Mosquitoes (novel) - Critical Response

Critical Response

Mosquitoes did not receive notable critical response at the time of its publishing, but following Faulkner’s rise to a place of prominence in American Literature, the book has garnered a significant body of reviews, interpretations, and analyses.

With little exception, critics of Faulkner consider Mosquitoes to be his weakest and also most imitative work, citing his use of the literary styles of T.H. Huxley, T.S. Eliot, and James Joyce. Following this observation of Mosquitoes’ imitative qualities, the book has also been considered by many to represent a period in Faulkner’s life where he begins to cultivate, though not yet successfully, the personal literary style for which he later becomes famous. Critics cite his preoccupation with the themes discussed above, which he had attempted to work through prior to prior to Mosquitoes in a few unpublished works as the primary distractions from his ability to hone his own style during this period.

One unique stance on the otherwise vastly disparaged Mosquitoes is furthered by the Kenneth Hepburn in his 1971 article “Faulkner’s Mosquitoes: A Poetic Turning Point”. Though he makes sure to claim that he does not argue for the “reappraisal of Mosquitoes as a work of great quality” he argues that it hold much more merit than it is otherwise vastly assigned by academics. Focusing on two sections in the epilogue of the novel, Hepburn argues that instead of a confused and inconclusive statement on the role of the artist in society, the final actions of the Gordon, Julius, and Fairchild, each represent parts of a whole that must be read together to understand Faulkner’s ultimate conclusion on what an artist should be. Hepburn furthers this by bringing about his final conclusion that due to this exploration and eventual comfortable conclusion on the role of the artist, Mosquitoes allowed for Faulkner’s liberation from his attempt to fill the role of the “idealized poet” and come into his own as a great American author.

Another uniquely positive interpretation of the novel is put forth by Ted Atkinson in his 2001 article “Faulkner’s Mosquitoes: A cultural history.” Like Hepburn, his argument does not try to boost the novel to acclaim as a great work of literature, but rather argues for its foresight into the rising discussions of cultural politics at the time.