Cultural Primitivism in William Faulkner's "The Bear"
Author(s): Kenneth LaBudde
Source: American Quarterly, Vol. 2, No. 4 (Winter, 1950), pp. 322-328
Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3031223 .
Accessed: 11/11/2013 07:10
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When Ike comes close to him,Old Ben takes on the stance of a human being.When Ike rescuedthe ratter,Old Ben "loomed and toweredover himlike a thunderclap." the accountof the closing
In
in on the bear we are told that "it caught the dog in both arms, almostloverlike, and theyboth went down." A momentlater after
Boon jumped astrideOld Ben "the bear surgederect,raisingwith the man and dog too,and turnedand stillcarrying man and the the dog it took two or threesteps towardthe woods on its hind feetas a man wouldhave walked
Primitive
people observedthe sagaciousqualities,the omnivorous habits,and the wide range of facial and bodilyexpression emoof tional behaviorin the bear. They were struckby seeing the bear rise on his hind legs and sit up against a tree just as if he were a man. The fact that a bear, unlikeotheranimals,walks on the sole of his foot with the heel touchingthe groundand leaves a footprintof heel,toe, and arch like that of a human being had a great impacton the mind of primitive man. Perhaps these unique qualities help explain the importance
Old Ben had forFaulkner's char'Bear Ceremonialismin the Northern Hemisphere (Philadelphia, 1926) 184. Unless
Loyalty should be considered a quality that is supposed to keep family ties together and use the shield of bravery to protect it. It is proven that devotion in families of today, are lost and bravery shows no character in a person. It is a personality that each individual has in them only to be used in the most courteous way and should not be used selfishly. Loyalty cannot be purchased and must be earned. If it used in the wrong way, it can climax to a disaster.
William Faulkner is one of America's most talked about writers and his work should be included in any literary canon for several reasons. After reading a few of his short stories, it becomes clear that Faulkner's works have uniqueness to them. One of the qualities that make William Faulkner's writings different is his close connection with the South. Gwendolyn Charbnier states, 'Besides the sociological factors that influence Faulkner's work, biographical factors are of great importance…'; (20). Faulkner's magnificent imagination led him to create a fictional Mississippi county named Yoknapatawpha, which includes every detail from square mileage of the county to the break down of
William Faulkner’s novella “The Bear” from his collection of works, Go Down Moses, is a symbolic exploration of the relationship between man and nature in the eyes of a young boy. The heart of the issue, the warped idea of the ownership of land, is revealed thought the clash of man and nature in a wild chase that ends only in blood and death. The prey is nature itself, represented by a bear, while the hunters are men, full of greed and destructive possessiveness, pursuing that which they do not understand. Ike’s idea of the bear, presented in section 1 of the novella, expresses the idea of symbolism in relation to the bear and to the hunters and what the battle between the two represents.
American writer and Nobel Prize laureate from Oxford, Mississippi, William Faulkner in his inspirational banquet speech, asserts that humanity can overcome war which he referred to the Cold War that was occurring at the time, and gives advice to what it means to be a talented writer. He supports his claim by first explaining how the award is not truly for him, but for his work. Furthermore, he also gives advice to upcoming writers and tells to embrace the “Truths of the heart” to have substance in what they write. Finally he uses pathos to make the speech more relatable to the audience and uses this to express his fear with being blown up during the occurrence of the war. Faulkner's purpose is to persuade young writers to keep in their minds
You need to utilize at least two scholarly sources (excluding your text) for this paper and your paper must be formatted according to APA style guidelines as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
The birth of the modernist movement in American literature was the result of the post-World War I social breakdown. Writers adopted a disjointed fragmented style of writing that rebelled against traditional literature. One such writer is William Faulkner, whose individual style is characterized by his use of “stream of consciousness” and writing from multiple points of view.
Faulkner’s works consisted of many dark touchy topics such as war, racism, mental illness and suicide in all of books, short stories, William Faulkner wrote about almost every part of life, from something that could be absurd at his time, to something real like racism in the American South. Throughout his life, Faulkner was kind of a rebel, notorious for his confidence, drinking, and he would often make up stories about himself. Faulkner wrote from experience and as a person who lived in the south during times of racism, he wrote about a lot of things in the south. To be exact his specific genre or style in which he wrote in is what some call “southern gothic”. Southern gothic is a unique style of writing and only expressed by very few authors. These stories usually take place only in the south and have darkness to them. His stories would use irony to examine the values of the American south. Instead of solely trying to add suspense with the style it is also used to explore social issues and cultural character of the south. Which leads me to one of Faulkner’s first important novels “Sartoris”. In Sartoris Faulkner focuses on a family during the world war era in the south. In the book the Sartoris family is one of the more important families in Yoknapatawpha County where the book is set. The Old Colonel, John Sartoris, represents an old and dying out order dating back to the mid 1900’s. His world revolves around his plantation home, his slaves and his
In William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury, the image of honeysuckle is used repeatedly to reflect Quentin’s preoccupation with Caddy’s sexuality. Throughout the Quentin section of Faulkner’s work, the image of honeysuckle arises in conjunction with the loss of Caddy’s virginity and Quentin’s anxiety over this loss. The particular construction of this image is unique and important to the work in that Quentin himself understands that the honeysuckle is a symbol for Caddy’s sexuality. The stream of consciousness technique, with its attempt at rendering the complex flow of human consciousness, is used by Faulkner to realistically show how symbols are imposed upon the mind when experiences
According to Robert B. Ray’s “The Thematic Paradigm,” classical Hollywood develops “character(s that) magically embody diametrically opposite traits (299).” This method is used to appeal to “a collective American imagination steeped in myths of inclusiveness (299).” In other words, characters that portray a wide variety of traits, in many cases opposite traits, appeal to the American audience by embodying a portion of each viewer in the character. This method is clearly portrayed through the characters in the movie, “The Big Lebowski.”
William Faulkner, the eldest son to parents Murry and Maud Butler Falkner, was born in New Albany, Mississippi in 1897. Although Faulkner was not a keen student in high school, which eventually lead to his dropping out before graduation, he was very enthusiastic about undirected learning. After years of studying independently, Faulkner allowed a friend of his family, Phil Stone, to assist him with his academic vocation. This relationship inspired Faulkner and after a short period spent with the Royal Air Force in 1918 he decided to go to university where he began writing and publishing poetry. In 1924 Stone’s financial assistance helped Faulkner publish a
the men through a sort of respectful affection ..." (Faulkner 79). The Souther culture valued their community and took it for a granted accomplishment to attend a funeral and help in need. Theses Southern culture and values influenced some of Faulkner's work.
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and fearless. When the dog did find the bear and went after it, Ike would not
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William Faulkner’s unconventional writing style is widely renowned for his disregard of literary rules and his keen ability to peer into the psychological depths of his characters. His novel As I Lay Dying is no exception to his signature style. This book sets forth the death of Addie Bundren, her family’s journey through Yoknapatawpha County to bury her with her relatives in Jefferson, Mississippi, and examines each character in depth from a variety of perspectives. While this journey wreaks havoc among members of the family, As I Lay Dying serves as a dark reminder that life is to be lived and that happiness is within reach.