Dry September

I denne study guide kan du få hjælp til at analysere novellen “Dry September” af William Faulkner. Udover analysehjælpen kan du finde et summary af teksten, samt idéer til fortolkning og perspektivering.

Præsentation af teksten

Titel: “Dry September” (1931)
Forfatter: William Faulkner
Genre: Short story

William Faulkner (1897-1962) var amerikansk forfatter. Han vandt Nobelprisen i litteratur i 1949, og han modtog også Pulitzerprisen to gange.

Novellen “Dry September” blev første gang udgivet i tidsskriftet Scribner's Magazine i 1931, men i 1950 blev den også inkluderet i en novellesamling med titlen Collected Stories of William Faulkner.

Uddrag

Nedenfor kan du se et kort uddrag fra vores study guide til novellen:

Title

The title of the short story “Dry September” by William Faulkner has both a literal and a symbolic meaning.

In the literal sense, the title is a direct reference to the time setting of the story. It reflects an unusually dry month of September, which is mentioned at the beginning of the text: “Through the bloody September twilight, aftermath of sixty-two rainless days (…)” (l. 1). The title creates expectations in the reader and draws attention to the importance of the setting. The hot weather dominates all aspects of the story: the air and landscape are dry and dusty (l. 148), and even the characters are described as “sand-colored” (l. 8) and resembling desert rats (l. 34). Furthermore, the stale smell that floats in the air (l. 7) and the lack of any sound or sign of life (l. 182) reflect a static, monotonous atmosphere from which the characters try to break free by stirring themselves into action.