William Faulkner is one of the most distinguished American writers of the twentieth century. His sharp style of writing paved the way for American literature. "Faulkner's greatness proceeds from his deep appreciation of the power of community "present or absent "in defining the moral life of humankind; from his accurate treatment of race and class in the Southern community; and from his successful adaptation of folk style and a romantic viewpoint to the exigencies of twentieth-century fiction," states Thomas L. Mchaney. As one of the most important icons in modern American literature, William Faulkner has changed the perspective of southern culture.
William Faulkner was born on September 25, 1897 in New Albany, Mississippi to parents Murray and Maud Butler Faulkner (Scott-Kilvert, 192). He was the first of four children. William was named after his great-grandfather, William Clark Faulkner. His descendants consisted of a lawyer, politician, planter, businessman, Civil War colonel, and railroad financier. Born into a family of well-known names, Faulkner had to make a mark for himself. Faulkner initially started out in literature with poetry. His first book, The Marble Faun, a collection of poems, was published after the World War I while he was studying at the University of Mississippi (Scott-Kilvert, 192). Faulkner then turned directions and began to write fictional novels. According to Noel Polk, "Faulkner was skillful in creating complicated situations that involve a variety of characters, each with a different reaction to the situation. He used this technique to dramatize the complexity of life and the difficulty of arriving at truth. " .
Reality and life weave together in one of Faulkner's many novels, As I Lay Dying. .
"William Faulkner's outrageous story of the Bundren family is undoubtedly one of his most complex and enigmatic novels; complex because beneath the surface narrative of a grotesque journey, we are terrifying depths of human significance; enigmatic, because we never seem to be certain in what sense the novels control our responses," states Jan Bakker.