Absalom Absalom
In Absalom, Absalom! research papers, the research paper will point out that contrasting narrative voices again become the most visible means by which Faulkner inserts parallels and juxtaposition into the text. By dividing the text among a number of parallel narrators, all of whom do not share the same perception of the events being narrated, the narrative itself becomes a study in contrasts. The four narrators in Absalom, Absalom! are:
- Rosa
- Mr. Compson
- Quentin
- Shreve
Using this narrative technique in a way that builds on and extends the one he developed in The Sound and the Fury, Faulkner underscores the kaleidoscope of human interpretations that actually comprise history. By portraying the vast differences in perspective that can operate in competing interpretations of events, Faulkner advances a challenge to the long-standing notion of objective reality.
Contrasts in Absalom, Absalom!
One of the most significant contrasts that Faulkner makes in Absalom, Absalom! is a thematic contra position that resonates throughout his entire body of work. On one hand, Faulkner seems to be endorsing what he perceives as the past glory of the South, and the elevated status of those men who comprised Southern culture in the pre-Civil War era. At the same time, Faulkner acknowledges and identifies the many points at which this prototypical Southern man exhibited moral weakness and even depravity, which sets up the theme.
Morality in Absalom, Absalom!
In Absalom, Absalom!, Faulkner seems to be suggesting that to a certain degree, the moral laxity of the Southern culture must be put into the contextual perspective of history. In other words, it would be unfair to judge the deeds of the South without making an effort to understand the historical events that facilitated institutional slavery and the inhumanity that often characterized Southern social mores.