Why Benjy?
Faulkner opens his book with Benjy's disorienting perspective to show that time is not important to the sections he introduces. His thoughts show that feelings and content should be emphasized, not small details and chronological instances. Benjy's thoughts run through connections, and are more simple and innocent than others'. This makes him able to give a truthful, untainted account of the family, with pure observation and no biases, which cannot be done by a different narrator. Additionally, Benjy is a narrator of feeling, and he expresses understandings of change and emotion better than a "normal" narrator would. He has very attuned senses which enable him to show what is happening in his world with Caddy's life changes better than one of his brothers would. He is the first to know she is changing. He is closer to Caddy than any of the other characters and thus he is the best to begin relating her story.
Benjy's Place
Benjy plays the role of the innocent victim in the Compson family. He is incapable of harm, though girls run from him when he waits at the gate. He has suffered greatly: first the loss of a name, and then of his sister, who is the only one who truly loves him. He is set up as a Christ-figure, given his age and the time of the story, which ironically, he is oblivious to. Benjy signifies purity and suffering, in a way which is very similar to that of Christ. His life- in this case, the joy and meaning he finds when he is with Caddy- is taken from him, which is not his own doing. He is a sacrifice, as Jesus was. His parents, particularly his mother, are willing to sacrifice love, and even the knowledge of him, to salvage the family's name. His mother commonly says that Benjy is a plague, a sickness and a worry on her and her name, as shown by her compliant about Benjy's cries, "Can't I even be sick in peace". She changes his name so he would not be considered with her "pure" brother, which mocks the concept of goodness, as it is Benjy who is truth good and innocent, like Christ. Few accept him, he is sacrificed for worldly gain, and he is pushed aside though he has great truths, just like Christ.
What Benjy Shows Us
Benjy's narrative gives us a look at how Benjy, and those who are different are seen, are treated. He is scorned, which shows us how much the Compsons would give up for appearances. He shows us that the family is deep-set in following what it perceives to be the norms. He also shows us that the family is falling from its traditional standings, which he himself does not actually grasp. He illustrates that what was once family's land (the Pasture) has become a golf course. This shows us that the family is poor enough that it needs to sell land. He also relates Roskus's quote that tells of coming doom, "Taint no luck in this place". The family's failing struggle to hold on to dying values is seen in the South as a whole, as it too is fighting against changing times. Benjy himself cannot sense time, but he can show how it affects those around him. Benjy, just like everyone in the work so far, admires the past, and hates the change that comes to him. His need for constituency shows us that both the times around him and his family are changing negatively. The traditional family, and the South, are passing into hardship.
Benjy questions time and epitomizes innocence and sacrifice.
Monday, March 30, 2015
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Overall Observations
Time
Time changes to relate the story and emphasize order. Quentin tells us the story of the past, as does Benjy, though Benjy similarly tells us of the present and varying times of the past.
Quentin obsesses about time, and breaks several watches in a search for actuality and meaning.
Clocks are shown to be solemn and sad in the final chapter.
Form
Faulkner notates questions without question marks. For example Caddy asks, ""What is it."... " What are you trying to tell Caddy."" He also refrains from normal capitalization in the end of his second chapter to show Quentin's confusion and disorder.
Benjy's thoughts are structured on what is related. This is seen as thoughts of fire, for example are connected regardless of time. Lines such as "she smelled like trees" are used as transitions.
By switching narrators Faulkner creates development.
Point of View
By making Benjy the opening narrator, Faulkner makes points on time, bias, and other essential elements (see the post on Benjy's section), but it also places major restrictions on him as a writer that have to be considered.
A final third person narrator shows a clearer view, but also one slightly separate form what is unfolding.
Character
Caddy:
- Benjy interestingly observes that Caddy appears as a "light in darkness". This line appears more poetic than the rest of his section
- "Caddie" is mistaking for "Caddy". Both are guides.
