Faulkner's style in this novel varies according to the character who is narrating the section. The subtle variations in the style are one of the notable achievements of this novel. There is not a glaring and abrupt change from section to section; there is still the continuity of the same author behind each section, but there is enough variation to make each narrator distinctly different.
The technique that Faulkner uses in many of the sections is called the "stream-of-consciousness" technique. Prior to the twentieth century, an author would simply tell the reader what one of the characters was thinking. Stream-of-consciousness is a technique whereby the author writes as though he is inside the mind of the characters. Since the ordinary person's mind jumps from one event to another, stream-of-consciousness tries to capture this phenomenon. Thus in many sections, notably in the Vardaman and Darl sections, everything is presented through an apparently unorganized succession of images.
Each of the fifty-nine sections in this novel, therefore, represents the inner thought of the character who is narrating the section. This technique reflects the twentieth-century development, research, and interest in the psychology of "free association" and the inner thoughts of people. As a technique, stream-of-consciousness was popularized by James Joyce and Virginia Woolf. But Faulkner's use of this technique is probably the most successful and outstanding use that we have yet had. Even while using this technique, Faulkner varies it enough so as to capture the essence of each character.
