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Social Science: Faulkner's Nobel Prize
Prize committee in Stockholm, Sweden, awarded its prize for literature to William Faulkner “for his powerful and artistically unique contribution to the modern American novel.” Many observers thought that concern about escalating postwar tensions be- tween the United States and the USSR may have led dissenting members of the committee to argue that the award should go to a more overtly politi- cal writer than the mostly unheralded novelist from Oxford, a small town in Mississippi with fewer than 4,000 residents.
When the committee eventually decided the prize would be awarded to the relatively unknown Faulkner, it was already too close to 1949’s cer- emony date, so the committee agreed to reserve the award. In 1950, the committee announced the belated award in recognition of Faulkner’s novels and short stories which championed the human spirit and the ideals of courage and freedom. When the time came for Faulkner to receive the award, however, it was not his remarks on his own literary legacy but his words on tensions in the new post- World War II nuclear world for which his speech would be remembered.
Any student of the reticent Faulkner would not be surprised by his reaction to the award. When informed of his selection, Faulkner responded as he usually did to avoid attention; he invoked his rural identity, which was mostly a pretense: “I won’t be able to come to receive the prize myself. It’s too far away. I am a farmer down here and I can’t get away.” Faulkner seemed very apathetic toward the award, its attendant fame, and its $30,000 prize, about which he said, “I haven’t earned it, and I don’t feel like it’s mine”; he would later use the cash to set up scholarships for young writers and African American students at Rust College in nearby Holly Springs.
The 52-year-old Faulkner insisted he wouldn’t go to Stockholm: “There just isn’t enough gas in the tank to go all that distance.” Persuading Faulkner to go that distance involved a tricky chess game. The first move came from the American ambassa- dor to Sweden, Walton Butterworth, who pointed out to the State Department that “American rela- tions with Sweden would be seriously wounded” if Faulkner did not make the trip. Butterworth noted that the Swedish journalist Thorsten Jonsson, who had visited Faulkner in 1946 and who had died only recently, was responsible for the author’s high repu- tation in Sweden; it would be an appropriate recog- nition of Jonsson’s efforts on his behalf for Faulkner 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 105 110
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11.
Which of the following statements best captures the overall message of the passage?
A. Awards are best given to those who combine personal accomplishment with a polished on- stage presence.
B. Leaving one’s familiar environment for a foreign country may bring unforeseen difficulty.
C. Personal discomfort may be overcome to inspire others in troubled times.
D. Nominating someone for a high-profile award may be met with public opposition.
12.
One function in the passage of including information about Faulkner’s Oxford friends and Estelle Faulkner is to create a contrast between Faulkner’s:
A. concern for his family and his fear of interacting with Nobel committee officials.
B. reservations about traveling to the ceremony and the pressures he faced to do so.
C. divisive family life and his strong and ever-pre- sent desire for personal acclaim.
D. need to finish work on a novel and his concern about his own health.
13.
As it is used in line 43, the phrase “tricky chess game” refers to Faulkner as he:
A. gains prominence in Sweden through the efforts of Thorsten Jonsson.
B. contemplates an offer to move his family away from his farm in Oxford.
C. officially declines his prize money and suggests it
The passage author argues that the look on Anders Osterling’s face after he introduced Faulkner on December 10, 1950, suggested Osterling’s:
A
anticipation that Faulkner would be critical of the Nobel Prize committee.
B
regret in selecting the little-known Mississippi novelist for the award.
C
uncertainty about whether Faulkner would deliver an appropriate speech.
D
concern that Cold War tensions in Europe would overshadow the awards ceremony.