- Wants to "carry" Benjy ("I can carry him"), even when she is small and relatively weaker.
Benjy:
- Sees people as going into separate places, when they are visible from a mirror. This is shown as he says they were "fighting in the mirror".
- People appear to think that Benjy cannot understand anything simply because he cannot speak (with the exception some, prominently Caddy). This is shown because Luster says he is "deaf and dumb".
- He follows after the girls who walk by the fence, even though he knows they are not Caddy.
- Has a "graveyard" with flowers that he tends for. This raises the question of who died.
- Likes fire
Quentin: (The Older)
- Clearly feels disgrace of the family, and suffers with upholding what he sees as necessary.
- Feels deep a deep love and connection to Caddy, and a lesser one to the South.
Dilsey:
- Makes a cake for Benjy out of her own resources, and is criticized for it.
- Gives up everything to raise all of the children, and only challenges authority to protect them, as she does when Jason threatens Quentin
- Projected as very solemn in the final chapter
Jason: (Caddy and Benjys' Brother)
- Projected early on to be a rich man.
- There could not be a crueler character
Quentin: (Caddy's Kid)
- Represents a freedom and the future much like her mother.
- Doesn't understand Jason's cruelty, and attributes it to making her who she is.
Time changes to relate the story and emphasize order. Quentin tells us the story of the past, as does Benjy, though Benjy similarly tells us of the present and varying times of the past.
Quentin obsesses about time, and breaks several watches in a search for actuality and meaning.
Clocks are shown to be solemn and sad in the final chapter.
Form
Faulkner notates questions without question marks. For example Caddy asks, ""What is it."... " What are you trying to tell Caddy."" He also refrains from normal capitalization in the end of his second chapter to show Quentin's confusion and disorder.
Benjy's thoughts are structured on what is related. This is seen as thoughts of fire, for example are connected regardless of time. Lines such as "she smelled like trees" are used as transitions.
By switching narrators Faulkner creates development.
Point of View
By making Benjy the opening narrator, Faulkner makes points on time, bias, and other essential elements (see the post on Benjy's section), but it also places major restrictions on him as a writer that have to be considered.
A final third person narrator shows a clearer view, but also one slightly separate form what is unfolding.
Character
Caddy:
- Benjy interestingly observes that Caddy appears as a "light in darkness". This line appears more poetic than the rest of his section
- "Caddie" is mistaking for "Caddy". Both are guides.
- Wants to "carry" Benjy ("I can carry him"), even when she is small and relatively weaker.
Benjy:
- Sees people as going into separate places, when they are visible from a mirror. This is shown as he says they were "fighting in the mirror".
- People appear to think that Benjy cannot understand anything simply because he cannot speak (with the exception some, prominently Caddy). This is shown because Luster says he is "deaf and dumb".
- He follows after the girls who walk by the fence, even though he knows they are not Caddy.
- Has a "graveyard" with flowers that he tends for. This raises the question of who died.
- Likes fire
Quentin: (The Older)
- Clearly feels disgrace of the family, and suffers with upholding what he sees as necessary.
- Feels deep a deep love and connection to Caddy, and a lesser one to the South.
Dilsey:
- Makes a cake for Benjy out of her own resources, and is criticized for it.
- Gives up everything to raise all of the children, and only challenges authority to protect them, as she does when Jason threatens Quentin
- Projected as very solemn in the final chapter
Jason: (Caddy and Benjys' Brother)
- Projected early on to be a rich man.
- There could not be a crueler character
Quentin: (Caddy's Kid)
- Represents a freedom and the future much like her mother.
- Doesn't understand Jason's cruelty, and attributes it to making her who she is.
