William Faulkner Standing at just five feet, five inches tall William Faulkner was very small in stature, so much so that he was rejected by the U.S. Army, but his work made him a giant in the history of American Literature. Faulkner was a Nobel Peace Prize winning author and is considered one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century. He is considered to have one of the most amazing periods of writing in the history of literature. Between 1929 and 1942 Faulkner published several famous novels, all coming during the Great Depression. He was able to write these novels without graduating high school or gaining a college degree. He even wrote one of the most famous novels in American history during this period called, “Absalom, Absalom!”. …show more content…
His first works were published in 1924 when his mentor Phil Stone brought them to a publisher. His collection of poems was called “The Marble Faun”. In 1926 Faulkner published his first novel called “Soldier’s Pay”. A woman named Sherwood Anderson gave Faulkner some writing advice after his first published novel. She told him to write about where he was from and about his Mississippian roots. This advice changed Faulkner’s career. His next two novels “The Sound and the Fury” and “As I Lay Dying” both featured the setting of Yoknapatawpha County which was nearly identical to his hometown. He became known for his dictation of Southern speech in his novels. A few of his novels written in the 1930s were about topics that most authors didn’t dare to write about such as slavery. In 1931 his novel “Sanctuary” was released. It was a story about the rape and kidnapping of a young girl at Ole Miss, consequently, it raised many eyebrows but it also was a breakthrough in his career. Faulkner had many successful and controversial works throughout his career, which made him one of the most famous and successful authors of the twentieth century. Faulkner cemented himself as one of the greatest writers of all time when he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1949. The committee labeled him as one of the most important writers in American history. He also was awarded two National Book Awards, one for “The Collected Stories of William Faulkner” and one for “A Fabel”. He also won a Pulitzer Prize for “A Fable”. Faulkner had so many achievements in his career and has had even more since he passed away. Several of his novels have been turned into movies. He is known as one of the greatest American writers ever, and rightfully so.