How Does William Faulkner Use Ethos In Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech

Upon listening and reading William Faulkner's Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech, it is immediately deduced that he provides his vast audience of the epitome of himself. William Faulkner is not someone, but everyone. His humanistic approach to writing and thought has allowed him to hide complexity within simplicity, and for this, he is memorable: his work is a true testament to the unbreakable nature of the human spirit in the face of enormous hardship and consequence; a look into the human mind that is simultaneously interesting and uninteresting. This, along with so much more, is prevalent in this speech, which perfectly conveys the responsibilities of the writers in 1949.

Throughout the speech, Faulkner utilizes ethos and pathos to create a

more intimate connection between himself and his audience, thus capturing and holding their attention. In the wee beginnings of the speech, ethical appeal is immediately found in the words of this man, who opens with, "I feel that this award was not made to me as a man, but to my work -- a life's work in the agony and sweat of the human spirit, not for glory and least of all for profit..." In doing this, Faulkner places the title and qualifications of such a prestigious award beside himself, and onto his work. The humbling nature of the man constitutes a more likeable speaker in the perspective of the audience. However, this connection was not enough for the writer who wished to deepen roots and open minds, in hopes of filling the newfound space with insight paralleled to his own. With this goal in mind, Faulkner takes it further to include an appeal to the emotions of his audience - emotions that run deep within each individual as they ask themselves the same question presented: "Our tragedy today is a general and universal physical fear so long sustained by now ... There is only one question: When will I be blown up?" Through his utilization of pathos, Faulkner not only identifies the worries of his audience, but identifies with them as he demonstrates that each and every person in the room has the same fear, allowing them to open their minds, ready to absorb his message. Perhaps what Faulkner presents here is the universality - confirmation that one is not alone in their streams of consciousness, but swimming alongside everyone else. As the words of this man continue to envelop each member of the audience as a whole, this statement then acts as a demonstration of how fear has consumed the writers of the era, and has mercilessly consumed them, leaving no room for the heart to write, and replacing it with words produced by the "glands" of these struggling writers.
Once a connection with the audience has been established, Faulkner proceeds to enhance his speech and provide emotion and comprehensiveness through the use of rhetorical devices such as personification and metaphors.

Faulkner allows these devices to explain for him the physical incapabilities of the then modern day writers to truly write, for " ...the young man or woman writing today has forgotten the problems of the human heart in conflict with itself..." This philosophical notion that allows the audience to feel a personal connection with the conflicts within this heart is then completed with a metaphor emphasizing the pressure and responsibilities of writers of the era, as " ... [the problems of the human heart in conflict with itself] alone can make good writing because only that is worth writing about, worth the agony and the sweat." Although the act of writing may not be as toilsome as Faulkner insists, this metaphor allows the audience to understand his vision that writers alone can reinstall the previous truths of a world at

peace.
Now that a connection with the audience has been made, along with a more complete understanding of his purpose, Faulkner then articulates his primary message through his utilization of repetition and parallel structure. These primary messages takes the reader, and budding writers, back to, " ... the old universal truths lacking which any story is ephemeral and doomed -- love and honor and pity and pride and compassion and sacrifice." This is then repeated in the conclusion, in that it is, "the poet's, the writer's duty to write about these things. It is his privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice, which have been the glory of his past." However once again, this is not enough for a mind like Faulkner's. He takes everything further in ensuring his message is heard, and stored in the minds of his audience for good use. In between the introduction of his message and his closing statements, Faulkner reiterates that the writer who has lost sight of, " ... the old verities and truths of the heart... writes not of love but of lust, of defeats in which nobody loses anything of value, of victories without hope and, worst of all, without pity or compassion." The repetition of these phrases emphasizes importance of his words and allows the audience to take away every ounce of insight presented to them in the form of a message that is both memorable and powerful.
Vastly differing from his eloquently produced words that seem as though they are strung together by a being of perfection, is Faulkner's presentation of his aforementioned work.

Throughout his speech, Faulkner's voice remains relatively constant, delivering with very little variation in style or tone. However, Faulkner's lacking oral delivery allows his words to be heard and interpreted for what they are and what they mean, as opposed to being remembered in correspondence with their presentation and appearance. This being said, Faulkner did utilize delivery devices such as pauses, and small changes in speed. In introducing his acceptance of this award, Faulkner humbles himself in stating, "I feel as though this award was not made to me as a man, but to my work," in a slow and emphatic tone. Slow speech while presenting this humble statement ensures that Faulkner holds the attention of the audience by peaking their interest. This sort of emphatic speech is then enhanced further when Faulkner states, "He writes not of the heart but of the glands. [pause] Until he relearns these things, he will write as though he stood among and watched the end of man." This pause allows the audience to absorb what has been said and create the link to the next key statement in the conclusions of his speech where he rapidly lists that it is the writer's job to, "help man endure by lifting his heart by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and

sacrifice..." By consistently listing off these abstract things, he is driving them further into the root of the speech and creates a memorable and impactful message, easily taken away by each member of the audience.
Overall, Faulkner presented a sincere and passionate speech that was effective in creating a message that is both meaningful and memorable. This level of intellect and communication manifests in Faulkner’s utilization of ethos and pathos, repetition and parallel structure, personification and metaphors, along with simplistic and effective delivery devices. Key to this effectiveness is also the intimate connection built between the speaker and his audience - the speaker that is skilled to the point of recognition others only dream of. His approach to words is to, “create out of the materials of the human spirit, something which did not exist before.” William Faulkner was society’s first look into the human mind.