Success in the Twilight Time: The Significance of William Faulkner's Snopes Trilogy to his Literary Career

Abstract

This paper looks at one of the lesser known achievements of Faulkner's career, his trilogy Snopes. In approaching the criticism of Faulkner's work, his later writings are often regarded as lesser efforts after the talent of his early years had faded. Only the first novel of the trilogy was written during what has become the "great books" phase of Faulkner's career. The next two novels did not appear until sixteen years later, marking a significant chage in Faulkner's formulation of his career as a writer. This paper traces the relationship of Faulkner's work on the trilogy to his writing career. In addressing the different novels of the trilogy, the sixteen year gap in his work on them also provided an area for investigation and is used to discover connections between the works and trace their development. Since this work has traditionally been considered one of Faulkner's lesser efforts, this research attempts to assert its significance as an important part of his literary career and to use analysis and research to present it as a significant artistic accomplishment in its own right.