William Faulkner Essay, Research Paper

In William Faulkner’s Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech, he says, “He writes not of love but of lust, of defeats in which nobody loses anything of value, and victories without hope and worst of all, without pity or compassion.” William Faulkner is referring to “He” as the typical writer today. The idea conveyed in this sentence is a writer writes a story of lust, pure instinctual passion, and should write of tragedies in which they have gained nothing. Also, a writer should write about false victories. This statement disagrees with two short stories Faulkner has written, “Spotted Horses” and “Barn Burning.”

In “Spotted Horses,” Flem Snopes shows no compassion when he takes the Armstid’s money and spits at Mrs. Armstid. Also, Mrs. Armstid feels defeated when she does not win the horses even though she never wanted them.

In “Barn Burning,” Ab Snopes burns up his rich boss’ barn. The boss loses something that has value something to him. This goes with what Faulkner thinks a writer should write about. Ab, who burns the barn, shows no remorse or compassion as to what he did. Also, the boss didn’t really lose anything of value to him because if he’s rich then he can just buy another barn.

Faulkner believes that a writer should not write about love, but of lust, and if someone loses something it should not be anyone of value to him or her. Faulkner does write about these things in “Barn Burning” and “Spotter Horses.”