"Thomas Sutpen rode out of a mysterious past into Jefferson, Mississippi in 1833. He purchased 100 acres, set about clearing the land and building a mansion, and proceeded with a plan for order and security that would end in the ruination of many lives. Secrets, betrayals, and violence would be the undoing of almost everyone involved. But the truth is inaccessible to almost everyone involved because it must be pieced together from partial knowledge by several different parties, including young Quentin Compson, who reconstructs what might have happened and tells the story to his college roommate in 1910 (and who, we know from _The Sound and the Fury_, is not long for this world at that point). Faulkner's metaphoric depiction of the Fall of the South pits the false order of possession (of land, women, slaves, children, a "sure" design for one's future) against the order of knowledge and understanding, and critiques the nature of history through a majestic and tragic plot."
David Loftus, Resident Scholar
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Review Analysis of Absalom, Absalom!
Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of story
- 19th century
Romance/Romance Problems
Yes
Kind of romance:
- playing footsy while inconveniently married
Family, struggle with
Yes
Struggle with:
- Father (or standin)
Culture clash?
- family young v. old guard
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Ethnic/regional/gender life
Yes
Lover is
- of a different social class
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- farmer
Age:
- 40's-50's
Eccentric/Mental
Yes
Eccentric:
- eccentric
- obsessed
- emotionally unstable
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 3 (some)
United States
Yes
The US:
- Northeast
- Deep South
Farm/Ranch?
Yes
Small town?
Yes
Style
Person
- rotating 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
Unusual Style:
- a lot of flashback and forwards
- No single main character?
Amount of dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
