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.
Siz 20-asrning eng buyuk romanlaridan biri bo’lgan kitobni yarimini o’qib, ammo hech narsa tushunmadingizmi? Asar qahramonlari bitta hikoyani har xil variantlarda taklif qilib, ko’pincha kim, nima yoki qachon bo’layotgani tushunarsiz bo’lib qoladi. Tushunarsizlik mayda tafsilotlardan ko’rinadi. Nasr esa chigal jumlalar va g’alati tasvirlar bilan to’la. Adashib kettingizmi? Bu yaxshi— demak to’g’ri yo’ldasiz.
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?
Uilyam Folkner Amerikaning eng ko’zga ko’rinarli va jumboqli yozuvchisidir. Yaxshiyamki, u shunchaki kitobxonlar bilan o’ynamaydi. Folkner inson ongining eng sirli qismlarini, shaxsiy, irqiy va mintaqaviy o’ziga xoslikning dolzarb muammolarini o’rganish uchun chalkashlikdan ataylab foydalangan. Natijada hayratlanarli, jumboqli va ko’pincha qiziqarli, ammo, qiyin ish jamlanmasi paydo bo’ladi. Xo’sh, kitobxonlar bu labirintlarda harakat qilish uchun nima qilish kerak?
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.
Folknerning ko’pgina romanlari xayoliy Yoknapatawpha grafligida- u hayotining ko’p qismini o’tkazgan Missisipi shtatidagi Lafayett okrugidan olingan. 1897 yilda tug’ilgan Folkner folklor va oilaviy tarixdan tortib fuqarolar urushiga oid mahalliy afsonalargacha og’zaki hikoya qilish an’anasi bilan o’sgan. Biroq, bu buyuk afsonalar irqchi Jim Krou qonunlari bilan bo’lingan va qullik va mustamlakachilik zo’ravonlik merosi bilan azoblangan Amerika janubining dahshatli haqiqatiga to’g’ri kelmadi. Bu hodisalarning barchasi Yoknapatawpha ichida jonlandi. Folknerning dahshat, hazil va insoniy fojiaga to‘la hikoyalarida esda qolarli obrazlar ko’pdir - bo‘lajak erining jasadi yonida uxlab yotgan rad etilgan kelin yoki xayoliy tangalar izlayotgan aldangan sherik kabilardir. Bir qarashda, bu belgilar g’ayrioddiy ko’rinadi. Ammo sirtdan qaraganda odamlarning o’tmishga nisbatan harakatini ko’rsatib, o’jarlik bilan ushlab turadigan narsalarni o’zlarini bilmagan holda unutadilar va buzadilar.
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.
Folknerning ko’p asarlari o’quvchiga har-hil yondoshuv va voqealiklarni bir nechta versiyalarini taklif qiladi. Masalan, “Ovoz va g’azab” asarida singlisi Keddi haqidagi xotiralar uch aka-uka Benji, Kventin va Jeysonlarni ta’qib qilgani haqida hikoyalari jamlangan. Bir akani hikoyasi vaqti-vaqti bilan boshqa akani hikoyalari to’ldiradi lekin ko’pincha ularning hikoyalari bir-biriga zid keladi. Vaziyatni chalkashtirish uchun Benjining hikoyasi o’tmish va ayni vaqt o’rtasida ogohlantirishsiz sirg’alib ketadi. Kventinning bo’limida esa haqiqat va afsona aralashtirib yuboradi, chunki u bevaqt vafot etgan kundan vaqtni orqaga qaytaradi. Faqat tajovuzkor, pulga o’ch Jeyson hozirgi kun bilan yashaydi, lekin o’tmishdagi noroziliklar yengib o’tishga harakat qiladi.
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.
Ushbu asarlar tushunarsizga o’xshar, ammo Folkner kitobxonlariga bu voqealiklarga sherik bo’lishini xoxledi Ushbu yondashuv kitobxonlarni Compsonslarni moyillik va noto’g’ri qarashlarini tushunishga imkon beradi. Uning qahramonlari o’tmishni buzib ko’rsatishlari ko’pincha janub tarixini inkor etishni aks ettirsada, bu Folknerga janubni ko’proq o’rganishga imkon beradi. Masalan, “Avgustdagi yorug’lik” roman qahramonlarini irqiy kelib chiqishida noaniqlik bo’lib, bu Jim Krouning qat’iy siyosatiga putur etkazadi. “Absalom, Absalom!” shahar aholisining so’zlariga ko’ra, mahalliy er egasi uning mulkiga qanday kelganini “hech kim bilmasdi” va uning uyi “yo’qdan” qurilgan. Bunday mujmallik qahramonlarning genotsid va qullikning chidab bo’lmas tarixini yashirishga qanday intilayotganligini ko’rsatadi.
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.
Ammo eng og’ir mavzularni o’qiyotganda ham, Folkner kitobxonlarni yozuvchi mahorati bilan sehrlaydi. “Absalom, Absalom!” asaridagi qiziqarli bir jumlasi 1288 soʻzdan iborat boʻlib, unda mahalliy aholi “yorqin rangli konfet”, “bulutli tovuqlar” eskirgan toʻpga ham, raqqosaga ham o’xshatilgan ichkilikboz plantator bilan savdolashgani ko’rsatilgan. Hatto uning hazillarida ham adashtirishi mumkun, masalan, Benji Kompson o’z singlisi Kedini golf o’yinchilari bilan adashtirgani.
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.
Folknerni o’qish ka’mdan-kam hollarda oson, lekin juda foydali. U kitobxonlarni tarix va hotiralar haqida mulohaza qilishga chaqirda. Folkner qiyinchiliklarni qabul qilishga va idrok chegaralarini tan olishga o’rgatish orqali bizni o’rab turgan tovush va g’azabdagi yashirin ma’nolarni tinglashimizga yordam beradi.