Faulkner's theory of relativity : relative clauses in Absalom, Absalom!
- UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Karen McFarland Canine (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
- Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
- Advisor
- Jeutonne P. Brewer
Abstract: The purpose of this study is twofold: first, to show that William Faulkner used relative clauses (RC's) to shape the style of Absalom, Absalom! to fit the meanings he wanted to communicate, and in doing so built in a level of meaning beyond the "story;" second, that linguistic analysis of literature can illustrate precisely how style and meaning are interrelated, and in doing so can provide data about linguistic performance, in this case about the uses of RC's. Faulkner's own comment that "the theme, the story, invents its own style," justifies this study of Absalom, Absalom! as a speech act, or communicative event involving the interaction of writer, reader, text, and unspoken "rules" governing language use and interpretation. Within this framework, it is assumed that Faulkner chose to write this novel in the particular style he did for some meaningful purpose that readers would infer from that form. Critics have noted that the structure of the book is that of a story re-told from multiple perspectives; that the themes include the impossibility of discovering definitive "truth," the difficulty of communication, and the effects of events over time that relate otherwise unrelated people; and that the complex syntax of the novel, with its accumulations of modifying clauses, attempts to simulate the flow of speech or thought.
Faulkner's theory of relativity : relative clauses in Absalom, Absalom!
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Created on 1/1/1983
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Dissertation
- Language: English
- Date: 1983
- Subjects
- Faulkner, William, $d 1897-1962 $x Criticism and interpretation
- Faulkner, William, $d 1897-1962. $t Absalom, Absalom!
- Grammar, Comparative and general $x Relative clauses