All life consists of having to get up sooner or later and then having to lie down again sooner or later after a while.

This simple yet profound statement encapsulates the cyclical nature of life. We begin each day with the act of rising, ready to face the challenges and opportunities that come our way. But as the day wears on, fatigue sets in, and we inevitably find ourselves lying down to rest.

A mule will work for you ten years for the privilege of kicking you once.

This quote, like the first, offers a humorous and somewhat cynical view of life. It suggests that even those who serve us loyally for a long time may have their moments of rebellion or retribution.

Both of these quotes come from the story/novella "Old Man", my favorite of this collection.

The author's use of such vivid and thought-provoking language makes this story truly stand out. It forces us to consider the nature of life, work, and relationships in a new light.

I tend to agree with Ernest Hemingway, who said of Faulkner in a letter in 1952: "I enjoy reading him when he is good but always feel like hell that he is not better."

This sentiment reflects my own feelings about literature in general. While there are many great works out there, there is always room for improvement. We should always strive to read and write better, to push the boundaries of what is possible and to create something truly remarkable.

The story is jam-packed with biblical symbols, southern rot, and man’s futile attempts to separate himself from the oneness of nature. It is a delicious concoction that takes the reader on a journey through a world filled with hidden meanings and complex themes. The use of biblical symbols adds a layer of depth and significance to the narrative, while the描绘 of southern rot creates a vivid and immersive atmosphere. The idea of man’s futile attempts to separate himself from nature is a powerful one, highlighting the importance of our connection to the natural world. Overall, this story is a must-read for anyone who enjoys literature that is both thought-provoking and deliciously engaging.

Does the man understand the use of periods and paragraphs? This is a rather interesting question. In the English language, the proper use of periods and paragraphs is crucial for clear and effective communication. Periods are used to mark the end of a sentence, indicating a complete thought. They help to separate different ideas and make the text more organized. Paragraphs, on the other hand, group related sentences together to form a coherent unit. They provide structure and flow to the writing, making it easier for the reader to follow. Without a proper understanding of these basic elements of grammar, a person's writing may seem disorganized and difficult to understand. It is important for everyone, especially those who communicate in writing on a regular basis, to have a good grasp of the use of periods and paragraphs. This will not only improve the clarity and readability of their writing but also enhance their overall communication skills.

My review is specifically for "The Bear".

Although "Spotted Horses" is indeed the funniest piece I have come across by Faulkner and is highly worthy of being read.

I delved into this novella after having read four of Faulkner's novels. And I can firmly state that it ranks among the very best of his works.

Primarily, this is a hunting story that details the years Isaac McCaslin spends in pursuit of the same bear, Old Ben. However, it is also one of the finest accounts I have ever read regarding the vanishing American wilderness during the 19th and 20th centuries. The manner in which Faulkner contrasts Isaac's growth with the encroachment of the modern world upon the woods of his youth is truly powerful. The characters, despite only existing within the context of an annual hunting party, are vividly drawn and possess their own individual sense of authenticity.

The language employed is more straightforward compared to some of Faulkner's novels. Nevertheless, the world he描绘 is so primordial that it can seem as impenetrable as some of his more challenging works, such as Absalom, Absalom!

I'm not certain if this can be considered "entry-level" Faulkner, but it is undoubtedly one of his greatest stories and one that I would wholeheartedly recommend to a casual reader.

**Movie Reviews**

Spotted Horses 5/5 - This movie is an absolute gem. It is both hilarious and poignant, touching on themes of love and life in the most unexpected ways. The characters are well-developed and the story keeps you engaged from start to finish. You'll find yourself laughing out loud one moment and on the verge of tears the next. It's a must-see for anyone who loves a good movie.

Old Man 2/5 - Unfortunately, this movie didn't quite hit the mark. It was a bit of a snooze-fest, with a slow pace and uninteresting characters. The story seemed to drag on and on, and there was really nothing to keep you engaged. It's a shame, because there was potential here, but it just didn't pan out.

The Bear 4/5 - This movie is like a modern-day Old Man and the Sea, but set in the woods. It's a beautiful and powerful story about a man's struggle with nature and himself. The cinematography is stunning, and the acting is top-notch. However, be prepared to need a dictionary, as there are some rather complex words and concepts used throughout the movie. But don't let that deter you, as it's well worth the effort.

The rating here is, of course, arbitrary, as these are three entirely different stories.

Spotted horses: 1.5/5. It was truly strange. It felt as if someone was simply telling a jumble of a story, with perhaps only one or two instances of Faulkner's typical voice and style emerging. It was altogether confusing in a rather bad way, and seemingly without any real point. The disjointed nature of the narrative made it difficult to follow and left the reader feeling rather dissatisfied.

