포크너의 내가 죽어 누워 있을때와 그로테스크 유머

초록

William Faulkner's indebtedness to, and participation in, the tradition of Old Southwestern humor has been explored quite extensively. Like the Southwestern humorists, Faulkner wrote comic stories deeply rooted in the folklore and tall-tales of the region. His novels show the strain of exaggerated cruelty and excessive violence commonly found in Southwestern yarns. Yet, the sources and creative principles of the exaggeration, excessiveness, and hyperbole commonly found in his novels are fundamental aspects of the grotesque as well as those of Old Southwestern humor. In addition, unlike other Southwestern humorists, Faulkner did not transform violence and horror to humorous narratives. Instead, his novels are noteworthy for dialogical tension between humor and horror, comedy and tragedy. Since the primary characteristic of the grotesque art is a fusion of different categories, that is, an unnatural merging of different categories or a deliberate merging of different genres, that foregrounds the problem of understanding reality, it will be fruitful to examine Faulkner's novels as Southern grotesque texts. In fact, the formal structuring and metaphysical vision implied in the grotesque art are fundamental to an understanding of Faulkner's works. Thus, this paper points out the similarities between Southwestern humor and one of Faulkner's novels, As I Lay Dying, and then demonstrate how the novel departs from that tradition and approaches that of the grotesque. In so doing, it also explores Faulkner's examination and critique of the Southern mythos as well.