Read this excerpt from “Upon Receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature, 1950” by William Faulkner.
He must teach himself that the basest of all things is to be afraid; and, teaching himself that, forget it forever, leaving no room in his workshop for anything but the old verities and truths of the heart, the universal truths lacking which any story is ephemeral and doomed—love and honor and pity and pride and compassion and sacrifice. Until he does so, he labors under a curse. He 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. His griefs grieve on no universal bones, leaving no scars. He writes not of the heart but of the glands.
Which viewpoint does Faulkner convey in the excerpt?
He thinks that most writers write stories that have nothing important to say and will be forgotten.
He thinks that writers who are fearful are cursed and will not achieve success in their careers.
He believes that writers must overcome their fears and write from the heart about global human truths.
He is weary of reading stories that are poorly written and that have no conflict to overcome.
