Dilsey's Chapter
When concluding this book, I was more captivated than I have been by many of the other books we read this past year. Furthermore, I found this chapter to be perhaps my favorite of the four, though Benjy's comes close. I may have been drawn to this chapter for its clarity and finality.
The scene that opens "Dilsey's section" brings images of death as Disley wears odd colors for an Easter morning. The kitchen is related to have a clock that is both "solemn and profound". This connects to Faulkner's statements that time is not a friend of those living in the past. The day is also cold, setting a dark climate on what should be a happy day. The date is significant, as the setting ironically brings a dark contrast to Easter joy giving weight to Dilsey's predications of doom. The blindness that occurs on this day's light shows a real profound loss and doom, more so than another day would. The hopelessness and sin are more striking.
The sins of this day are connected to Quentin and Jason, as Quentin steals and runs off, while Jason holds profound hatred and hopes to harm Quentin. Even Luster is crueler than normal to Benjy when he mocks him about Caddy. As the characters' sins occur on the day of redemption, they becomes deeper and less reversible. The family is doomed. And hopeless. The lack of hope is described by "Ben", who to many, has seen another name change. He is associated with honeysuckles, that were said to be a sad smell, and he shows hopelessness.
However, what was more striking than the foreshadowing and creation of their doom and darkness on the brightest day of the year, is the completion of the crescendo. The final page of the book was so capturing. The statue of the Confederate soldier sets a tone that connects to tradition. Directly after this connection Benjy losses it, in horror, and takes more action than he has ever before. He makes a last stand and is struck. His flower breaks as he does. The work concludes with "The broken flower drooped over Ben's fist and his eyes were empty and blue and serene again as cornice and facade flowed smoothly once more from the left to the right, post and tree, window and doorway and signpost each in its ordered place." This scene and line conclude and reveal so much. Benjy's flower is broken, with the Old South, in front of the Confederate soldier. Benjy, and the South, hide in a facade. Everything is crushed and wrong, but looks perfect.
They are in a dead denial.
Thinking Back
The Chapters
Falkner's work progressively becomes easier to understand. This shows a coming together of everything, and a progression to the final end. Everything starts to makes sense with Jason. Jason is a failed tradition THAT MAKES SENSE. He shows us that tradition will die, and that it is found in progressive simplicity.
The narration style begins us with an unbiased reflection that focuses on the innocences of past values. Nothing has gone horribly wrong in Benjy's chapter, though it leads to everything. We face confusion as we try to clear up what is coming. Then we get everything and nothing with Quentin. He gives us a mess. This mess is that of an obsession with a lost past, and it convinces us that nothing can go back to the way it was. I mean, Quentin is dead. There cannot be happy past anymore. Jason is refreshing, and we focus on him as he shows us failure. His chapter is focused to show us that the past is gone. He has failed at his job, and is cruel. He can't stand successfully with the old ideals but tries to. He even harms their representation, Benjy.
Only now are we prepared for as normal as Faulkner can get- the traditional 3rd person narrator. This narrator is a little apart from the events and can therefore best explain death, doom and the end.
What It All Means
When considering the work as a whole, we need to look at its essence and most complete representation: the title.
The title of the work comes from Shakespeare's Macbeth, after Macbeth learns that his mother is dead. He exclaims:
"To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing."
Now, I find that this quote optimizes the story's meaning at its fullest. It sums up everything. First it shows that tomorrow is creeping up. This is change: the change seen in Caddy and Quentin. This is the change that occurred when tradition died in the Benjy's last struggle. This is the result of Jason's failures, and what was promised by Disley early on. All there is now is the "way to dusty death", and an end to tradition. Life is meaningless, and cannot be connected to. This is seen in the broken stem, Quentin's suicide, and the impotency of so many of the characters: Quentin, Mrs. Compson, a drunk Uncle Maury, Jason and Benjy. The only thing remaining is a story "told by an idiot". Faulkner is saying that the only remnant of the past is a story, and an incomprehensible one at that. It is all wind and anger, with no action.
This is why Benjy opens the book. He show impotency. Quentin is incomprehensible, and Jason can do nothing, but hates so much. Finally an "outsider" finishes. It takes four tries to tell the story, which illustrates the magnitude of emptiness, which is all "sound a fury". No initiative. It is a complex nothingness. The narrators have no power. Yet, having four narrators also shows progression and direction. Many are involved, and the story of nothing moves and continues.
