So Much Allegory

The bear is definately one of my favorite pieces of literature we have done in Honors. I love the poetic nature of Faulkner's prose.

I would like to comment on the rich allegorical nature of Faulkner's work. Every little detail with faulkner has a meaning, significance. There is no choice that is made without a reason behind it. Take for instance when Boon asked Ike for a dollar while they were in town. Ike initially was reluctant to give Boon the dollar, but then he decided to. Faulkner could have summed up the whole moment in this one sentence, but instead he goes into great length as to how Ike would not give him the dollar, but then is reminesing about some past event which changes his mind which results in him giving Boon the dollar. Everything in The Bear is like this, there is always a reason as to why something is done the way it is done, Faulkner always provides an expanation. Moreover, there is no part to the story that does not relate to Faulkner's true purpose. Even the bear's footprint fading away into the dirt is given an allegorical meaning. Faulkner speaks of this fading as a "healing," suggesting his belief that letting nature take its course is the best, the therapeudic remedy to all of the problems of the world. Moreover, this theme is continued throughout the whole work. When the Bear is killed Sam Fathers falls over and a few days later, just "quits." It is as if when Old Ben, the symbol of nature and his whole way of life dies, Sam Fathers no longer has any reason to live, or put another way, the death of the Bear sucked the life and purpose out of Sam Fathers. There is no end to the allegorical meaning that we can pull out of Go Down Moses.

PS. I commented on Joy's "Bad Title I know"