Old man: 4/5. As always, the writing was beautiful. I feel this is a great piece to start with in order to gain a little understanding of his style. The plot, though, was a little overly linear. I suppose this isn't necessarily a bad thing; it's just different. It was like he decided to just, for once, tell this story in a straightforward manner and went ahead and did it. The simplicity of the plot allowed the beauty of the language to shine through.

The bear: 4/5. What did I just read? The meaning, plot, etc. all seemed nonexistent the first time I stumbled through all the passages. However, with rereading and with Blatz guiding us through, the stream of consciousness really works as it should. Reading it is like throwing yourself into this utter whiteness, blankness, disorientation, and confusion. Then, slowly, as if scrubbing away grime on some translucent window, transient beams shine through and you can start to see the scene around you. You can see the forest in its power, Old Ben and his godlike locomotion, the importance of the wild in growing to be humble, to relinquish some of that pride long instilled deep in the human psyche, to repudiate... Of course, this is not unique to this short story. I'm only writing a review in such a fashion because of a Faulkner imitation credit point project RMV - nonetheless, it's true, I think.

This was the third book I’ve read by Faulkner and the first one I truly liked. Maybe it’s because I’m older now? :). However, I still found it challenging. Part of the difficulty was due to the English, which isn't straightforward for a non-native speaker like me. The other part was because of Faulkner’s sometimes convoluted prose.

I liked all of his novels, but I was a bit frustrated with the endings of Spotted Horses and Old Man. It wasn't that the endings weren't happy; rather, they seemed to occur too abruptly, leaving me with the feeling that I had missed something crucial.

The Bear was by far my favorite. Mainly because the theme, the relationship between humans and nature, is especially dear to my heart. It reminded me of Jack London, although the writing style is obviously very different. It's a hunting story set in the 19th century, told from the perspective of Isaac McCaslin, a boy from an old family in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, which is based on the region of Mississippi where Faulkner lived. One can tell he knows what he's writing about because his descriptions are so vivid and well-executed.

I adored the story, the ending, and most of the prose, except for chapter 4. It was a long, rambling flashback of Isaac covering the period when he learned about his grandfather’s misdeeds and refused to accept his inheritance. This part was long, confusing, and almost drove me crazy. Fortunately, everything else was so good that the overall impression I had when I finished reading this novel was one of deep empathy with Isaac in his communion with nature/the bear and his distress over its relentless destruction.

I don't know where you start with Faulkner. His English is idiosyncratic; his characters appear in multiple novels, have long genealogies, and are rarely indicated directly when they are speaking. His setting is always the same fictional county in Mississippi (map below drawn by Faulkner himself).

Well, this small collection is where I started. I had never read anything by him before picking up this book. And I admit that I came to it with the excitement of approaching an author of high reputation.

Reputation - 4/5
William Faulkner is on every list of Great American Authors. He seems to be of particular interest to academics who love to overanalyze. Faulkner gives them a lot to work with. And if James Joyce was right when he said that his immortality would be guaranteed by all the riddles and enigmas he put in Ulysses that would "keep the professors arguing for centuries over what I meant," then Faulkner's posterity is likewise guaranteed by the same strategy.

Point - 3/5
So what does Faulkner mean? The highest ambition of a writer is to write the epic of his people. Faulkner tries to do this for the American South. In the Modern tradition of Joyce, he does it in a cryptic, maximalist way, eschewing simple explanation and even conventional English grammar and punctuation.

Does it work? “The Bear” is the most ambitious of the three stories in this collection. It later became one of the parts in Faulkner’s book Go Down, Moses, and probably makes much more sense within the context of that larger book. But it was also published as a stand-alone story, and that is how it appears in here.

It is a coming-of-age story of a boy who, through yearly hunting trips focused on a legendary bear named Old Ben, comes to intimately know the grandeur of Nature. Faulkner's style is very well-suited to this narration. His style is imposing. His long sentences, paused by commas but not stopped, raise the anticipation and heart-pounding energy of a hunt. I was enthralled by the first three chapters. They easily outran the other two stories in this collection.

But then, in chapter four of "The Bear," all the Modernity of Faulkner arrives in full force. The action becomes difficult to follow, the dialogues become philosophical, and the narrative is split up by interjections from ledger books written by other characters (whose English is usually poor and misspelled to show their lack of education). It's clear that Faulkner is trying something big at this point. And, rather than spoil it (or worse, analyze it!), I will leave you to read it.

The fifth and final chapter ends on a hunt in the same woods where the story began. The woods are now being torn apart by logging companies. The boy has grown into a man. He has come to major decision about his own future, and the metaphor of it can be extended to his whole family and culture (the Southern US).