Faulkner is relating an end, informing readers that the only hope is in the characters we love, who, not coincidentally, are the future. The past is all just "sound a fury", to be set aside.
Monday, April 20, 2015
Sunday, April 19, 2015
April 6, 1928 (Jason)
Jason: The Ungentle Gentleman
Jason is a jerk. To everyone.
In Jason's chapter, I am mostly just struck by how inhuman Jason really is. Faulkner creates a loathsome character in Jason who is cruel enough to destroy Benjy's paper dolls even when Jason is still small. He is supposedly his mother's salvation and dream come true becoming the new man of the house. Yet, he does a terrible job at it. His mother consistently apologizes for being a burden to him, while she complains of other's burdens. However, even she sees rudeness in Jason as she tells Jason that "You say things like that to hurt me", when he was comparing his life to that of his brother's. She also notices that he makes Quentin's life harder than it needs to be, as asks him to be more kind to her. Jason just uses his work to make an excuse for not reaching out to Quentin.
Just like Jason's mother, Quentin sees much evil in in Jason and at one point of frustration simply asks why. She is confused, as asks her Grandma, "Why does he treat me like this, Grandmother?... I never hurt him". Jason is very passive aggressive and makes up a story that he lent his car to someone who was chasing his sister's husband who was out with another woman, when Jason himself was really following Quentin. Quentin realizes that he knew what she had been doing but Jason lords it over her making that knowledge worse. Quentin even blames him for making her the way she is. She gives him the sole responsibility of her actions, screaming, "Whatever I do, it's your fault... If I'm bad, it's because I had to be. You made me. I wish I were dead". Jason also denies Quentin needed money that Caddy sends her, only to use it but pretend he is suffering monetarily to create a show for his mother. He even threatens to whip Quentin, as he does with the servants. Due to this, Quentin may have really chosen the life she takes to escape from his inflictions.
Jason is similarly rude to the servants and those under him. He offers Luster tickets to a show Luster longs for, only then to demand a price Luster cannot meet. He then destroys the ticket in front of Luster's eyes. He is violent towards Dilsey who is only kind and helpful, and he is lashes out against those who bring him bank reports that are only a few hour late, when the tardiness was caused by Jason's unknown whereabouts. Jason additionally verbally abuses both minorities and women. He has strong prejudice against Jews, and does not hide it though he claims to not hate Jews for their religion or as individuals. Furthermore, he repeatedly states that "once a bitch, always a bitch", and he uses this statement in regard to more than one woman.
Jason feels no piety for a mother's sorrows either. When Caddy simply asks to see her daughter, Jason needs to be bribed, and then raises those bribes. He does very little to help her, and then does even less for her daughter, who was entrusted to him.
Why?
Overall, it cannot be questioned that Jason is barbaric. The question I found myself asking is why does Faulkner make him so horrible, and yet the most easy to understand. This may be because he is making a statement on the terror of holding on to what should pass. Jason is the last head of a dying house. Caddy is gone. Quentin is died. Benjy is ignored. Jason (the elder) is died. Uncle Maury drinks himself into oblivion. And a mother hides from reality in a self-oriented world.
There is nothing but a fortune to loss, a sister to steal from, and an 'adopted' daughter- Quentin- to ignore. There is nothing left and the family is doomed. Jason could simply be that coming destruction, symbolizing a disastrous end that harms the future, freedom and past. This is seen as he hurts and ignores Quentin and Caddy, who represent a youthful freedom and the future, in addition to abusing the past seen in Benjy and his own mother. He is a mess of evil lies and actions, but under that, he is just a human. He is clear because of this. Thus, he section is both clear and painful.
Jason is a jerk. To everyone.
In Jason's chapter, I am mostly just struck by how inhuman Jason really is. Faulkner creates a loathsome character in Jason who is cruel enough to destroy Benjy's paper dolls even when Jason is still small. He is supposedly his mother's salvation and dream come true becoming the new man of the house. Yet, he does a terrible job at it. His mother consistently apologizes for being a burden to him, while she complains of other's burdens. However, even she sees rudeness in Jason as she tells Jason that "You say things like that to hurt me", when he was comparing his life to that of his brother's. She also notices that he makes Quentin's life harder than it needs to be, as asks him to be more kind to her. Jason just uses his work to make an excuse for not reaching out to Quentin.
