 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 . 
