You’re halfway through what’s supposedly one of the greatest novels of the 20th century, but nothing quite makes sense. Narrating characters offer clashing versions of the same story and often seem unsure who, what, or when they’re talking about. Seemingly minor details trigger intense emotional reactions you don't understand. And the prose is loaded with convoluted sentences and outlandish imagery. Confused? Good— that means you’re on the right track.
Kau membaca setengah bagian dari novel yang dianggap salah satu novel terhebat Abad 20, tetapi tak ada yang masuk akal. Narasi tokoh menyajikan versi berbeda untuk cerita yang sama dan seringkali tidak yakin siapa, apa, atau kapan yang dibicarakan. Detail kecil tampaknya menyebabkan reaksi emosional intens yang tidak kau pahami. Dan prosa itu dipenuhi kalimat rumit dan citra aneh. Bingung? Bagus— artinya kau di jalur yang benar.
William Faulkner is considered one of America’s most remarkable and perplexing writers. Fortunately, he wasn’t just toying with his audience. Faulkner used confusion intentionally, to explore the most mysterious parts of the human mind and investigate pressing issues of personal, racial, and regional identity. The result is a body of work that’s shocking, inventive, and often hilarious— but above all, challenging. So what clues should readers look for to navigate his literary labyrinths?
William Faulkner dianggap salah satu penulis hebat Amerika dan penulis yang kompleks. Untungnya, ia tidak sekedar mempermainkan penontonnya. Faulkner sengaja menggunakan kebingungan, untuk menjelajahi bagian paling misterius dari pikiran manusia dan memeriksa masalah mendesak seperti personal, ras, dan identitas daerah. Hasilnya ialah karya mengejutkan, inventif, dan seringkali lucu— terutama, menantang. Jadi, petunjuk apa yang harus dicari untuk menjelajahi labirin sastranya?
Many of Faulkner’s novels are set in the fictional county of Yoknapatawpha— a fantastical reimagining of Lafayette County, Mississippi, where he spent most of his life. Born in 1897, Faulkner grew up steeped in oral storytelling traditions, from folklore and family histories to local legends of Civil War glory. However, these grand myths didn’t match the messy reality of the American South, divided by racist Jim Crow laws and plagued by the legacies of slavery and colonial violence. All these tensions come alive inside Yoknapatawpha. Full of horror, humor, and human tragedy, Faulkner’s stories feature many memorable characters, like the spurned bride who sleeps beside her would-be husband’s corpse, or the duped sharecropper obsessively hunting for imaginary coins. At first glance, these characters seem grotesquely absurd. But under the surface, they all reflect his obsession with how people process the past— what they stubbornly hold on to, unwittingly forget and willingly distort.
Banyak novel Faulkner yang berlokasi di wilayah fiksional Yoknapatawpha— sebuah imajinasi fantastis dari Lafayette County, Mississippi, tempat ia menghabiskan sebagian besar hidupnya. Lahir pada 1897, Faulkner tumbuh tenggelam dalam tradisi bercerita, dari dongeng dan sejarah keluarga hingga legenda kemenangan perang saudara. Namun, mitos-mitos hebat ini tidak sesuai dengan kenyataan di Amerika Selatan, dipisahkan oleh hukum rasis Jim Crow dan diganggu oleh warisan perbudakan serta kejahatan kolonial. Semua ketegangan ini terjadi di Yoknapatawpha. Penuh horor, humor, dan tragedi manusia, cerita Faulkner diisi dengan banyak tokoh mengesankan, seperti pengantin wanita yang ditolak dan tidur dekat jasad calon suaminya, atau petani penggarap yang terobsesi berburu koin-koin khayalan. Sekilas, para tokoh ini terlihat tidak masuk akal. Namun, mereka semua merefleksikan obsesinya pada cara manusia menghadapi masa lalu— apa yang mereka pertahankan, tak sengaja lupakan, dan rela ubah.
Much of Faulkner’s fiction is told from multiple perspectives, offering the reader several versions of the story’s events. For example, “The Sound and the Fury” combines the narratives of Benjy, Quentin, and Jason Compson, three brothers haunted by memories of their sister Caddy. One brother's narration will occasionally fill the gaps left by another's, but just as often, their accounts contradict each other. To make things more confusing, Benjy’s narration is disjointed in time, slipping between past and present without warning. Meanwhile, Quentin's section confuses fact and fantasy as it jumps backward in time from the day of his untimely death. Only the aggressive, money-hungry Jason attempts to embrace the present— but even he is constantly overtaken by past resentments.
