Narrative Structure on ABSALOM, ABSALOM

YARN OF ABSALOM, ABSALOM! There are many unanswered questions concerning the novel Absalom, Absalom!, what exactly its author intended to get across through it or what he actually did with it. Many critics believe he just never reached a single and final intention, so he just left the final authorities in question, and he may have liked it that way (Parker 16). While others believe he was just careless and forgetful, leaving dangling ends with the …

…itself or not, or whether it is the greatest work or not, does not change the fact that Absalom, Absalom! contains the most original use of narrative in American literature and no other author, trying to imitate Faulkner or not, has come close to what he achieved with this novel. However, all critics agree that each individual reader must use their imagination, make their own interpretations, and that Faulkner never indulged in cheap mystery-mongering (Brooke 302).