William Faulkner reads from his novel A Fable Dont be afraid
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William Faulkner reads from his novel A Fable
"Don't be afraid," the corporal said. "There's nothing to be afraid of. Nothing worth it."
For a moment the old general didn't seem to have heard the corporal at all, standing a head below the other's high mountain one...
The novel is set in France except for one episode in the United States.
World War I is raging.
The story shifts among many characters.
A central event is a French regiment's refusal to attack. It is mutnity.
There is a consequent lull on the front, both sides sensing that men might will insist on peace.
This spirit of nonviolence is brought about by a mysterious corporal who resembles Jesus.
The corporal is executed--again, like Jesus.
It is May 1918—six months before the end of World War I.
Generals on both sides unexpectedly see “the vast cumbrous machinery of war grinding to its clumsy halt” quite independent of them.
At dawn when a French regiment is ordered to attack, every man declines to follow that order and stays in the trench.
The Germans, having seen the mutiny, make no expected counter-attack.
By noon the entire French front and the Germans facing it are silent. Three hours later, the American and English fronts and the facing German ones stop fighting also.
The rebel French regiment, including the corporal and his squad, is arrested and placed in a stockade.
There they remain while the Allied generals confer with the German generals about how to get the war started again.
On a Thursday morning an unarmed British battalion leave trenches, going across no-man’s land to meet similar unarmed German soldiers.
On Friday morning the corporal is tied to a post, between two men charged with robbery and murder, and is shot dead.
"Don't be afraid," the corporal said. "There's nothing to be afraid of. Nothing worth it."
For a moment the old general didn't seem to have heard the corporal at all, standing a head below the other's high mountain one...
The novel is set in France except for one episode in the United States.
World War I is raging.
The story shifts among many characters.
A central event is a French regiment's refusal to attack. It is mutnity.
There is a consequent lull on the front, both sides sensing that men might will insist on peace.
This spirit of nonviolence is brought about by a mysterious corporal who resembles Jesus.
The corporal is executed--again, like Jesus.
It is May 1918—six months before the end of World War I.
Generals on both sides unexpectedly see “the vast cumbrous machinery of war grinding to its clumsy halt” quite independent of them.
At dawn when a French regiment is ordered to attack, every man declines to follow that order and stays in the trench.
The Germans, having seen the mutiny, make no expected counter-attack.
By noon the entire French front and the Germans facing it are silent. Three hours later, the American and English fronts and the facing German ones stop fighting also.
The rebel French regiment, including the corporal and his squad, is arrested and placed in a stockade.
There they remain while the Allied generals confer with the German generals about how to get the war started again.
On a Thursday morning an unarmed British battalion leave trenches, going across no-man’s land to meet similar unarmed German soldiers.
On Friday morning the corporal is tied to a post, between two men charged with robbery and murder, and is shot dead.