WILLIAM FAULKNER՚S AUTHOR MYTH: SNOPESISM VS. THE AMERICAN DREAM
Authors:   Mariupol State University, Bodyk O. 
Published: April 2024

The article presents an analysis of William Faulkner՚s authorial myth, with a particular focus on the concept of «Snopesism» in the context of the American dream. The aim is to clarify the nature of the mythological component of Faulkner՚s Yoknapatawpha trilogy as a system of perception of America՚s national identity in the context of globalization. The article seeks to determine the author՚s attitude towards the functioning of the myth of the American dream in the conditions of globalization, multiculturalism of American society, and the coexistence of national and global cultures, through the analysis of the true meaning and purpose of the concept of «Snopesism» in the Snopes saga. The analysis of the mythological discourse of Faulkner՚s Yoknapatawpha trilogy sheds light on the functions and role of mythology in the search for national self-identification in the conditions of globalization. Reading Faulkner՚s novels from the perspective of their mythological component holds theoretical significance for understanding the features of modern interpretation and perception of the most widespread and basic myths of the American nation. Faulkner modulates or ignores historical data, but the basic structure of history with three turning points (rise-fall-reconstruction) is evident in his novels. The rise represented the Old South, which Faulkner was nostalgic for, but he did not idealize the plantation myth or the plantation aristocracy. The fall is the Civil War and Reconstruction, which forms a watershed between the Old South and the post-war South of the Snopes and Popeyes. The New South is the third moment, with the rapid development of urbanization and industrialization, and racial and class segregation. Faulkner՚s portrayal of the New South is an artistic study of the emerging class – the Snopes family, who struggled to change their status after the Civil War and Reconstruction. The Snopes represent the white underclass that cared only about profit and status, and for whom the end justified any means. They work their way from a sharecropper՚s shack to the upper echelons of Jeffersonian society through a series of tricks, bravado, lies, fraud, theft, and law-breaking. The article analyses the philosophy of «Snopesism» through each representative of the Snopes family. The article argues that the southern tradition, with its rich arsenal of concepts and images, plays a key role in American society and fiction, defining the main content of moral values that influenced the formation of the national character of Americans. The mythology of the frontier, images of frontier heroes, pioneers, and people who carry out a civilizing mission is one of the elements of the Puritan epic in fiction. Another complex of national mythology is formed on the basis of the concept of the «American dream», which continues to define the features of the American way of life. These three mythological traditions constantly interact and intersect with each other, forming integral mythological images that reflect the peculiarities of American society, the nation, and national heroes. The increasing multiculturalism of American society and globalization significantly affect the nature and content of modern national mythology. However, traditional national myths continue to determine the main vectors of the country՚s national development. Ethnic mythology is transformed into the traditional key mythologemes of the USA. The article concludes that the study of Faulkner՚s novels from the perspective of their mythological component provides significant theoretical insights into the features of modern interpretation and perception of the most widespread and basic myths of the American nation. Keywords: William Faulkner, authorial myth, Yoknapatawpha, Snopes trilogy/saga, American dream, Snopesism, American literature of the South.