Findings on Faulkner
I found many aspects of Faulkner's life fascinating. I was first struck by his immense humility, which is almost maddening. He stated that he is a "failed poet", and that was the only reason he took up writing novels. When speaking of his preference to The Sound and the Fury, he claims to favor it because it was his "most splendid failure". Through these quotes, he appears to be very unsure of his skills. He was additionally modest when accepting his Nobel Prize, and he was too shy to speak to James Joyce when he could have in France. This is striking because it seems that in most cases, fame corrupts. It is almost upsetting that someone so good at something claims failure, because it raises the necessary question of who we are (compared to so-called failure). Yet, this impressive humility is challenged as he insulted Hemingway and claimed to have written As I Lay Dying in a mere six weeks. These public statements challenge his actual personality.
However, much more of Faulkner's character demands attention. It is surprising that Faulkner was a poet first, and when he did write prose, he favored the Romantic style and era, though he found his passion in writing about his own times. It is similarly stunning that all of Faulkner's work was created without a college degree, or a high school diploma. His intelligence is seen as even greater when it is considered that he skipped a grade as well. One of his "weakest works", A Fable, still won him a Pulitzer, and it cannot be forgotten that he won a Nobel Prize in Literature.
Given his success and accomplishment, it is more intriguing that Faulkner seems to be a controversy in himself. He wrote both for the love of writing, and for money. He sold his writes for gain to the movie industry, but in his need, never took a stable job, and was seen to have stages of intense drunkenness. It appears that he never focused on his education, but took it in his hands to educate his niece. Even his name is questionable, as he changed its spelling from Falkner to Faulkner to make it appear more British, in a web of lies to gain entrance into the Canadian Air Force. He allowed lies and exaggerations to be told of his nonexistent actions during war, and even based a book on some of the stories he told of his service.
It may be these challenges and contradictions that made him such a good author. I am drawn to the style of his writing, because it seems so intriguingly unique. The Mississippi writers report that his writing challenges "the truths of the heart", and this is strengthened by his plot lines told by many characters, because they allow for greater analysis and interpretations. William Faulkner on the Web also explores his many Shakespearean references, which always strike me as fascinating.
After learning about Faulkner's life and rare style, I am drawn to The Sound and the Fury, and hope to discover many of the questions he saw in his own Southern lifestyle, that will appear in his character's times. Reading the summary of the plot and characters provided by William Faulkner on the Web, has sparked my interest greater and will hopefully give a chance at understanding this acclaimed and promising work.
However, much more of Faulkner's character demands attention. It is surprising that Faulkner was a poet first, and when he did write prose, he favored the Romantic style and era, though he found his passion in writing about his own times. It is similarly stunning that all of Faulkner's work was created without a college degree, or a high school diploma. His intelligence is seen as even greater when it is considered that he skipped a grade as well. One of his "weakest works", A Fable, still won him a Pulitzer, and it cannot be forgotten that he won a Nobel Prize in Literature.
Given his success and accomplishment, it is more intriguing that Faulkner seems to be a controversy in himself. He wrote both for the love of writing, and for money. He sold his writes for gain to the movie industry, but in his need, never took a stable job, and was seen to have stages of intense drunkenness. It appears that he never focused on his education, but took it in his hands to educate his niece. Even his name is questionable, as he changed its spelling from Falkner to Faulkner to make it appear more British, in a web of lies to gain entrance into the Canadian Air Force. He allowed lies and exaggerations to be told of his nonexistent actions during war, and even based a book on some of the stories he told of his service.
It may be these challenges and contradictions that made him such a good author. I am drawn to the style of his writing, because it seems so intriguingly unique. The Mississippi writers report that his writing challenges "the truths of the heart", and this is strengthened by his plot lines told by many characters, because they allow for greater analysis and interpretations. William Faulkner on the Web also explores his many Shakespearean references, which always strike me as fascinating.
After learning about Faulkner's life and rare style, I am drawn to The Sound and the Fury, and hope to discover many of the questions he saw in his own Southern lifestyle, that will appear in his character's times. Reading the summary of the plot and characters provided by William Faulkner on the Web, has sparked my interest greater and will hopefully give a chance at understanding this acclaimed and promising work.
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