Intruder of the Tomb: The Faulkner Collection

Author: Faulkner
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-04-01
Features: The changes in the style of this novel seem to be due to Faulkner adopting the detective novel structure popular inliterature. When he was in Hollywood, the director Hawks asked him why he didn't write a detective novel, and he replied that he wanted to write about a "black man locked in a cell trying to solve his own case." The Intruder in the Bequest is a late-period "detective novel" by Faulkner. The son of a wealthy family in the town is murdered, and the black man Lucas is suspected and arrested. The white boy Chick, who once received Lucas's help (and whose perspective the book is written from), does not believe he is the murderer. At an accidental meeting, he gets involved in the case with a childhood friend and an elderly white woman. They discover another body in the victim's grave, providing evidence to exonerate Lucas. Meanwhile, Chick uses facts to convince a racist lawyer, eventually helping Lucas clear his name. Through such a case, the book exposes the racial discrimination issue in the United States.