Date of Award

Spring 5-10-2025

Document Type

Honors Project

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

English and Linguistics

Department Chair or Program Director

Lorentzen, Eric

First Advisor

Richards, Gary

Major or Concentration

English

Abstract

This paper examines William Faulkner’s Thomas Sutpen and James Joyce’s Stephen Dedalus as parallel creator figures who attempt to transcend their origins and combat mortality by establishing enduring legacies. After suffering humiliation regarding social hierarchy, Sutpen endeavors to create a material dynasty through land acquisition, property development, and the enslavement of non-white people, obsessively seeking to produce a white male heir in the process. Despite his efforts, Sutpen’s physical creation deteriorates, with his most enduring legacy being a distorted oral history beyond his control. Conversely, Dedalus rejects his Irish Catholic upbringing to escape the “nets” of “nationality, language, [and] religion” (Joyce 220), constructing his legacy through aesthetics and poetry rather than physical structures. Dedalus’s villanelle and diary mark the beginning of his artistic transcendence, and he stands on the threshold of artistic success by the novel’s conclusion. Both characters isolate themselves from their families and existing social structures while pursuing their creative goals, suggesting that transcendent creation may be incompatible with established social norms. By examining these characters’ similarities, this paper illuminates broader truths about the relationship between creation, mortality, and social limitations, as Sutpen and Dedalus both strive to create something that outlives them.

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