Dilsey's Chapter April 8, 1928 Post #5

The last chapter of The Sound and the Fury, told from Dilsey’s point of view, concludes the story while answering questions about the Compson family. Each chapter has been from the point of view of one of the Compsons, showing the reader each characters own observations, opinions, or revelations from their point of view. This chapter, while from Dilsey's perspective, is told by a narrrator. The fact that it is a narrator and Dilsey who are telling the end of the story gives the reader a chance to see the family from the outside.

We see the final “fall” of the Compson family that Benjy had seen in his narration. When Quentin runs off, much like her mother, the family is ruined. However, the significance of the date, Easter, shows that the family may not be ruined forever or completely.

It may be expected that the last chapter would be from Caddy’s point of view, because she is the only Compson child who has not had a voice and is a very important character. In fact, each of the men in her family is strongly affected by her. Benjy relies on her emotionally, Quentin cares about her and let her decisions control much of his life, and Jason blamed his failures  on her decisions. Instead, the chapter narrated by Dilsey, shows us an outside view on where the Compson family is going. She is actually one of the strongest characters, and unlike any of the family. Quentin and Jason have shown the old southern views and let them control them ,especially in regards to their sister. While Dilsey holds the old south views, she does not let them control her. Dilsey is the only one of the family who is left with upholding the name- even though she is a black servant. There is a possibility that she can make the Compson name great again.

I believe that Faulkner’s tale signifies many things. There is several ongoing themes, from holding values to shadows to time. But the story as a whole shows the downfall of a family because they cannot live up to their family name. Faulkner shows it from four different perspectives that the family can no longer function with the views they hold.

Jason’s Chapter April 6, 1928 Post #4

Jason's chapter in The Sound and the Fury is much easier to understand than Quentin’s or Benjy’s chapter. However, Jason's views and comments on his surroundings are much harder to comprehend or relate to as he is, from what this chapter reveals, a horrible person. Jason has become very bitter towards almost everything as he has gotten older. We see Jason as a child in Benjy's chapter, and even then he seemed unpleasant, but as we see him as an adult, it is evident his personality only got worse. Jason's narration is clear in that he is obviously unhappy with his life and almost everyone it.

This true hatred for much of life has probably resulted because of his family's misfortune and his own failures, such as not getting money from Caddy’s husband. Jason does pretty horrible things such as holding money from Caddy’s daughter, Quentin, using his mother’s blindness of who he really is, and his general beliefs that he expresses through the chapters.

Throughout the chapter we see Jason's personality and beliefs. One of the most common occurrences that took place was the blame he always put on others; ie. it was the “Jews” fault that the market was not doing well, it was African American’s fault that the labor was not good- whit labor should be the only labor, it was Caddy’s fault that the family is no longer what it was, etc. We see much of the old south view in Jason. He is worried about money and personal gain but not much else. He constantly looks and hopes for better for himslef but never actually is active about it.

Quentin's Chapter June 2, 1910 Post #3

While Benjy’s chapter was hard to read and sort through, Quentin’s chapter (June Second, 1910) was harder to comprehend. Why were certain sayings or words repeated? Why did he say them? The chapter begins with a major theme we saw throughout Benjy’s chapter- time. It begins with Quentin breaking his watch, (a major symbolic moment) and his observations on time. He goes back and forth between observing his broken watch and thinking about his sister, Caddy, and how he lied to his father about committing incest with her so their father doesn't know about Caddy’s bastard child.

Even in the first part of the chapter, we begin to see how Quentin’s unusual mind works. He breaks his own watch, but when he goes to the clock shop to get it fixed, he doesn't fix the watch. Further, he asks the man in the shop if any of the displayed clocks are working- he doesn't want to know if they are right but if they are working. This shows the continuing theme of timelessness. When Quentin says he wants to know if the clocks are right, but not the time, it asks the question, what is time? 

Clocks just measure numbers, but what effect does time have on us? Quentin is obsessed with time; yet the ticking of his watch haunts him. Why would he want to know if the clocks were “right”? Why not just ask for the time? Quentin is haunted with the passing of time and the past. The “right” time is a number that we all follow and measure. But time can't really be comprehended; it's something we cannot change- past or future. Every second we are in the present, but the present is continuous through the past and always going into the future.

Quentin is also very obsessed with the behavior of his sister. He doesn't approve of her “promiscuous” ways. In that time, a transition of old and new ways, some were very concerned with the behavior of women. Quentin is so concerned, he takes on the “blame of his sisters actions so their family name is spared (yet in Benjy's chapter we see that the family is fated for bad things). This also shows that Quentin carries guilt and responsibilities for others in things he cannot control.

Quentin’s obsession with things that are abstract and not even physical objects that can be changed (like time) hinder him from living a “normal” life- or at least a life in which he has less worry. His observations on these things and his comprehension of them are what make this chapter a difficult one.

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.

Lesson 1: Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury- Introduction
EDSITEment 

Activity 1: Introduction to Faulkner and Faulkner's South

Website Summaries 

Brief Faulkner Biography via American Memory

Faulkner was born in Mississippi in 1897 and spent most of his time in the south. He created the fictional Yoknapatawpha County which consisted of many classes and groups of Americans, and emphasizes that the past is "never dead"; he states that the past is not even past. He won two Pulitzer prizes and a Noble Prize for literature. He was encouraged to write about what he knew, especially the atmosphere of the South, and his success took off after the publication of The Sound and the Fury. 

William Faulkner on the Web via Internet Public Library - Biography

Faulkner tried to maintain his privacy despite his growing fame in the 1930's and 1940's. But after winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1950, he became a public figure. Some essays and articles were published about him, which upset him, and he stayed secluded. 

Quote Analysis

This quote by Evan Goodwin about Faulkner shows that Faulkner uses the idea of multiple perspectives/narrators, to show the reader the true story. Often, using only one point of view for the narrator will show bias and only one "side" of the story. Faulkner uses different narrators like parts of a whole, to tell his stories and the conclusion of the story presents a total view of the story, as opposed to doing this with one narrator in which this cannot be accomplished.