Dilsey's Chapter

Wow, Faulkner sure does love some confusion... ending the last chapter nearly one day after the first. (Though of coarse not told in chronological order). As much as I hated being confused throughout most of the book, I actually enjoyed some of the confusion because it kept me engaged with the overall story. While reading each story I would always have numerous questions swirling around in my head that I wanted to ask Faulkner. Too bad he passed away nearly 35 years before I was born, but that's besides the point! Getting back to business, I did enjoy Dilsey's chapter, and the clarity within the writing. Although Faulkner chose to make the beginning of the book quite confusing, I enjoyed how he chose to end the last chapter with more clarity than others. 

Clarity is shown in this last chapter as two things are suggested for the Compson family's future. The first is that although the story ends with the completion of the families downfall, the simple fact that it takes place on Easter Sunday signifies hope, and secondly redemption. Faulkner leaves us with the idea that though the family has nearly hit rock bottom, their future remains bright. 

Overall, I think Faulkner put the chapters in this order to show us as the reader that people have different interpretations of the same events. One of the largest details I realized when reading The Sound and The Fury was that personality and mental state had the largest role in telling sequential events. If Jason wasn't as vulgar, his interpretations of others would've been drastically altered. Where as also Benjy's mental state had an enormous role toward his interpretation of events. Personally, I believe Faulkner's tale told 4 times signifies that writing is always told in a bias. Though Faulkner told many stories about the Old South vs. New South etc. the main idea throughout the story is the unique storytelling which is emphasized throughout the entire book. 

Part 3: Jason's Chapter

After finishing Jason's chapter, irony quickly came to mind! Finally we get a character who is not as difficult to understand, yet his thoughts are ones we don't want to interpret! Jason makes his thoughts raw and blunt. His strong opinions and selfish attitude make him an egotistical character. This is seen specifically when Jason complains about how he didn't get to go to Harvard when he quotes himself and says "I never had time to go to Harvard or drink myself into the ground (114). " In this sentence Jason is referring to the fact that Quentin got all the opportunities in their family and Jason is jealous of this. This passage also goes on to demonstrate how Jason is very focused on what others think of him. Perhaps this is one of the reasons Jason chooses to criticize others so harshly; because he is so insecure himself. Jason appears to be anti-semitic, racist, and sexist.

Below are quotes where each are seen within Jason's writing:

Anti-Semitic
"'I have nothing against Jews as an individual,'  I says. 'It's just the race. You'll admit they produce nothing. They follow the pioneers into a new country and sell them clothes (120). '"
(quotes himself)

Racist
"'We'll just put this off a while. But don't think you can run it over me. I'm not an old woman, nor an old half dead nigger, either. You dam little slut,' I says (117)."
(quotes himself)

Sexist against women
"She was old she couldn't do any more than move hardly. But that's all right: we need somebody in the kitchen to eat up the grub the young ones can't tote off (116)."

Part 2: Quentin's Chapter

As I stumbled passed the last words in Quentin's chapter, not much clarity came to mind. From the beginning of Quentin's chapter I was expecting it to be much easier to interpret than that of Benjy's, but boy was I wrong! Quentin's rambling sentences and confusing punctuation lead me down a spiraling tunnel of wonder. Though Quentin's chapter did in fact present a much better interpretation of the events going around him, than Benjy's, his use of poetic detail was confusing. This is seen in Quentin's chapter on page 74 when Faulkner writes; "when you leave a leaf in water a long time after awhile the tissue will be gone and the delicate fibers waving slow as the motion of sleep. They don't touch one another, no matter how knotted up they once were, no matter how close they lay once to the bones." Though Quentin's story depicts the scene elaborately, it is hard to understand the entirety of the language. 

Now lets answer some specific questions;

 

Does Quentin maintain a clear sense of the "I"?

Personally, considering how Quentin's chapter is mostly focused on the emphasis of detail and essentially incorporating various clues I would say no he doesn't. It is hard to tell exactly who the speaker is in various passages and who each paragraph is referring to. 

What does Quentin's narration suggest about his mental state?

Quentin's narration suggests that the oldest Compton is not in the best metal state considering his consuming thoughts throughout his story. For example, his love for Caddy seems to put stress on him as the story progresses. 

Essentially, the questionable jumbled sentences and poetic writing tripped me up the most in my reading. 

Part 1: Benjy's chapter

After finishing the first chapter of Faulkner's work, I sit here in my living room pondering upon what I just read. So far I have discovered quite a few observations and interpretations based on his writing style alone. For example, I noticed how Faulkner consecutively integrates italicized paragraphs into the body of the text. Shortly after reading a few more pages I came to realize that these italicized sentences were simply memories of the past. This pattern of random italicizing seemed so puzzling, but quickly became a simple misunderstanding of my prior knowledge toward this grammatical punctuation.

These simple 'misunderstandings' within Faulkner's text bring me to the bigger picture/question which many critics might propose; why does Faulkner choose to begin the story with such a disoriented chapter? Personally, I believe that Faulkner wanted to do this to show us (the reader) that although we may be disoriented based on his writing style, it shouldn't effect our knowledge toward interpreting the character of Benjy. As Faulkner puts less emphasis on the individual that tells the story, he focuses our attention on Benjy's perception of order and memory in the present day. The character of Benjy is essential because we (the reader) are faced with questions of chronology throughout the first chapter. 

Here are some other personal observations about the story so far:

Benji's role in the Compson Family:

• constantly viewed as the person who gets blamed for troubles within the family
• Start to get the feeling that Benji can sense what things might happen in the future

Benji's consistency:

• Benji needs to keep his family consistent, because he can't rely on himself. Shown specifically on page 6.
•  "I forgot." Caddy said. "I thought he had them on."We went back. "You must think." Mother said. Hold still now Versh said. He put my overshoes on. "Someday I'll be gone, and you'll have to think for him." Now stomp Versh said. "Come here and kiss Mother, Benjamin."

Benji's Symbolism:

• Benji's inability to be independent puts pressure on the family and acts as a burden weighing on them though Benji never chose to live this life. The way the family treats Benji negatively shows that Benji represents how the family is living their lives wrong.

William Faulkner

 

Hello all, here is my first blog!
I hope to help enlighten you on my journey toward interpreting the great and knowledgeable William Faulkner. Here's what I've discovered so far:
William Faulkner was born in New Albany Mississippi on September 25, 1897. In 1915 Faulkner dropped out of High School after the eleventh grade, though this didn't stop him from accomplishing various achievements. One of his major accomplishments was his development of the legendary Yoknapatawpha County. In his later years he remarked, "I never did like school and stopped going to school as soon as I got big enough to play hooky and not get caught at it." Faulkner went on to become an American writer and praised Nobel Prize laureate. Not only did he receive the Nobel Prize, but later in 1955 he also claimed the title of a Pulitzer Prize winner, as well gaining a National Book Award for A Fable.  

http://www.openculture.com/2012/09/william_faulkner_tells_his_post_office_boss_to_stick_it_1924.html