Navigate
See Also
- William Faulkner (Censorship (Ready Reference series))
- William Faulkner (Dictionary of World Biography: The 20th Century)
- William Faulkner (Critical Survey of Mystery & Detective Fiction, Revised Edition)
- William Faulkner (Identities & Issues in Literature)
- William Faulkner (Critical Survey of Long Fiction, Fourth Edition)
- William Faulkner (Critical Survey of Short Fiction, Second Revised Edition)
- William Faulkner (Cyclopedia of World Authors, Fourth Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- First Published: 1935
- Type of Plot: Modernist realism
- Time of Work: Mid-Depression, during Mardi Gras
- Setting: Primarily New Valois, Franciana, a transparent reference to New Orleans, and Ohio
- Characters: Lazarus, Roger Shumann, La Verne, The boy, Jack Holmes, Jiggs, Hagood
- Genres: Long fiction, Realism, Novel
- Subjects: North America or North Americans, United States or Americans, Midwest, Ohio, Poverty or poor people, Accidents, Airplanes or jets, Reporting or reporters, Contests, 1930's
- Locales: United States, Ohio, North America, Franciana (fictive), New Valois (fictive)
The Novel
Pylon was William Faulkner’s eighth novel; he wrote it at the height of his powers, just before Absalom, Absalom! (1936) and not long after Light in August (1932). The novel is, above all, about flying and the motivation of those who fly. The “pylon” of the title is the tower or steel post around which a pilot must turn as he competes in a race at an air fair. The term figures prominently in the jargon of competing pilots; they “turn pylons” with their planes on each lap—they “take that pylon” and try to “fly the...
(The entire page is 2744 words.)
Want to read the whole thing?
Subscribe to eNotes for access to this content as well as thousands of study guides and critical materials. SUBSCRIBE
