” for me. Also, his stories can be pretty wonderful.
the fact that faulkner wrote sanctuary for money, considered it garbage, and that it’s still a stylistic triumph only proves how awesome he was to begin with. that’s why i love that book so much. as accessible as he tried to make it, he could only write as himself.
After looking at other comments, I should add that I came to The Sound And The Fury on my own, during college. The power of reading something not-for-school cannot be underestimated. It was my own undertaking that paid off in major ways.
This shit always happens to me with HTMLGiant.
I started reading Light in August last week (first Faulkner) and 40 pages in I went and bought Sound and the Fury, which sits there and awaits me.
Thanks for the post!
“beyond.” exactly.
in the middle of light in august myself—http://www.deckfight.com/search/label/Faulkner
hated as i lay dying. sound & the fury was great. after light in august, going into sanctuary & absalom, absalom
sanctuary is great
So excited to see this post. I read LIGHT for the first time last month and can’t stop thinking about it. A very potent but painful read. I read a lot of Faulkner in college and in my twenties but never this. I don’t think any American writer captured the toxicity of the race, class and gender system of the South quite as vividly as Faulkner. And for the first time, I caught echoes of Stein, which I totally did not expect.
My vote is for his “trashy” novel, SANCTUARY, written purely for money–it’s pulp but it’s still Faulkner!
I don’t know shit about shit, but The Sound And The Fury was the first thing that made me care about literature. It was “that thing” for me. Also, his stories can be pretty wonderful.
the fact that faulkner wrote sanctuary for money, considered it garbage, and that it’s still a stylistic triumph only proves how awesome he was to begin with. that’s why i love that book so much. as accessible as he tried to make it, he could only write as himself.
After looking at other comments, I should add that I came to The Sound And The Fury on my own, during college. The power of reading something not-for-school cannot be underestimated. It was my own undertaking that paid off in major ways.
“beyond.” exactly.
I left my copy of The Sound and the Fury at school for the summer but I just ordered a second one so I can read it soon. :(
I left my copy of The Sound and the Fury at school for the summer but I just ordered a second one so I can read it soon. :(
I just read them all and yes Absalom, Absalom is the madest but most in control of its (auto-)affect. So far so orthodox but next is The Hamlet (obviously forget the next 2 Snopeses, because yes that next truism he dropped his dick in the shiskey in 1940 is true, the first part of Bear being before but the rest of Intruder being shit I mean variable so Bear here and the rest at the end somewhere. Sound and Fury os ok to brilliant but As I Lay Dying is way over-rated like Ulysse and probably next after Sound or even before is Light – man FUCK! If I Forget Thee is solid but never as good as you thought the first time and that is the one from which the whole of Thomas Pynchon derives. Flags ok (much better than As I Lay Dying with its ridiculous molestor denouement), but Pylon, Soldiers Pay etc. forget that shit. The only one that defeated me is Sanctuary which I want to love like Light but I can never get past page 100. Nun’s Requiem, shit. Fable did not bother thank you. Make a hit parade of Faulkner???????