A Fable

How are the ideas of war and peace presented in the novel? Are they opposite of one another? Why or why not? What characters represent war and what characters represent peace? How do they embody these representations?

Compare how A Fable illustrates biblical characters that are not front and center in the life of Jesus or during the time of the resurrection. Who resembles Paul from the New Testament? Are there comparisons to characters from the Old Testament?

How are the roles of women depicted in the novel? In what ways do they confront authority? Compare one male character and one female character in A Fable and discuss their similarities and differences using quotations from the text to support your answer.

How does the class-based conflict between the officers and enlisted men affect them in times of peace? Do their distinctions matter off of the battlefield? Why or why not? What does this communicate about societal constructs?

How does the familial relationship between the marshal and the corporal reflect the biblical relationship between God and Jesus? How does it differ? What do the differences communicate about Faulkner’s opinion of war and glory?

How is the priest impacted by meeting the corporal and what does his reaction communicate about Faulkner’s view of war and religion? How does the priest impact others, if at all? How does the priest contribute to the novel’s theme of Myth and Glory?

Aside from alcohol, what other tools and actions are used by enlisted men to cope with the brutalities of war? What tools are used by the officers, if any? How do these coping methods differ and why?

Who does the runner serve to resemble within the biblical allegory of the text? Why does Faulkner choose to utilize the runner in this manner throughout the entirety of the novel? How does the runner embody the novel’s theme of Class War?