William Faulkner’s Absalom, Absalom!: A Narrative of Inexhaustible Word and Unfathomable Past

The purpose of the present paper is to cast light on William Faulkner’s Absalom, Absalom! in terms of its linguistic and communicational woes. A proliferation of research has been done on the novel, yet little heed has been paid to the verbal underpinning of its narration, which is associated with c...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Djamila Houamdi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: The International Academic Forum 2018-12-01
Series:IAFOR Journal of Literature & Librarianship
Subjects:
Online Access:https://iafor.org/journal/iafor-journal-of-literature-and-librarianship/volume-7-issue-1/article-6/
_version_ 1819020282539540480
author Djamila Houamdi
author_facet Djamila Houamdi
author_sort Djamila Houamdi
collection DOAJ
description The purpose of the present paper is to cast light on William Faulkner’s Absalom, Absalom! in terms of its linguistic and communicational woes. A proliferation of research has been done on the novel, yet little heed has been paid to the verbal underpinning of its narration, which is associated with certain social and cultural interrogatives. Faulkner, who avows to be telling the same story repeatedly (the story of the Old South), voices through his literary work the anxieties and uneasiness he feels towards language. Long taken for granted as a mere tool of articulation, language proves to be an entity that is neither fully exhaustible nor communicates a message that is readily fathomable. The textual analyses of the characters’ narrative language and their relation to it mirror the author’s own meditations over the “word” and his endeavor to bring the reader into that arena of verbal and mental wrestling. Communication thus becomes an ongoing struggle, with the self, the word and the world, one that might be dreadful or futile but never escapable.
first_indexed 2024-12-21T03:48:44Z
format Article
id doaj.art-d1e34df721964d9f951bf0eedde9b2fb
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2187-0608
2187-0608
language English
last_indexed 2024-12-21T03:48:44Z
publishDate 2018-12-01
publisher The International Academic Forum
record_format Article
series IAFOR Journal of Literature & Librarianship
spelling doaj.art-d1e34df721964d9f951bf0eedde9b2fb2022-12-21T19:17:01ZengThe International Academic ForumIAFOR Journal of Literature & Librarianship2187-06082187-06082018-12-01719310610.22492/ijl.7.1.06William Faulkner’s Absalom, Absalom!: A Narrative of Inexhaustible Word and Unfathomable PastDjamila HouamdiThe purpose of the present paper is to cast light on William Faulkner’s Absalom, Absalom! in terms of its linguistic and communicational woes. A proliferation of research has been done on the novel, yet little heed has been paid to the verbal underpinning of its narration, which is associated with certain social and cultural interrogatives. Faulkner, who avows to be telling the same story repeatedly (the story of the Old South), voices through his literary work the anxieties and uneasiness he feels towards language. Long taken for granted as a mere tool of articulation, language proves to be an entity that is neither fully exhaustible nor communicates a message that is readily fathomable. The textual analyses of the characters’ narrative language and their relation to it mirror the author’s own meditations over the “word” and his endeavor to bring the reader into that arena of verbal and mental wrestling. Communication thus becomes an ongoing struggle, with the self, the word and the world, one that might be dreadful or futile but never escapable.https://iafor.org/journal/iafor-journal-of-literature-and-librarianship/volume-7-issue-1/article-6/communicationlanguageWilliam Faulknerthe Old South
spellingShingle Djamila Houamdi
William Faulkner’s Absalom, Absalom!: A Narrative of Inexhaustible Word and Unfathomable Past
IAFOR Journal of Literature & Librarianship
communication
language
William Faulkner
the Old South
title William Faulkner’s Absalom, Absalom!: A Narrative of Inexhaustible Word and Unfathomable Past
title_full William Faulkner’s Absalom, Absalom!: A Narrative of Inexhaustible Word and Unfathomable Past
title_fullStr William Faulkner’s Absalom, Absalom!: A Narrative of Inexhaustible Word and Unfathomable Past
title_full_unstemmed William Faulkner’s Absalom, Absalom!: A Narrative of Inexhaustible Word and Unfathomable Past
title_short William Faulkner’s Absalom, Absalom!: A Narrative of Inexhaustible Word and Unfathomable Past
title_sort william faulkner s absalom absalom a narrative of inexhaustible word and unfathomable past
topic communication
language
William Faulkner
the Old South
url https://iafor.org/journal/iafor-journal-of-literature-and-librarianship/volume-7-issue-1/article-6/
work_keys_str_mv AT djamilahouamdi williamfaulknersabsalomabsalomanarrativeofinexhaustiblewordandunfathomablepast