full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Sascha Morrell: Why is William Faulkner so difficult to read?

Unscramble the Blue Letters


You’re halfway through what’s supposedly one of the greatest novels of the 20th century, but nothing quite makes sense. nrnaairtg ceatrahrcs offer clashing vsiornes of the same srtoy and often seem unsure who, what, or when they’re talking about. Seemingly mionr details trigger intense emotional reactions you don't understand. And the prose is leadod with convoluted sentences and oasdutilnh imagery. Confused? Good— that means you’re on the right track.

William Faulkner is considered one of America’s most remarkable and perplexing writers. Fortunately, he wasn’t just toying with his audience. Faulkner used confusion intentionally, to explore the most mysterious parts of the human mind and itsenigvtae pressing issues of personal, racial, and regional identity. The result is a body of work that’s shocking, inventive, and often hilarious— but above all, cegannhllig. So what clues should rdreeas look for to navigate his literary labyrinths?

Open Cloze


You’re halfway through what’s supposedly one of the greatest novels of the 20th century, but nothing quite makes sense. _________ __________ offer clashing ________ of the same _____ and often seem unsure who, what, or when they’re talking about. Seemingly _____ details trigger intense emotional reactions you don't understand. And the prose is ______ with convoluted sentences and __________ imagery. Confused? Good— that means you’re on the right track.

William Faulkner is considered one of America’s most remarkable and perplexing writers. Fortunately, he wasn’t just toying with his audience. Faulkner used confusion intentionally, to explore the most mysterious parts of the human mind and ___________ pressing issues of personal, racial, and regional identity. The result is a body of work that’s shocking, inventive, and often hilarious— but above all, ___________. So what clues should _______ look for to navigate his literary labyrinths?

Solution


  1. minor
  2. challenging
  3. characters
  4. narrating
  5. readers
  6. story
  7. investigate
  8. outlandish
  9. versions
  10. loaded

Original Text


You’re halfway through what’s supposedly one of the greatest novels of the 20th century, but nothing quite makes sense. Narrating characters offer clashing versions of the same story and often seem unsure who, what, or when they’re talking about. Seemingly minor details trigger intense emotional reactions you don't understand. And the prose is loaded with convoluted sentences and outlandish imagery. Confused? Good— that means you’re on the right track.

William Faulkner is considered one of America’s most remarkable and perplexing writers. Fortunately, he wasn’t just toying with his audience. Faulkner used confusion intentionally, to explore the most mysterious parts of the human mind and investigate pressing issues of personal, racial, and regional identity. The result is a body of work that’s shocking, inventive, and often hilarious— but above all, challenging. So what clues should readers look for to navigate his literary labyrinths?

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
jim crow 2
sister caddy 2


Important Words


  1. audience
  2. body
  3. century
  4. challenging
  5. characters
  6. clashing
  7. clues
  8. confused
  9. confusion
  10. considered
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  12. details
  13. emotional
  14. explore
  15. faulkner
  16. fortunately
  17. greatest
  18. halfway
  19. human
  20. identity
  21. imagery
  22. intense
  23. intentionally
  24. inventive
  25. investigate
  26. issues
  27. labyrinths
  28. literary
  29. loaded
  30. means
  31. mind
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  33. mysterious
  34. narrating
  35. navigate
  36. novels
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  38. outlandish
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  41. personal
  42. pressing
  43. prose
  44. racial
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  46. readers
  47. regional
  48. remarkable
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  50. seemingly
  51. sense
  52. sentences
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  55. supposedly
  56. talking
  57. toying
  58. track
  59. trigger
  60. understand
  61. unsure
  62. versions
  63. william
  64. work
  65. writers