This is what Modernism is supposed to do, right? Yes. The only trouble is that this metaphor is presented so cryptically (in the fourth chapter), that it's almost impossible to follow. I found myself googling the book to find out what was going on, then reading academic crap about the "symbolic exploration of the relationship of man and nature" and "the search for redemption from Original Sin."

No one should have to do that unless he likes to do it. I don't like to do it. To be fair, I do believe some academics have correctly interpreted what Faulkner is trying to do. But I have a great aversion to having my reading experience spoiled by having to look up what is happening in the story.

There is clearly something big going on there, it's just not very accessible to a common reader.

Recommendation - 4/5
So who should read this? If you like Modernist fiction, if you like deciphering the author's meaning and drawing sweeping literary generalizations, then you'll really enjoy "The Bear." Faulkner is also a First Tier American Author. And if, like me, you have never read any of him, then I think this is a good book to start with. The other two stories, "Spotted Horses" and "Old Man" are quite different in style - so you get a nice variety.

Enjoyment - 3/5
I found "Spotted Horses" too drawn out and pretty pointless. Not much happens in it. There was some nice characterization that reminded me of Chekhov, just a lot less terse. "Old Man" is a good, straight-forward story with plenty of humour and some very memorable scenes. Though Faulkner's style can become a bit tiresome, the story rows on in a strong narrative voice and there are outbursts of superb writing that make you want to go back and re-read the whole paragraph.

Maybe I can best sum it up like this: You'll often find yourself re-reading whole paragraphs of Faulkner's prose. Sometimes it'll be because you don't know what's going on. And sometimes it'll be because he says something so perfectly that you can't help but go back to the beginning and hear the whole thing again.

In my first reading of Faulkner, I found him quite turgid.

The narrative is absolutely intense. It seems as if he is cramming every thought and emotion into the story, making it a dense and sometimes overwhelming experience.

Now, as I venture into his longer works, I am both excited and daunted. On one hand, I know that there is so much more depth and complexity to explore. His characters are richly drawn, and his themes are universal and profound.

On the other hand, I am not sure if I am ready for the challenge. His writing style can be difficult to follow at times, and I worry that I may get lost in the maze of his words.

Nevertheless, I am determined to persevere. I believe that Faulkner has something important to say, and I am eager to listen. With each page I turn, I hope to gain a deeper understanding of his vision and his art.

I know that it will not be easy, but I am willing to put in the effort. After all, great literature is not meant to be consumed passively. It requires active engagement and a willingness to grapple with the ideas and emotions that it presents.

So, here I go, into the world of Faulkner's longer works. Wish me luck!

I truly relished each and every one of these works. "Spotted Horses" was a delight with its comical portrayal of Mississippi country bumpkins being swindled.

"Old Man" presented the meandering and waterlogged hardships of a convict who found himself stranded with a pregnant woman during the great Mississippi (Old Man) River flood of 1927.

However, it was "The Bear" that I cherished the most. Comprising five parts and over 130 pages, it offers detailed time-and-place settings and characters that are so revealing. In fact, it could be regarded as an accessible condensation of a significant portion of the Faulkner opus.

All in all, this is a very nice collection that showcases the diverse talents and unique perspectives of the author. It is a must-read for anyone who has an appreciation for great literature and the ability to transport oneself into different worlds and experiences through the written word.

Reading these three novels was truly an interesting experience.

There were moments when I was so frustrated that I felt compelled to throw the book against the wall. However, there were also other times when I came close to understanding and appreciating what it was that had granted Faulkner the exalted status his name enjoys.

This was the first book of his that I have read, and it required a great deal of discipline to read the entire thing. He has a tendency to bend the rules of punctuation, and seems to take pleasure in writing paragraphs that stretch on for 2 - 3 pages without a break.

At times, his writing is simply beautiful, painting vivid pictures in the reader's mind. But at other times, it can be extremely infuriating, making it difficult to follow the story.

Nevertheless, I must admit that in the end, I found myself interested in reading more of his works. I have a copy of As I Lay Dying at home, and there is a good chance that I will give him another try. I am curious to see if I can further explore the unique world that Faulkner has created through his writing.

I have been meaning to read some of Faulkner's work for the past eleven years. This was ever since I relocated to Mississippi. It is quite likely that it holds much more significance now than it would have done back then. The book delves into the land, nature, and the people who inhabited that place during that era. A great deal of it was rather challenging to read and demanded intense concentration along with a convenient dictionary to look up words that are either no longer in use or are not used in the same way anymore. The three pieces are set in times and places where racism was far more blatant rather than the more subtle and ignorant forms that exist today. (When, in fact, genetics provide no valid excuse for such behavior.)