Point of View in William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury in Terms of Paul Simpson’s Model: a Stylistic-Narrative Study

Abstract

The current study investigates point of view in William Faulkner’s novel The Sound and the Fury through applying Paul Simpson’s modal grammar of point of view. The study is concerned with conducting a stylistic analysis to the third section of the novel through focusing on the linguistic devices used by the narrator to arrive at his (Jason’s) attitudes and beliefs. The term point of view stylistically speaking refers to the use of language, representing a particular person’s perspective regarding an action or event. In order to do that, this paper focuses on the relationship between POV and modality. Simpson opines that different types of point of view can be constructed in narratives through the diversity of linguistic choices provided by the system of modality. The type of modality can determine the narrative mode, which in turn can determine the narrative shading