Fiksi Faulkner banyak bercerita dari perspektif yang beragam, menawarkan pembaca beberapa versi dari sebuah cerita. Contohnya, “The Sound and the Fury” mengombinasikan narasi dari Benjy, Quentin, dan Jason Compson, tiga saudara dihantui oleh kenangan saudari mereka Caddy. Sesekali satu narasi milik saudara akan mengisi kekosongan yang tersisa, tetapi sering juga, pernyataan mereka berlawanan. Untuk menambah kebingungan, narasi Benjy terputus-putus, tergelincir antara masa lalu dan kini. Sementara itu, bagian Quentin merancukan fakta dan fantasi saat melompat mundur dari hari kematiannya yang terlalu dini. Hanya si agresif, si tamak Jason berusaha merangkul masa kini— tetapi ia juga selalu terbawa kebencian di masa lalu.
Following these threads can be bewildering, but Faulkner wants the audience to share in the characters’ confusion. This approach allows readers to understand the Compsons’ biases and blindspots firsthand. And since his characters’ distortions of the past often reflect larger denials of Southern history, it also allows Faulkner to explore his own anxieties about the South. For example, his novel “Light in August” deliberately induces ambiguity about a character’s racial origins in ways that undermine rigid Jim Crow policies. And in “Absalom, Absalom!” narrating townsfolk remark that “no one knew how” a local landowner had come into his property, and that his house was built “apparently out of nothing.” This kind of evasive language shows how characters are desperate to cover up the region's intolerable history of genocide and slavery.
Mengikuti hal ini bisa membingungkan, tetapi Faulkner ingin pembaca berbagi kebingungan para tokoh. Pendekatan ini membantu pembaca untuk memahami bias dan titik butanya Compson secara langsung. Mengingat distorsi milik tokohnya di masa lalu sering mencerminkan penyangkalan sejarah daerah Selatan, ini juga membantu Faulkner mengeksplorasi kecemasannya terkait daerah Selatan. Contoh, novelnya “Light in August” sengaja mendorong ambiguitas mengenai ras asli tokoh yang mana meruntuhkan kebijakan kaku Jim Crow. Dan “Absalom, Absalom!” menceritakan warga kota berkomentar “tak ada yang tahu” pemilik lokal telah mendapat propertinya, dan rumahnya dibangun “tampaknya dari ketiadaan.” Bahasa yang ambigu ini menunjukkan kalau para tokoh putus asa untuk menutupi sejarah keji terkait genosida dan perbudakan di daerah itu.
But even when exploring the heaviest topics, Faulkner spellbinds readers with verbal acrobatics. One particularly bewildering sentence in “Absalom, Absalom!” runs 1,288 words long, and features locals haggling over “violently-colored candy,” a “cloudy swirl of chickens,” and a hard-drinking planter who’s compared to both a worn-out cannon and a showgirl. Even his jokes can breed more confusion, such as when Benjy Compson conflates his sister Caddy with golf caddies.
Namun saat menjelajahi topik-topik yang berat, Faulkner memikat para pembaca dengan permainan kata. Satu kalimat yang membingungkan dalam “Absalom, Absalom!” memiliki 1.288 kata, ada warga yang memperebutkan “permen berwarna brutal,” ”pusaran ayam-ayam,” dan seorang penanam pemabuk berat yang membandingkan meriam usang dengan gadis panggung. Candaannya pun lebih membingungkan, seperti saat Benjy Compson menyamakan saudarinya Caddy dengan <i>caddy</i> golf.
Reading Faulkner is rarely easy, but it is deeply rewarding. He invites readers to contemplate the unreliable nature of history and memory. And in teaching us to embrace confusion and recognize the limits of our perception, Faulkner can help us listen for hidden meanings in the sound and fury that surround us.
Membaca Faulkner tidaklah mudah, tetapi sangat bermanfaat. Ia mengajak para pembaca merenungkan sisi meragukan dari sejarah dan kenangan. Dan mengajari kita merangkul kebingungan dan mengetahui batas persepsi kita, Faulkner membantu mendeteksi arti tersembunyi di keramaian dan kemarahan sekitar kita.