Faulkner: Technique of “The Sound and the Fury”

Although Faulkner’s critics are frequently at variance on many issues, they all concur on one point—that his narrative technique is extremely intricate and perplexing. Having agreed upon this, however, they divide into two groups: those who feel that this complexity is justified and those who hold that it is an unnecessary obstacle. Taking the latter point of view, Granville Hicks says, “One can almost imagine Mr. Faulkner inventing his stories in the regular chronological order and then recasting them in some distorted form.”¹

Of all Faulkner’s prose writings The Sound and the Fury is the most complex; it is also one of his best works. It is not one of his most popular works, for its unusual technique is confusing to most readers and prejudices many of them against the book to the point of laying it aside without a complete and fair hearing. Therefore, if Faulkner is to go on trial for his involved technique, this novel makes an appropriate test case.