Submitted by sperkins@stanfo... on Thu, 2015-03-26 19:43
John Sartoris is here seen through the eyes of his son, Bayard. As such, he appears as a larger than life figure who raised a regiment and came "within spitting distance" (21) of Washington D.C. while fighting with Stonewall Jackson in Virginia. In the second year of the War, the "politicians and fools" in his regiment voted another man into command (21). Since then he has returned to Mississippi and, with his troop of irregular Confederates, has been harassing and fighting the Union army in that area. When it's necessary, he can take the Yankees on single-handedly too.
Submitted by sperkins@stanfo... on Thu, 2015-03-26 19:37
The narrator of "Retreat" is the son of John Sartoris and grandson of Rosa Millard; he narrates all the stories that Faulkner included along with "Retreat" in The Unvanquished (1938). In this story Bayard, aged almost 14, becomes increasingly independent as he sets out with Ringo to chase the marauders who took their mules. He is found by his father during the story, but is left on his own again at the end.
