Comments on: “‘Now I want you to tell me just one more thing. Why do you hate the South?’ ‘I don’t hate it,’ Quentin said quickly, at once, immediately. ‘I don’t hate it,’ he said. I don’t hate it he thought, panting in the cold air, the iron New England dark. I don’t. I don’t! I don’t hate it! I don’t hate it!”

By: Dr X

Dr X — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 18:00:39 +0000

Great quote. And, Quentin Compson is a much more interesting character than Brad DeLong (no offense intended to Professor DeLong).

By: Anderson

Anderson — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 14:13:48 +0000

“Dont” not “don’t,” as Lotus observes.

For years now I have wanted a T-shirt that says, “I dont hate the South. I don’t hate it! I dont!” Will have to get one made up sometime.

–Btw and in case it needs sayin’, Absalom, Absalom! is a magnificent book. I remember reading the first chapter aloud to myself in grad school, just savoring the cadences of the prose. It’s actually retarded my Faulkner appreciation, b/c instead of reading, say, Light in August, I just read AA again.

By: NMC

NMC — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 18:41:25 +0000

or started trying to write it as fiction…

or taken up the practice at law…

(to pick how two of the models for him spent their lives, as opposed to filling their pockets with stones and jumping off a bridge)

By: Ben Cole

Ben Cole — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 18:35:46 +0000

Quentin just never could get out in front of his demons. Shoulda gotten a Harley.

By: lotus

lotus — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:59:30 +0000

I know, just teasing you about the apostrophes.

By: NMC

NMC — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:45:41 +0000

the don’t hate it quote and “Tell me about the South” are the 2 cliches from that novel…

By: NMC

NMC — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:44:15 +0000

It’s authentic Faulkner– that’s Absolom, Absolom! famously so. I’ll check for the accuracy of the punctuation later.

By: lotus

lotus — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:43:10 +0000

Are you sure that’s authentic Faulkner, NMC? Apostrophes in the donts?