Cultural Context Analysis of Faulkner's Literary Creation

Cultural Context Analysis of Faulkner's Literary Creation

Faulkner's works can be said to be the epitome of southern literary tradition. All southern literary traditions are embodied and carried forward in Faulkner's works.

? Context? This word was first put forward by the Polish anthropologist Marinovszky in 1923. As an important linguistic category, context? It refers to the environment in which a language lives, uses and develops, and plays a role in explaining or restricting the speech activities of language users. Marinovszky divides context into situational context and cultural context. Cultural context refers to the social and cultural background related to verbal communication, which is the cultural tradition, customs, ways of thinking and values formed by a nation in its own social and historical development. It can be divided into two aspects: first, cultural customs refer to the life pattern handed down from generation to generation in social life, which is a collective habit of a social group in terms of language, behavior and psychology, and is normative and binding on members belonging to the group; Second, social norms refer to various regulations and restrictions made by a society on verbal communication activities. The cultural context of a writer's creation refers to the specific cultural environment that has a profound influence on him in his literary activities, involving all aspects of social material culture, spiritual culture and institutional culture, as well as people's mode of production, lifestyle and way of thinking.

As the most outstanding writer in the Renaissance of American Southern Literature, the cultural context of Faulkner's creation mainly comes from the cultural traditions, values and people's way of thinking in the southern United States. He mercilessly depicts conservative, ignorant and backward southerners in his works, which shows his love for southerners? Sad for his misfortune, angry for his indisputable? Complex mentality.

First, the southern complex.

Southerners in the United States have been advocating since they settled on the American continent? White supremacy? The point of view. ? Southern dignity? His thoughts have always permeated the southern culture. In their view? Southerners? This is a title with inviolable dignity. Southerners must defend their identity. They are southerners first, and then they have everything else. Are you tolerant of southern criticism, especially? Unique system? Criticism of slavery is a betrayal of the South (1).

However, after the civil war, the south was devastated and poverty and backwardness plagued everyone. A sense of tragedy hangs over everyone's mind. However, the southern writers who grew up in this tragic consciousness did not indulge in the past, gave up themselves and faced life and history objectively.

They know that they must show the real South and troubled Southerners to the world with a serious attitude. So a large number of outstanding southern writers emerged and created brilliant works in the history of American literature? The revival of southern literature? .

Southern writer? Southern complex? It provides an inexhaustible source of creation for writers. Based on the history, culture and reality of the south, writers have painted a picture of the rise and fall of the south, which combines history and reality, hope and pain, mystery and fantasy, and romantic legend. Faulkner, who lives in modern southern society, cherishes traditional culture and believes in traditional values, writes his familiar southern historical traditions, customs and unique southern life experiences into his works, and takes his hometown of Mississippi as the prototype to create a kingdom of Yoknapatafa. As he himself said:? I found that the place the size of my hometown stamp is worth writing, but I'm afraid I can't finish it all my life. When I turn reality into a novel, I can display my talents at will. ? (2) Among Faulkner's 17 novels, except one fable, the rest are all novels of the Yoknapata system. In this series of novels, Faulkner takes his hometown as the background, showing the rise and fall history of several families and generations, reflecting the vast life scene of American southern society since the American Civil War, expressing Faulkner's concern for the south, mankind and history, and also embodying his profound? Southern complex? .

Second, religious consciousness.

As we all know, the United States was originally founded by a group of Puritans who fled to the American continent to escape religious persecution. Puritans' beliefs and moral norms naturally had a far-reaching impact on people's lives, especially in the colonial New World. The development of industry, cities and education in the 20th century did not hinder the development of religion, but made it more popular. In a typical southern community, upper-middle-class adults rarely do not receive baptism (3). H·L· Mencken, a famous American critic, once called the United States in the 1920s the South? Bible tape? .

Growing up in such a religious environment, Faulkner also developed the habit of reading the Bible. According to him, every time I read it? Like visiting old friends? . Thus, the Bible and its related mythological knowledge were deeply imprinted in Faulkner's thinking habits from an early age. In this way, his religious consciousness was cultivated consciously or unconsciously. In Faulkner's 19 novels and more than 70 short stories, allusions, stories and legends in the Bible are widely quoted. According to Coffey's statistics, Faulkner directly quoted or adapted the Bible in his works for 379 times. The Old Testament and the New Testament were cited 183 times and 196 times respectively. These quotations are from Matthew 94 times, John 17 times, Luke 25 times and * * * 136 times, which is more than one-third of the total quotations in the Bible and two-thirds (4) of the total quotations in the New Testament. The religious consciousness in Faulkner's works is particularly prominent in the following three aspects: the prototype of biblical characters in the novel, the narrative structure of counterpoint myth, the embodiment of Christian doctrine, especially the idea of original sin and redemption. Someone commented on Faulkner. Faulkner accepted and dramatized the basic ideas of Christianity so effectively that he can be justly regarded as one of the most profound Christian writers of our time. In his works, there is the premise of Christian original sin everywhere, and there is a conflict between soul and body everywhere. ? (5) Faulkner has his own understanding of Christianity. He said:? Who doesn't believe in Christianity? Christianity can teach people to see themselves clearly, provide them with an extremely lofty example of enduring suffering and self-sacrifice, point out a bright future, and form a set of moral norms and standards within their abilities and ambitions. ?

