Good Essay Topics on William Faulkners Light in August

Good Essay Topics on William Faulkner's Light in AugustThe Adams Family Professor of English at Williams College, David McCullough, who is the author of the new book on William Faulkner's Light in August, has given this advice to students who want to write an essay on William Faulkner. The essay will not be accepted, but Mr. McCullough hopes that his recommendations will be helpful. It has been his experience that students do not want to write a negative essay about any author. However, one should always remain objective.As with all writers, writers like Faulkner are controversial, and the writer in some ways is always in the center of controversy. He was not exactly a humanitarian, as many portray him to be. This is an interesting subject, which will help students gain an understanding of how writers deal with the inherent problems and obstacles that come with writing fiction. Mr. McCullough writes:'William Faulkner, who taught at Kenyon College and whose death was announced last we ek, was criticized for embracing the black power movement and for supporting the radical left. Yet in his work he is often portrayed as a modern who explores the dark side of American life. This may have something to do with the fact that his fiction often takes a dark turn.'Faulkner was often accused of being a racist, because his works did reflect the cultural realities of his day. In addition, his first marriage ended in divorce and his second marriage was not happy. He did many things, which made it difficult for his fans to relate to him.One of the things that Faulkner did that was unpopular was his criticism of the political system in the United States. The state of affairs that existed, where a small elite controlled the government and everyone else was reduced to their own little world was one that became controversial. Mr. McCullough writes, 'Faulkner's attack on American society and politics should be taken seriously.' Indeed, the essay should be taken seriously.In additio n, James Willamson, another author that Mr. McCullough recommends, might be a topic for discussion and 'will be just as controversial.' Mr. Willamson was a racist who authored more than forty novels. The most infamous one was called Nigger. Mr. Willamson received the Pulitzer Prize in Literature in 1937, for Nigger. He wrote novels, and this is one topic that is controversial.'Williams College, where he was a professor of literature, was the center of a controversy following his death, when Texas and Louisiana took legal action in his estate.' A motion picture, called Yellowbeard, was released that depicted his views on race. It became a movie that was considered a masterpiece. A film, called The Grand Illusion, was made after his death.Because he was not liked by the people, and because he was divisive, he lost some of his fans, and a year after his death he became a figure of controversy that almost disappeared. Mr. McCullough writes, 'But in the nineteen-fifties, when his fame wa s waning, Willamson became a little-known author and became a literary figure.'