In Search of Humanity: A Bakhtinian Dialogic Study of The Sound and the Fury

• Published in: Journal of comparative literature & aesthetics Vol. 44; no. 1; pp. 57 - 70
• Main Author: Wang, Yue
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cuttack Vishvanatha Kaviraja Institute of Comparative Literature and Aesthetics 22.03.2021
• Subjects: Alcoholism; American literature; Analysis; Authorial voice; Authorship; Bakhtin, Mikhail; Bakhtin, Mikhail Mikhailovich (1895-1975); Criticism and interpretation; Dialogue; Dialogue (Literary technique); Dialogues; Families & family life; Fate; Faulkner, William; Faulkner, William (1897-1962); Gender; Good & evil; Heroism & heroes; Humanity; Kindness; Literary characters; Literary criticism; Literary devices; Literary influences; Literature; Logic; Modernism; Morality; Narrative techniques; Narrative theme; Narratives; Novelists; Novels; Philosophers; Poetics; Portrayals; Postmodernism; Russian literature; Time; Works; Writers; United States
• ISSN: 0252-8169

William Faulkner, as one most creative and influential American writers in the 20th century, has ever attracted scholars' concerns. First published in 1929, The Sound and the Fury is recognized as one of the most successful experimental American novels of its time. The discussion on it has involved many issues such as race, time, gender, etc. Mikhail Bakhtin proposes dialogic theory in Problems of Dostoevsky's Poetics, which suggests the characters should have their perspective which can parallel with the author's voice. And the un-finalizability of dialogue involves constant responses that will continue endlessly. This study will explore the humanity of moral and evil displayed in different characters in the text through the Bakhtinian dialogue theory. Keywords: The Sound and the Fury; humanity; dialogue; moral; evil; un-finalizability