Faulkners Expression of the Human Spirit Essay -- Literary Analysis

William Faulkner accepted his Nobel Peace Prize in December 1950. During his acceptance speech, Faulkner proclaimed that the award was made not to him as a man, but to his lifes work, which was created, out of the materials of the human spirit something which did not exist before (http//www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1949/faulkner-speech.html). He felt that the modern writer had incapacitated connection to his spirit and that he must reconnect with the universal truths of the heartlove and honor and pity and pride and compassion and sacrifice (http//www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1949/faulkner-speech.html). Through his characters spokesperson and exposure of their spirit, Faulkner solidified mans immortality by lifting his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the exult of his past (http//www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1949/faulkne r-speech.html). Although some critics have characterized his work as violet, dealing with immoral themes and the miseries and brutality of life it can be argued that even his most tragic and depraved characters express positive virtues and personal strengths. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the portrayal and manifestation of the human spirit in a select fewer of William Faulkners literary characters, showing that they possess both human strength and flaws. So what is the human spirit and why is it significant? It is a somewhat terrible concept. According to Faulkner the human spirit is the connection to the universal truths of the heartlove and honor and pity and pride and compassion and sacrifice (http//www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/liter... .../laureates/1949/faulkner-speech.html. 1950.Gwynn, Frederick L. and Joseph L. Blotner, eds. Faulkner in the University Class Conferences at the University of Virginia 1957-58. New York time of origin Books, 1959.Hoffman, Frede rick J. The Art of Southern Fiction A Study of Some Modern Novelists. Carbondale Southern Illinois Univ. Press, 1967.Howe, Irving. William Faulkner A Critical Study. Chicago Univ. Chicago Press, 1975.Orig. 1951. Vintage Books, 1962.Meriwether, James B. and Michael Millgate, eds. Lion in the Garden Interviews with William Faulkner 1926-1962. New York Random House, 1968.ODonnell, George M. Faulkners Mythology. William Faulkner Four Decades of Criticism. Linda W. Wagner, ed. East Lansing, MI MSU Press, 1973. 83-93.Teske, John A. The Social Construction of the gentle Spirit. http//users.etown.edu/t/teskeja/schs.html