William Faulkner Essay -- Biography

The South is known for its many astounding artists, novelists, and writers; however, William Faulkner is uniquely categorized by many as one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century. Faulkner became known for his diction and literary techniques. William Faulkner chronicled the history of Mississippi: however, his choice of universal themes made him a literary giant around the world. Faulkner achieved many great accomplishments without a high school diploma or college degree. Faulkner had proved to the world that Southern writers were not as substandard as many viewed them to be. They were, in fact, quite phenomenal. William Faulkner born on September 25, 1897 to Murry Cuthbert Falkner, a railroad employee and Maud Butler, an amateur painter (Minter, 755). Faulkner was born in New Albany, Mississippi ; however, he spent most of his life in Oxford, Mississippi (Polk, 55). In Oxford, Faulkner began listening to many stories told at small family gatherings as well as large reunions. Many stories told by Faulkner’s family originated from adventures of Faulkner’s great-grandfather, Colonel William Clark Falkner . Since Faulkner was disappointed and embarrassed by the meager success of his own father, he drew closer to his grandfather, but it was his great-grandfather who he saw as a model and rival ( Minter, 755). Faulkner was an excellent student throughout the first several grades; however, he quit school in 1915 without a diploma disappointing his family. Even though Faulkner dropped out of school, he read avidly (Minter, 755). Faulkner made a habit of hanging around places where people gathered to swap tales ; After Faulkner began writing about north Mississippi , a friend remarked that, â€Å" he seemed to know e... ...y two of his novels received Pulitzer Prizes. In 1924 Faulkner received the Nobel Prize for literature for his unique contribution to the modern American novel. After Faulkner donated his Nobel winnings to establish a fund to support and encourage new fiction writers, the PEN/Faulkner Award for fiction was established. Whenever Faulkner’s involvement in the early phases of the civil rights movement evoked, he and Estelle moved to Charlottesville, Virginia , where Faulkner became writer-in-residence at the university of Virginia (minter, 760). In conclusion, William Faulkner, the Southern writer , Nobel and Pulitzer prize winner, sweep the nation with his diction and literary techniques. With his fictional stories he laid literary hands on Mississippi and narrated the universe throughout its culture. His universal themes made him a literary giant around the world.