Benjy's Chapter April 7, 1928 Post #2
Falukner’s purpose of making the first chapter disorienting
could be done for several reasons. One may be because it captures the reader’s
attention- the reader wants to know what is going on. The disorienting time
shifts are confusing, yet they show that not all people think in the same way.
The chapter is told from Benjy’s point of view, and he doesn't think the way
some do. It is a way to show different perspectives to one story.
In the Compson family, Benjy is looked down upon, as it was
in the time. The even renamed him due to his mental disability. Each character
in the family is very different from the other and very distinct. Each
character has their own issues, Quentin’s suicide, Jason's mean disposition,
the parents alcoholism and essential abandonment, and Caddy’s known reputation.
Death is also seen strongly in the first chapter. Benjy senses
all of the death and disorder going on in his family, yet he either cannot
communicate it or no one will listen to him. Benjy can sense the bad fate of
the family.
I enjoyed the way you described everyone having their issues, making Benjy's mental disabilities one of the lesser evils, especially compared to Quentin's mental illness. I too thought the disorder of this chapter was eye grabbing, it pulled the reader in, truly making them want to know who,what, and why.
ReplyDeleteI like your mention of perspective in the first paragraph, because this does seem to drive the narration. I also like that you point out that everyone in the story has flaws, because we are left deciding which one least hurts the character of each person, with Caddy seeming to come out on top in most scenarios.
ReplyDeleteI thought the same about Faulkner's purpose of making the chapter so disorienting to leave the reader pondering about it but I didn't realize this until reading Jason's chapter. I found it interesting how you mentioned death appearing throughout Benjy's chapter, I do agree with your statement and it also makes me realize how Benjy was really in touch with his senses in this chapter.
ReplyDeleteI like how you point out that not only Benjy has problems, but his whole family, all of its members, can be seen as responsible for its downfall. I thought it was nice how you pointed out that Benjy has the inability to make sense of what happens, but what he does feel is the chaos around him.
ReplyDeleteI think that it was very good of you to take multiple perspectives on the reasons for the writing style of this chapter, how studious Maddie. I also like that established the fact that although Benjy's problems are clear, the rest of the family has unclear problems.
ReplyDelete