Discussion Outline 3/15

Discussion Outline 3/15 • Structure of the novel o Jenny-Rosa gives unreliable account of Sutpen because of her hatred towards him. In the second, third, and fourth chapters, Mr. Compson gives slightly more neutral account, but still not completely objective.  Combination of both provides a less biased description of the story o Faulkner provides many different narrations to the story to give the novel a small town, southern effect o Ryan-“ I believe Faulkner is purposefully attempting to illustrate that history has two equally important parts: one side being empirical truth and the side the emotional responses” o Emily- His style of writing is almost to try and confuse the reader. Why is Faulkner doing this? • Varying viewpoints of Thomas Sutpen o Rick-Mr. Compson’s narrative of Sutpen gives him more human qualities  Desirable qualities do exist to some extent • Very successful capitalist, built himself up from nothing in a town where he know no one  Does he create any bias? How accurate is his information? • He claims the reason Rosa marries Sutpen is to protect Judith. Is it believable that she would do this? • How does he know so much about Henry and Bon’s relationship? Is it mostly speculation and rumor and if so, does this damage his credibility?  Does he try to discredit Rosa?  He repeats certain words and phrases a lot. Jenny mentions he calls Ellen a butterfly on multiple occasions. He also calls Sutpen the Ogre of her [Rosa’s] youth and “a foe who did not even know that it was embattled” and he says “he had corrupted Ellen” multiple times. • Jenny says that butterflies are after considered a positive symbol of change. Does this make sense? Could it also represent fragility? • Why does he say that Sutpen corrupted Ellen? Does it put Sutpen in a negative light? • Foreshadowing o Clytemnestra-wife of Agamemnon who led Greeks in defeat of Trojans in Trojan War (killed her husband and Cassandra, the princess of Troy)  Do you believe Clytemnestra in Absalom, Absalom! will serve the same purpose?  Who could serve as her husband? Cassandra? o Absalom-in the Bible, Absalom is the third son of David. Rebels against his father and is killed  We already know of the fratricide of Bon  Why would the name be repeated as the novel’s title? • Incest and homosexual undertones o Henry’s love for Bon and Judith  “Yes, he loved Bon, who seduced him as surely as it seduced Judith…” pg 76  Pg 77-refers to his more than brotherly love for Judith o Mr. Compson suggests that if Bon married Judith, Henry would be fulfilling two desires o Do you believe that this profound love for Judith caused Henry to kill Bon? • Mystery Behind Sutpen o Mike says he embodies the core traits of a Gothic villain.  Is Sutpen a villain or are there other reasons for the mystery surrounding him?  Do Sutpen’s intentions even matter? If he made Ellen and Rosa’s lives miserable, does it matter if he had good intentions? o If Sutpen represents the South during the civil war, what does the mystery say? Is the South’s version of the civil war lost in history?