Comments on: Nostalgia

By: Justin Heyd

Justin Heyd — Sat, 03 May 2008 08:13:31 +0000

I believe that the point that Faulkner is trying to make is that society is moving much to fast in the way of technology. I think he shows this my by the Burden family ignoring and forgetting their own mother and focusing on materialistic items for their on self gratification. These modern items really do not help the Burden family whatsoever with their plight and only allows them to ignore the problem at hand. It is sad to see the only one in this novel that understands what is happening and how it is to be shipped away to a mental institution. It is also very unfortunate and sad to see how fast the Burden family deal with the loss of their own mother and how her burial is the last and final thing on their agenda. Faulkner seems to give us an eerie warning about the technology and how it should be used correctly for the benefit of society and not for our own selfish reasons.

By: Joe Von Holtum

Joe Von Holtum — Sat, 03 May 2008 02:28:04 +0000

I think what Faulkner meant by “this world is not his world” was something to the effect that Darl had slipped away from being able to function in the world that the rest of them worked and lived in. Although things were going to change for them, things had already changed for Darl, and he could not adapt.

By: Ashley Schleusener

Ashley Schleusener — Fri, 02 May 2008 20:47:01 +0000

I think Faulkner was saying that the world that was changing as he was writing the story, is not the one he was accustomed to. We saw Darl as “normal” because he was the character we could relate the most to. Faulkner I think created the other characters to represent the changing worlds focus on material things. I think possibly Darl was Faulkner’s voice throughout the story. Darl leaving the family symbolizes his inability to conform to the rest of the family’s beliefs and thoughts, much like present today.

By: Hannah Prentice

Hannah Prentice — Fri, 02 May 2008 20:25:34 +0000

We all think that because Darl is unusual that he doesn’t belong. He has witnessed more than the other members of his family and he has different feelings about life and the world. Just because he isn’t obsessed with the material goods doesn’t mean he doesn’t belong. He seems to want more out of life than just a house and possessions. He tries to find meaning in the only ways he knows how. And because what he does is different from the rest of his family he is criticized and ostracized.

By: Amy Jarding

Amy Jarding — Fri, 02 May 2008 20:16:08 +0000

Darl’s education absolutely makes him an outcast within his family structure. I enjoy the aspects used to indicate that he is of a higher intelligence than the others in his family. Mentioning cubism is something that people could easily read past and not even really factor into the character of Darl. I also believe that the Bundrens are displayed as SO backward is the fact that they just went through a lifechanging experience with the death of the mother of the family. Losing a family member is difficult and having to make a journey with the coffin adds to the fact that there is a reminder that they are quite literally dragging along. They seem out of wits when put into a foreign situation, and the disatachment within the family doesn’t allow them to bond together and conquer an obstacle put before them. I was also really disappointed with the ending. I don’t want them to have a new mother! After making such a long journey to deliver the dead, now they’re coming home with a new mommy. God!

By: Kevin G. Myrmoe

Kevin G. Myrmoe — Fri, 02 May 2008 04:37:14 +0000

The Bundrens do portray “backward” Southerns throughout the entire novel. They seem like they are isolated and that a world does not exist outside of their home. I believe the way the story is divided into chapters of different accounts from the characters show that they are very individualistic. Besides being individualistic, the Bundrens appear to be a very selfish family, who only care about their own individual needs. All of them have their own motive throughout the novel. Because of this, they are unwilling to venture out into the world and experience what life has to offer.

By: Wanda Plaatje

Wanda Plaatje — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 22:17:33 +0000

“This world is not his own.” I think it’s a very open statement and has many meanings. Given the time period, it probably does deal with the greed and materialism that comes with growth of industry. Thus, the growth represents “the world” and it’s ever changing ways. Darl, perhaps, no longer plans to grow. He does not plan to move mentally on from the point he is at, and has left “the world” only to be trapped in “his world” and it’s thoughts.

Of course, Darl’s definition of “the world” might me his interaction with his family. His family was “the world” and he is no longer part of it. He is leaving that world behind, even if he leaves it in a state of madness.

By: Emily Finley

Emily Finley — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 03:20:29 +0000

In a way, it is great that Darl is cultured the way that he is, but the fact that it is so much more than his own family ends up hurting him in the end. Since their worlds were so different, he was always sort of the “outcast” of the family, which no child should have to be, no matter how much more cultured or uncultured they are than their family. Like Amelia said, you would think Jewel would be considered the odd ball out because of his different father, but it ends up being Darl. It almost seems like life punished him for going out an seeing the world.

By: Amelia Mutchelknaus

Amelia Mutchelknaus — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 17:01:11 +0000

I agree with Steve Nelson right off the bat. Darl was the only one who went out and experienced life and what else was out there. He was very different from his family and definitely did not fit into “their world.” His family isolated him and even committed him into an insane asylum just because he was different than the rest of them and the society they lived in. He was not different in the sense of being insane, just different from their way of living. I found this very interesting that Darl was the one isolated for being different when it was actually Jewel who had a different father and was kept as part of the family. I also agree with everyone else that Faulkner is insinuating that the world is changing so much because of new technology and finding room for the past is nearly impossible. It is strange to think that my own parents grew up so different from myself and to learn much from ho they grew up is very difficult because of how different it is now…….

By: Alana Wolken

Alana Wolken — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 22:30:49 +0000

It seems as thought Faulkner is insinuating that “this world” is moving to a more materialistic and advancing state of mind. Darl is living in the past with a more primitive mindset. He believes in sticking to ritual, something that his family has evolved out of with the rest of society. Also, Faulkner seems to express how the world is ever changing in its trends, attitudes, and culture. You can see in the novel that the Bundren’s attitudes toward Addie’s traditional burial originated from selfish needs, much different from past burial ceremonies which originate from genuine respect for ritual. I think Faulkner is trying to show his audience how the cultures change within a short period of time and also how fast the modern world is developing. Overall, Faulkner conveys to his audience that the modern world is an evolving place that doesn’ leave room for those people unreceptive to its changes.