he name and presence of volatile and sentient forces; you bring them together in the proportions called for, but nothing happens; you re-read, tedious and intent, poring, making sure that you have forgotten nothing,made no miscalculations: you bring them together again and again nothing happens; just the words, the symbols, the shapes themselves, shadowy inscrutable and serene,against that turgid background of a horrible and bloody mis-chancing of human affairs (Bloom 250). William Faulkner's type narrative has had a major influence, not only in America, but all over the world. As a metafiction writer, his influence actually shows more outside of the United States, especially in Latin America and France where his unclassifiable "either neither" writing has flowered the most lavishly (Parker 11). Faulkner's influence is so strong that Absalom, Absalom! is the peak of one movement in art and literature, and it predicts and prepares for another. It makes such a memorable example of such movements partly because Faulkner never confines himself to represent the winds of any passing trend.In conclusion, Faulkner's use of narrative in Absalom, Absalom! may be controversial and mystifying, but it has influenced cultures and movements just as much as it has confused readers and critics alike. No matter the reader's or critic's view on the novel, whether it contradicts itself or not, whether it explains itself or not, or whether it is the greatest work or not, does not change the fact that Absalom, Absalom! contains the most original use of narrative in American literature and no other author, trying to imitate Faulkner or not, has come close to what he achieved with this novel. However, all critics agree that each individual reader must use their imagination, make their own interpretations, and that Faulkner never indulged in cheap mystery-mongering (Brooke 302)....
