Research Paper on:
William Faulkner Biography

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His family owned slaves, but Faulkner was an enthusiastic supporter of the civil rights movement during the 1950s. Throughout his life, Faulkner sought literary prominence because he thought that  would earn him the respectability from the people he sought it from most - the residents of his hometown of Oxford, Mississippi. Unfortunately, he ultimately achieved it everywhere but  there as he was referred to from an early age until his death as "Count No Count" for his pretentious demeanor (Harmon 96). William Cuthbert Falkner (as the  family name was traditionally spelled) was the first of four sons born to Murry and Maud Butler Faulkner on September 25, 1897 in New Albany, Mississippi (Dasher 158). His  illustrious lineage was tightly woven into the cultural fabric of Old Miss, at one time owning banks, business and even a railroad (Harmon 96). Unfortunately, by the time "Billy,"  as his mother called him, was born, the Falkners fortunes were dwindling (Harmon 96). Murry Falkner was the black sheep of the family, moving them to Ripley to seek  his own fortune, then settling in Oxford in 1902 after the birth of two more sons, Murry and Johncy (Dasher 158). Murry Falkner was interested in railroads, hunting and  drinking, not necessarily in that order. Alcoholism was the Falkner family disease which had claimed not only Falkners father but also his grandfather, his great-grandfather and later, himself (Harmon  96). Father and son never had a close relationship, and in fact, in later years, Murry would boast that he had never read any of his sons books, which  must have wounded the sensitive Billy greatly (Harmon 96). Murry Falkner operated a livery stable, which is where the authors lifelong love of horses began. Both as a