At the SOUND of a name like William Faulkner, high school english students may let out a groan under their breath and immediately disregard him FURIously under the file "Boring AP Literature authors who ruin my brain power when I could be using it to play Trivia Crack" in their brain. Hmmm, maybe that's why it's called The Sound and The Fury, right? Well... maybe not, but good try.

Diving deeper into the life of Faulkner and what he was like as a person just like any other Average Joe (even though an Average Joe probably doesn't have a Literature Nobel Prize under his name) can create a sense of familiarity and allow the high school student to perhaps see Faulkner in the eye as they try to get inside his mind and decipher his writings, particularly The Sound and The Fury.

Learning more about Faulkner, the student can find that he was a Nobel-Prize-winning novelist of the American South. Also, he was brought up by an old southern family in Oxford, Mississippi and throughout his life, his endeavors led him to dabble in the Canadian and British Royal Air  Force during World War I, booking keeping in New York City, writing scripts for Hollywood, as well as embarking on some excursions to Europe and Asia. So, his college resume probably would have looked as golden as the Golden Fleece. But, most of his brain power behind his short stories and novels was generated on a farm in his hometown, Oxford. After all, he is most commonly know for being a writer, not an ex-soldier turned bookkeeper turned Hollywood writer turned writer turned tomb-rester. 

However, the detail that he was from the South is especially important to take note of here (although most know that taking notes is something not akin to high schoolers), as it is one of the factors that influences his writing style. According to an article on nobelprize.org that gives a biography on William Faulkner, "Faulkner has invented a host of characters typical of the historical growth and subsequent decadence of the South." In other words, he was quite familiar with Southern culture and nature and this seeps through in his the imaginary Yoknapatawpha Country (in The Sound and The Fury) and it's residents, i.e. the characters. The incorporation of the South is also surfaced in one theme of the degeneration of the South and rising prominence of the newcomers, the Snopeses. 

As the high school student gets ready to go take on the big shoes of reading and comprehending a complicated writer such as William Faulkner, it is of upmost importance to keep in mind his Southern upbringing and influence of his writing. That will probably help take out the FURY one gets in deciphering the intricate complexity of Faulkner's The Sound and The Fury. 

-LbugL