Just like Jason's mother, Quentin sees much evil in in Jason and at one point of frustration simply asks why. She is confused, as asks her Grandma, "Why does he treat me like this, Grandmother?... I never hurt him". Jason is very passive aggressive and makes up a story that he lent his car to someone who was chasing his sister's husband who was out with another woman, when Jason himself was really following Quentin. Quentin realizes that he knew what she had been doing but Jason lords it over her making that knowledge worse. Quentin even blames him for making her the way she is. She gives him the sole responsibility of her actions, screaming, "Whatever I do, it's your fault... If I'm bad, it's because I had to be. You made me. I wish I were dead". Jason also denies Quentin needed money that Caddy sends her, only to use it but pretend he is suffering monetarily to create a show for his mother. He even threatens to whip Quentin, as he does with the servants. Due to this, Quentin may have really chosen the life she takes to escape from his inflictions.
Jason is similarly rude to the servants and those under him. He offers Luster tickets to a show Luster longs for, only then to demand a price Luster cannot meet. He then destroys the ticket in front of Luster's eyes. He is violent towards Dilsey who is only kind and helpful, and he is lashes out against those who bring him bank reports that are only a few hour late, when the tardiness was caused by Jason's unknown whereabouts. Jason additionally verbally abuses both minorities and women. He has strong prejudice against Jews, and does not hide it though he claims to not hate Jews for their religion or as individuals. Furthermore, he repeatedly states that "once a bitch, always a bitch", and he uses this statement in regard to more than one woman.
Jason feels no piety for a mother's sorrows either. When Caddy simply asks to see her daughter, Jason needs to be bribed, and then raises those bribes. He does very little to help her, and then does even less for her daughter, who was entrusted to him.
Why?
Overall, it cannot be questioned that Jason is barbaric. The question I found myself asking is why does Faulkner make him so horrible, and yet the most easy to understand. This may be because he is making a statement on the terror of holding on to what should pass. Jason is the last head of a dying house. Caddy is gone. Quentin is died. Benjy is ignored. Jason (the elder) is died. Uncle Maury drinks himself into oblivion. And a mother hides from reality in a self-oriented world.
There is nothing but a fortune to loss, a sister to steal from, and an 'adopted' daughter- Quentin- to ignore. There is nothing left and the family is doomed. Jason could simply be that coming destruction, symbolizing a disastrous end that harms the future, freedom and past. This is seen as he hurts and ignores Quentin and Caddy, who represent a youthful freedom and the future, in addition to abusing the past seen in Benjy and his own mother. He is a mess of evil lies and actions, but under that, he is just a human. He is clear because of this. Thus, he section is both clear and painful.
Sunday, April 12, 2015
June Second, 1910 (Quentin)
Who Quentin Is
Quentin is expected bring good light to his family's name. He should be on his way to becoming the nest Compson patriarch. He is a mother's second chance at the "dream child", as Benjy is his mother's "punishment" and Caddy gives up the symbol of her worth. Yet, he is in his own words, "Not a gentlemen". He dislikes the traditional family values, and his education is bought by the loss of both his brother's beloved Pasture and family wealth. He is overly concerned with time and shadow, as many sentences of his chapter, including the first incorporate both of these elements. This is seen in the phrase, "trampling my shadow's bones into the concrete and then I was hearing the watch". He is seen to belief that "purity is a negative state and therefore contrary to nature", and he seems to have little love for the symbol of pure innocence, Benjy. Yet, at the same time he is so concerned about honor and virtue, and is at a loss when Caddy losses her virtue signaling doom. Caddy's actions provide the context in which we are told that "there is a curse on [the Compsons]", and they bring Quentin to tell his father that he, and not Dalton Ames, is the father to Quentin. Moreover, her decisions lead to his loss of life. The hopeful leader is crippled, conflicted, and consumed.
Quentin is haunted. He cannot escape the memory of Benjy's realization that Caddy has changed, or time and shadow, nor his sister's loss of virtue. He strives to break the clock and would take the blame for Caddy if he could. He cannot, and gives everything up.