(6) Third, tragic consciousness Before the Civil War, southerners lived a rich and comfortable life, and chivalry and gentlemanly manners prevailed. They called the ancestors who first arrived in the New World knights and claimed to be descendants of knights, weaving many myths about farming. They even compared the south to a paradise in ancient Greece. However, with the outbreak of civil war, southerners woke up from the myth.

The spiritual crisis is increasing day by day, and the tragic consciousness hangs over everyone's mind, so many people dwell on the past and miss the illusory glory and lost dignity.

(7)

In this painful living environment, people either sink or think or cooperate with those Americans who break their happiness, trying to change their situation. Through their works, they tell the fallen southerners what is the source of misfortune, and warn them that they, the voters of God, have committed crimes and are being punished by God because of the degradation and slavery of blacks who are also human beings. In these works, writers spare no effort to show the conservatism, ignorance and spiritual crisis of southerners. Southerners' tragic consciousness, dreamy attitude towards reality, nostalgia for the past and guilt for society have become the eternal themes of southern literary works. Many writers in the 20th century, such as Glasgow, Faulkner, Caldwell, Warren and Williams, have criticized and warned those southerners who cling to the past and deceive themselves.

Faulkner's tragic consciousness is strongly reflected in most of his works, especially The Sound and the Fury, Absalom, Absalom! "and other works. The Sound and the Fury tells the story of the decline, disintegration and final disintegration of the Compson family in Jefferson Town. By describing the fate of the Compson family, Faulkner expressed his tragic consciousness and despair of the old system in the south. Absalom! Absalom! From the perspective of the family history of planters, the so-called "South" is revealed. Noble? Their bloody family history and their lack of moral and social responsibility. The downfall of Cedepan and this family in the novel reminds people of the myth of original sin and the scourge that fell on the third and fourth generations.

Fourth, the southern literary tradition.

The earliest American southern literature works were pamphlets introducing the South. 16 and 17 centuries, immigrants from the European continent who came to the south focused on developing the economy. They planted tobacco, rice and cotton on a large scale, which earned them huge economic benefits, but the education at that time was quite backward. Therefore, even in the18th century, southern literary works were limited to historical documents. However, in the19th century, with the further development of American economy and the further diversification of culture, southern literature gradually developed, showing various forms, and many literary masters such as Simms, Tucker, Rama and Poe emerged. Southerners also founded local literary periodicals, such as Southern Literature Messenger and Southern Literature Review Quarterly. In the subsequent development process, a literary tradition with southern characteristics was gradually formed.

Specifically, the southern literary tradition mainly includes unique romantic temperament and certain realistic tendency, conservative backward-looking historical consciousness, heavy tragic consciousness, puritanism consciousness and incomparable interest in moral exploration, contradictions and puzzles on ethnic issues, extreme concern for artistic skills, manor literary tradition, Gothic novel tradition, folk story tradition and its unique frontier humor, and so on (8). Faulkner's backward-looking historical consciousness, heavy tragic consciousness and Puritanism have been discussed above, so I won't repeat them here.

Faulkner's works can be said to be the epitome of southern literary tradition. All southern literary traditions are embodied and carried forward in Faulkner's works. Absalom! Absalom! For example, first of all, this novel tells the story of a manor in the south, which is a typical family-centered southern manor novel. Secondly, it is a romantic realistic work. Sedpan's entrepreneurial legend can be said to be the embodiment of romanticism, and his efforts to improve social status, the embodiment of his children's love, the development and evolution of his mental state and the destruction of the whole manor in the novel are all realistic sketches. Third, the Gothic writing techniques in this novel, especially the description of Quentin and Rosa's going to the dilapidated manor in the middle of the night. Sedpan's entrepreneurial legend in the novel can be said to be a typical southern folk story.

Sedpan ironed his only dress with hot bricks before going to town, which is a typical embodiment of southern humor. It can be said that the southern literary tradition provided rich nourishment and creative source for Faulkner's creation, and influenced and even influenced his creation to a great extent.

Precautions:

(1) Shi Zhikang: An Overview of American Literature, Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 1998, p. 202.

(2) Wu: The History of American Literature and Selected Readings Course Volume II, Central University for Nationalities Press, 2002, p. 255.

(3) Chen: American Southern Culture, Jilin University Press, 1996, p. 80.

(4) Han Ming Jr.: "William? Faulkner Studies, Foreign Language Teaching and Education Press, 1997, p. 1 18.

(5) Linda Wellcome Bet Edition. William faulkner, Forty Years of Criticism, Michigan State University Press, 1973.

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