narayan's writing style was often compared to that of william faulkner since both their works brought out the humour and energy of ordinary life while displaying compassionate humanism. the similarities also extended to their juxtaposing of the demands of society against the confusions of individuality. although their approach to subjects was similar, their methods were different; faulkner was rhetorical and illustrated his points with immense prose while narayan was very simple and realistic, capturing the elements all the same.