Quentin Speech
Quentin's confusion and loss are seen in his narration style. He minds change location and he sometimes speaks as if he is not himself. He does not clearly differentiate phrases that he says as opposed to those he hears. He is a mess of thoughts and words, many of which are not his own. He does not hold a strong sense of himself, and changes the common applications of a first person narrator. His narration is additionally confounding because he includes so many phrases, both that are his and others, and he thinks in fragments. He tells stories in segments and sees the world in a particular tinted light, which complicates a reader's life as they are used to following one complete strand. Faulkner even chooses to stop with normal capitalization rules to illustrate Quentin's misplacements. This shows how convoluted he is in himself. He has varying ideals he struggles to hold to, as both an enemy and an upholder of tradition. He is confused and lost in who he should be and what he finds to be important. He is challenged by his perceived morals, which drive him both to "help" a poor girl leading to his arrest and to fighting for what he sees to be a valiant cause. He is eventually driven to simply give up. The complications he faces from his homeland, family, mentality and environment form a current of confusion and clarity he cannot sort through, though he tries. He is lost in time and shadow, and his streaming narration style expresses this. His narration's instability and brokenness shows his unstable and broken body, mind and spirit. He loses his will when he sees that Caddy has lost herself. He loses his health when he is bloodied in a fight to uphold what he sees as good. What he doesn't realize is that many of his actions too similar to those of the man who leaves him dressed in blood. He loses is mind in a attempt to hold to what he sees as necessary and right in a changing surrounding. He sees all of his losses, particularly that of family honor, as overwhelming, which mirrors his narration. His observations of compacting pressure finalize into his end.
Quentin is expected bring good light to his family's name. He should be on his way to becoming the nest Compson patriarch. He is a mother's second chance at the "dream child", as Benjy is his mother's "punishment" and Caddy gives up the symbol of her worth. Yet, he is in his own words, "Not a gentlemen". He dislikes the traditional family values, and his education is bought by the loss of both his brother's beloved Pasture and family wealth. He is overly concerned with time and shadow, as many sentences of his chapter, including the first incorporate both of these elements. This is seen in the phrase, "trampling my shadow's bones into the concrete and then I was hearing the watch". He is seen to belief that "purity is a negative state and therefore contrary to nature", and he seems to have little love for the symbol of pure innocence, Benjy. Yet, at the same time he is so concerned about honor and virtue, and is at a loss when Caddy losses her virtue signaling doom. Caddy's actions provide the context in which we are told that "there is a curse on [the Compsons]", and they bring Quentin to tell his father that he, and not Dalton Ames, is the father to Quentin. Moreover, her decisions lead to his loss of life. The hopeful leader is crippled, conflicted, and consumed.
Quentin is haunted. He cannot escape the memory of Benjy's realization that Caddy has changed, or time and shadow, nor his sister's loss of virtue. He strives to break the clock and would take the blame for Caddy if he could. He cannot, and gives everything up.
Quentin Speech
Quentin's confusion and loss are seen in his narration style. He minds change location and he sometimes speaks as if he is not himself. He does not clearly differentiate phrases that he says as opposed to those he hears. He is a mess of thoughts and words, many of which are not his own. He does not hold a strong sense of himself, and changes the common applications of a first person narrator. His narration is additionally confounding because he includes so many phrases, both that are his and others, and he thinks in fragments. He tells stories in segments and sees the world in a particular tinted light, which complicates a reader's life as they are used to following one complete strand. Faulkner even chooses to stop with normal capitalization rules to illustrate Quentin's misplacements. This shows how convoluted he is in himself. He has varying ideals he struggles to hold to, as both an enemy and an upholder of tradition. He is confused and lost in who he should be and what he finds to be important. He is challenged by his perceived morals, which drive him both to "help" a poor girl leading to his arrest and to fighting for what he sees to be a valiant cause. He is eventually driven to simply give up. The complications he faces from his homeland, family, mentality and environment form a current of confusion and clarity he cannot sort through, though he tries. He is lost in time and shadow, and his streaming narration style expresses this. His narration's instability and brokenness shows his unstable and broken body, mind and spirit. He loses his will when he sees that Caddy has lost herself. He loses his health when he is bloodied in a fight to uphold what he sees as good. What he doesn't realize is that many of his actions too similar to those of the man who leaves him dressed in blood. He loses is mind in a attempt to hold to what he sees as necessary and right in a changing surrounding. He sees all of his losses, particularly that of family honor, as overwhelming, which mirrors his narration. His observations of compacting pressure finalize into his end.
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