Language: Inspired by Faulkner

I'm reading William Faulkner's Light in August right now, and am not sure what to think.  Perhaps I should wait until I've read it in its entirety before posting what is and must be an uninformed opinion.  I know there are many who would disagree with that statement.  There is, in fact, an entire graduate class devoted to the study of fragmented literature (erm, I meant that literally, not as a way to describe the post modern!).  But I doubt that the meaning of the text can be deciphered through a partial reading.  What is said on one page may be contradicted when viewed in its entire context, reshaping the meaning of that one page, right?

At any rate, I'm reading this book more as a statement on/against? language and story-telling than as a critique of race and class and gender.  And although those things certainly exist in this narrative, it's the concept of story-telling and perception/perspective that keeps gripping my attention.  I know that's a reflection of my own obsession with the arbitrary nature of language and my constant struggle to come to terms with that love-hate relationship,  but Faulkner seems concerned with this concept as well.  The fact that all of these characters tell stories and interpret situations based on events they could not have witnessed seems to perpetuate falsehood until reality gobsmacks them across the face (is that the proper British colloquialism?) and it is too late to respond acceptably, or correctly (Hightower and the rumours surrounding him, the misunderstanding of Ms. Burden's note, the assumption of black ancestry in Christmas etc) .

And of course, this is not the only book where Faulkner's concern over language manifests itself.  There's The Sound and the Fury, where language is a tale told by a madman, signifying nothing.  And then there's the beautiful As I Lay Dying, where Addie describes words as "a shape to fill a lack," and her words, her dying wish, is a method of revenge.

Language is incapable of describing the essence of a thing.  Whenever a word is used as a signifier, instead of describing and understanding the signified more fully, one becomes further removed from the actual meaning of said object or concept, and a distancing effect takes place.  Unfortunately, in order to understand what is, one must use language in order to experience it. But the moment we utter the word we are creating a representation of the meaning.  The meaning of this experience, then, is found not in the words themselves, but, paradoxically, in language’s inability to express that meaning, in the space between each word.  Problems occur when meaning is sought through the physical presence of the words rather than through an exploration and analysis of the remaining substance of what they cannot express.