The Sound and The Fury
by William Faulkner
Published 1929 by Jonathan Cape and Harrison Smith
Southern Gothic Novel
The first section of the book is from Benjy’s perspective. This is difficult because he is a severely retarded 33 year old man. Things that happen in the present are interrupted by memories that get sparked by little things. Faulkner signifies a difference between the present and a memory by writing the a portion italicized text. One thing is for sure, Benjy seems to be able to sense when things are not quite right. Oh and another thing… you can be sure of is that his sister, Caddy, smells like trees.
The second section is Quentin’s perspective. We follow him as he travels around and has several encounters over the course of a day. While we are much more aware as he slips between reality and memory, they are just as woven into his thought and dialogue. Towards the end of the section, Faulkner stops using punctuation and capitalization all together for about 3 pages perhaps to signify his further slip into depression.The little girl that follows him around is almost like a personified memory that he cannot shake. He runs from her to get rid of her yet they find each other again. A big theme throughout the book is time. However, it is particularly important in Quentin’s section because he is so preoccupied with his watch. He also spends a lot of time talking about his shadow, perhaps as another way to signify time by the length of his shadow. Not having sisters….
The third section is Jason’s perspective. While this is a much easier, almost welcomed, section of this book from the previously hard-to-navigate sections, it is painful because he is so cruel! He calls Benjy a gelding which is a castrated horse. He dangles a ticket to the show over the fire telling Luster he will sell it to him for a nickle. Luster doesnt have any money so he throws it in the fire… At this point Caddy is out of the picture and Quentin has killed himself. He is the sole provider for the family, including Caddy’s illegitimate child, Quentin. He was never given the opportunities Caddy and Quentin were and now he is taking care of everyone. I guess I could see how he might be the teensiest bit bitter but… COME ON! He is just a jerk. And what a hypocrite! Talking about Quentin’s painted face and clothing while he is using the money he is stealing from his sister and niece to pay for a hooker in Memphis!
The fourth section is from Faulkner’s perspective. Some analysis of this section says it ends with SOME hope that the Compson family will turn itself around… its Easter on this final day, Quentin is out of their care. But I don’t have much hope that Jason will treat the servants or Benjy any better and will find a new way to swindle his mother out of money. I wasn’t sure who would be narrating this last section. I hoped it would be Caddy seeing as how she is a constant with each of the characters… something tied to Caddy makes each of the characters in this book act… and almost nothing else.
At the same time, while Caddy is the only one child that does not have her word yet plays such a key role in the others’ lives, Dilsey might be the most important character simply because she is the only ray of hope for this poor family. The only one with reason. The only kind soul to be found.
Heavy… and good.
Tidbit on William Faulkner
Most of Faulkner’s works are set in his native state of Mississippi. Oxford is the model for the town of “Jefferson” in his fiction, and Lafayette County, Mississippi, which contains the town of Oxford, is the model for his fictional Yoknapatawpha County. He won the 1949 Nobel Prize in Literature
His last name was originally Falkner but, supposedly, there was a misprint on his first book of Faulkner, and when asked about he said, “Either way suites me.” Thus a name change…
In the 1940s he went to Hollywood and wrote screenplays. He contributed to Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep and Ernest Hemingway’s To Have and Have Not.
He is considered one of the most important Southern writers and his genre is considered to be Southern Gothic. “One of the most notable features of the Southern Gothic is “the grotesque” — this includes situations, places, or stock characters that often possess some cringe-inducing qualities, typically racial bigotry and egotistical self-righteousness — but enough good traits that readers find themselves interested nevertheless. While often disturbing, Southern Gothic authors commonly use deeply flawed, grotesque characters for greater narrative range and more opportunities to highlight unpleasant aspects of Southern culture, without being too literal or appearing to be overly moralistic.” [Wikipedia]
Died of a heart attack at age 64.
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