Predatory Men in William Faulkner’s Novel, Sanctuary Essay -- Faulkner

Predatory Men in William Faulkner’s Novel, Sanctuary William Faulkner’s novel, Sanctuary, is replete with subtlety and symbolism. En route to Old Frenchman’s Place, Temple Drake thinks of baseball players in the Saturday game she is missing as â€Å"crouching, uttering short, yelping cries like marsh-fowl disturbed by an alligator, not certain of where the danger is, motionless, poised† (37). In creating such an image of predation, Faulkner prepares the reader for Temple’s arrival at Old Frenchman’s Place —the prey/predator metaphor lending itself perfectly to Temple’s situation vis-à  -vis the men there. Throughout the novel, Faulkner portrays Temple as feline or animal-like. When she objects to Gowan Stevens driving to Lee Goodwin’s in search of alcohol, he tells her, â€Å"Don’t get your back up, now† (37); and she is constantly springing from place to place and clawing at doors or blankets, as if she were an agile and jumpy cat. When Goodwin finds her crouching in the corner of his kitchen he lifts her â€Å"by the scruff of the neck, like a kitten† (52), and Popeye similarly grips her b...