1. Get As I Lay Dying from the library
2. Watch video about Faulkner
Homework: Read "Barn Burning" and Nobel Prize speech for tomorrow
Full text of Barn Burning online at http://www.rajuabju.com/literature/barnburning.htm
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My thoughts on Barn Burning are simply that it was rather odd. Faulkners way of writing, isn't something that I'm necessarily used to, and it will take a little while to actually understand. I had to read this short story a couple of times, until I understood some of it. Now the question is, did I enjoy it? No I didn't. Anything about different races really gets to me. For Faulkner's acceptance speech for the Noble Peace Prize was also a little odd. He states, "I feel that this award was not made to me as a man, but to my work--a life's work in the agony and sweat of the human spirit, not for glory..." Throughout his entire speech he supports that statement by saying that it's not up to him per se but as for the amount of trust people give him. It makes complete sense why this speech is so well known. It wasn't the normal acceptance speech saying thank you all and blah blah blah. It was giving a distinct reasoning behind his award.
ReplyDelete"Barn Burning" seemed to be written in that simple, almost essaist style. Fact-fact-fact - a sequence of events. Perhaps the age of the story is responsible, which leads me to believe that I'll be experiencing the same sort of style, while obviously not in short-story form, in As I Lay Dying. I'm not the biggest fan of it, but it does tell the story simply, and therefore, clearly (enough.) I don't have so much to say about the actual story in "Barn Burning," but I'm not the biggest reader anyways, and as such, I'm not the biggest fan of any particular writing style. I do, however, definately get that "southern" feel, which came off rather strong in the first few pararaphs with remarks and terminology such as "that nigger."
ReplyDeleteMy initial reaction to the speech was Faulkners humbleness. He didn't want the money that came with the noble prize-- that he said he would donate--, he said that the award had nothing to do with him as a man but his work and his efforts "to create something that didn’t exist before". He spoke of the vulnerability authors need. and the power of poetry to extend the immortality of man. I think that the boy in the story in a way was Faulkner, raised in a family that wanted you to put blood over everything, being forced to remain quiet even though you (at a young age) had ideas of what was unjust and knew the things that were being asked of you were wrong. A sense of distance between you and your family because you don’t agree with the views they have and don’t understand their version of truth and what is right.
ReplyDeleteI thought "Barn Burning" was very odd and I didn't really enjoy it. The father was very demanding and when he said “ You got to learn to stick to your own blood or you ain’t going to have any blood to stick to you” I felt so bad for the young boy. His father was threatening him and talking to him in a way that a father shouldn’t be talking to his own son. It just seemed very heartless.
ReplyDeleteI thought Faulkner’s speech was very good. I enjoyed reading his thoughts about how a young man needs to really be in tune with his emotions to convey a proper piece of writing and things along that nature.
The short story "Fire Burning" was in my opinion very strange. Faulkner used many extra words that I didn't feel added to the story. When I was reading this I immediately used some of the pictures shown in the video yesterday to place a setting. This helped me understand the story and the relationship between father and son depicted in "Fire Burning".
ReplyDeleteThe acceptance speech that Faulkner wrote is very interesting. He talks about a number of ideas that reflect who he is, why he is doing his work and what it means to him. The most compelling area of his speech was when he talked about how it is mans responsibility to write and use language since they are the only ones on this planet that can. It is humanities duty.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed Faulkner's speech! It was soo true to writers everywhere. The way that the award wasnt made to him but to his work....so dead on. Also, as a writer, i know how this can be both positive and negative. It recognizes your incredible work but then you feel jealous because no one has recognized YOU. He speaks of how writing isnt as classically beautiful as it seems. It is both love AND lust. He reveales the ugly parts of writing in his ackomplishments.
ReplyDeleteThe short story on the other hand...no. It was a little strange and but it was writtin well. It had some good energy and it was quite "real". I didnt really like the story though. :)
Ms. Miraites RULZ!!! Shes gonna be a good teacher! <3
From what I've read thus far, I am not a fan of Faulkner's writing. The combinatin of his convoulted style and dragging, rambling prose (what was the significance of the smell of cheese?) detracted considerably from the flow of the story and the quality of the narrative as a whole.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading Falkners speech after winning the Nobel Prize. I thought his perspective of what being a writer truly entails is inspiring. I found that after watching the movie, his southern upbringing relected and influenced his ideas that he described in his speech. I found Barn Burning somewhat confusing yet definitlely confirming my general view of southern life.
ReplyDeleteI was confused by the short story, Barn Burning. The fact that Faulkner did not make it clear what actions were happening to certian characters made it hard to follow and interpret the story line. The southern and rural setting did though make it easier to understand the Snopes situation. The judges ruling on the fire at the barn, and the tracks made in the neighbor's rug show the lifestlye of the 19th century.
ReplyDeleteIn Faulkner's acceptance speech, words of wisdom and inspiration come to the audience. He talks about the hopes and dreams of young male and female writers who have the capability to rise to his level. People have to relearn the conflicts of the present world inorder to write effectively on their meanings. The writer is one that tells of absent victories and blank sacrifices. Through these words, many are able to write omnisciently of the worlds past and inspire others to do the same.
At this point I'm not exactly adoring his work but I'm finding that Faulkner's stories are pretty good. I like how he uses colloquial language for his characters in Barn Burning but I found a lot of it hard to understand making me re-read a lot. I like his imagery. In Barn Burning a particular part caught my eye. It's as follows "...With straight, uncombed, brown hair and eyes gray and wild as storm scud. he saw the men between himself and the table part and become a lane of grim faces..." This passage is interesting to me because thee imagery gives the reader almost a creepy feeling. Along with that and many others I found his imagery to be very descriptive and his writings mildly interesting.
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