Seeing and Being Seen
A study on Faulkner’s short stories from the perspective of gaze theory
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54097/7r6q5a64Keywords:
William Faulkner, Power Gaze, SubjectivityAbstract
William Faulkner is a representative writer of the American modernist writer of the twentieth century, and the setting of his novels is the American southern society after the Civil War when the society was undergoing radical change. Telling stories of the vicissitude of the aristocratic families, his novels have vividly reflected the alteration of power and tortuous development in the South at that time. This thesis mainly analyzes the gaze of major characters in Faulkner’s three short stories to enhance readers’ comprehension of power and gaze.This thesis concludes that the gaze in Faulkner’s works is the gaze under the power system of the American southern society, reflecting the social environment and power distribution at that time. By applying Foucault’s gaze theory, the thesis offers a new perspective to appreciate the gaze in Faulkner’s works.
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