William Faulkner’s 1936 work titled Absalom, Absalom! is a novel that tells of the rise and fall of a figurative “empire” of the South during the time of the Civil War. It contains an out of order storytelling of a man named Thomas Sutpen and his dream to become rich and powerful in using his family and plantation to achieve it. There are various characters who narrate this story, all having some relation to Supten, his wife, children, or the slaves he owned and controlled to make his power successful. The true story of Sutpen is revealed as the novel progresses, and the flashbacks and anecdotes about Sutpen and those around him are what ultimately lead to the fall and death of this empire.
Each of the nine chapters of Absalom, Absalom has a main event and a general topic. The chapters come together quite nicely, and even though they can be confusing at times, each section of the novel describes an important event, flashback, or explanation that has occurred or is occurring.

Chapter 1 gives a background as to how the story came about, and introduces the reader to some of the main characters. The story begins with the character, Quentin Compson, receiving a letter from an old woman named Rosa Coldfield. She is interested in telling him the story of the South and of her life because Quentin is somehow connected to a man who she says is responsible for a lot of pain and suffering her life and in the life of her family. The main topic of the chapter is Rosa Coldfield’s narration of the man who they call Sutpen. She describes his character and tells Quentin about how he arrived in town and planned to build up his “empire” and make a name for himself. Rosa tells Quentin that her sister, Ellen, was married to Sutpen and that they had two children together, Henry and Judith. This chapter gives the reader an incite as to who the main characters are, and gives a backdrop to the main events that are going to surround these characters. This opening chapter is filled with a lot of important information, and the reader should pay attention to the events and background that are described in order to get a better feel for what is going to happen in the following chapters.

Chapter 2 revolves around Quentin’s father’s narration of the events regarding Sutpen’s Hundred. Sutpen’s Hundred, referring to the hundred acres of land on which Sutpen planned to build his estate, is his way of making a name for himself. The whole town becomes suspicious of Sutpen and the events that are going on with him and his slaves on his plantation. This chapter also refers to the marriage that Rosa Coldfield told Quentin about in the first chapter. It says that Sutpen decided one day that he wanted to marry Rosa’s sister, Ellen, and eventually they plan a wedding (which was not well attended) and are married. Chapter 2 is characterized by Sutpen’s motive to build up his plantation and his wealth, and it gives the reader an incite as to how Sutpen is going to behave as the book progresses.

Chapter 3 of the novel goes into detail about Rosa’s childhood and early life. Quentin’s father explains to him why Rosa is interested in telling Quentin about the story of Sutpen and why she feels so much hatred for him. Quentin’s father narrates Rosa’s childhood and describes how she was raised by her aunt, which was a very rocky relationship. Her visits to Sutpen’s Hundred are very distressing, and she dislikes going there. The reader learns that Rosa eventually will move to Sutpen’s Hundred. This chapter introduces Charles Bon, Henry’s friend, and describes his visit to New Orleans, and the suspicion that Sutpen had about him. Rosa eventually becomes orphaned, and prepares to move to Sutpen’s Hundred. Some of the main events of the novel begin to take place in this chapter. Chapter 3 sets the stage for the many events, a lot of them tragic, that begin to come about.

Chapter 4 of the novel consists of Quentin reading a letter that had been given to him by his father. This letter is extremely important to the events of the chapter and the entire novel. This chapter is full of controversy between Henry, Charles Bon, and Judith. The reader will discover something about Charles Bon that is the cause of a lot of violence and confrontation later on in the novel. A discussion of the war is present in this part of the novel, also. This novel is set during the Civil War, and Henry and Charles Bon are involved. This part of the novel ends with some startling news about Sutpen and Charles Bon.

Chapter 5 consists of Rosa returning to Sutpen’s Hundred. Rosa has a scuffle with Clytie, Sutpen’s daughter with one of his slaves. This shows her racism, which is one of the most important themes of the novel. As the chapter progresses, we learn that Rosa eventually moves to Sutpen’s Hundred and has plans to marry Sutpen until something goes awry. The closing of the chapter consists of Quentin thinking about the scene between Judith and Sutpen regarding the news about Sutpen and Charles Bon. This novel is full of Quentin, and others, recreating what had happened in the events of the novel. This is an example of another theme of the novel that keeps showing up; re-creating the past.

Chapter 6 also keeps in line with the re-telling of past events from a different point of view. Quentin, after receiving a letter from his father regarding Rosa, tells his roommate, Shreve, about the events of the South. This part of the novel gives the reader another point of view of the story, which is very helpful and important.

Chapter 7 continues on with Quentin telling the story of the South to Shreve. The reader learns a lot about Sutpen’s early life from Quentin’s re-telling. This information that we learn about Sutpen is very important in the understanding of Sutpen’s personality and the events of his early life. The reader will be surprised when reading this particular chapter. A lot of things are revealed, and the ending is full of violence and bloodshed.

Chapter 8 keeps in line with the re-creation and imagination of the events of the past, which are two important themes of this novel. Quentin and Shreve are imagining that certain events have occurred and are re-creating the story with their own interpretations and imaginations. This can be very interesting for the reader to read because they are able to see the opinions of another point of view. The reader can even have their own imaginations as to what happened in the South during this time period after reading Quentin and Shreve’s viewpoints. The chapter ends with a blowout between Charles Bon and Henry which ends tragically.
The final chapter of the novel tells about Rosa returning to Sutpen’s Hundred because of a sneaking suspicion that someone was hiding there. Rosa eventually makes it up the stairs and discovers one of the main characters of the novel in one of the bedrooms. The novel ends with another tragic event which can be seen as a culmination of the whole story, and is a metaphor for the legacy of Sutpen.

Although each chapter contains its own topic and own way of revealing Sutpen’s true history, the argument and theme that Faulkner presents that we in this literature course are discovering is the idea of race and how it is presented in the work. Race is an underlying influence of all narrations and opinions from each character. We can conclude that race is virtually the metaphorical meaning for the whole novel. This novel is said to be one of the first modernist texts, and William Faulkner writes this book in such a way that sparks the modernist movement, moving away from the traditional and toward experimental. The unconventional methods of storytelling indirectly elude to the themes and arguments about the civil war, particularly race, throughout the book.
The purpose of this book is to show what life was really like in the South during the Civil War and to show the views of those affected by it. It uses long descriptive sentences and narration as well as harsh, hurtful language. Racism plays a significant part in this book and William Faulkner shows us exactly how it was back then.
This is a book that is exceedingly difficult to get through. It might even take reading it a few times to fully understand what really happens. Sometimes one might even read a whole chapter and will not be able to decipher what occurred. Despite how intimidating the text may seem, this is a valuable piece of literature to read and understand. The audience must look past harsh, racist language, and must be able to get through lengthy, complex sentences. If one would like to learn something about history then this is definitely a book to be recommended. This is a book for an audience that isn’t afraid of a challenge and would like to push their boundaries on learning about the power of the South during the Civil War.