Question

Read the following passage from William Faulkner's Nobel Prize speech:

I feel that this award was not made to me as a man, but to my work — a life's work in the agony and sweat of the human spirit, not for glory and least of all for profit, but to create out of the materials of the human spirit something which did not exist before.
How does this passage contribute to the overall purpose of the speech?

A. It helps establish the fundamental role of the creative artist in society.
B. It conveys Faulkner's feeling that his work is not worthy of such a prestigious award.
C. It communicates to would-be writers the difficulty of the profession they chose.
D. It describes the genius involved in creating fiction as a work of art.

Answer 1

It helps establish the fundamental role of the creative artist in society.

Answer 2

Answer: A. It helps establish the fundamental role of the creative artist in society.

In these lines, Faulkner tells us that the award he received (the Nobel Prize) is not a recognition of him as a man or as an individual. Instead, it is a recognition of his work, and of the place his work has in the creation and development of the human spirit. The fact that he talks about the human spirit shows that he believes that art and creation have an important role to fulfill in society, and that the prize is an acknowledgement of this.