Final Post

Throughout the progression of Faulkner's novel, the narrative voice becomes more coherent towards the ending, leading to a final chapter in the fairly straight forward 3rd person. At first, I found it difficult to fathom Faulkner's reasoning for arranging the story in such a way. However, I felt a sense of growth in the story through the development from the Old South into the New South.
Pulling his novel into four separate parts with four separate narrators allows the reader to truly step inside each individuals mind and understand their perspective(whether they agree with it or not.) I felt I had the chance to understand how each of the Compson boys were different, while also realizing how they are all alike. For example; they differ in their views, but are alike in that all three meditate back to their childhood, and their thoughts always seem to circle back to their sister Caddy. I highly admire Faulkner's use of narration development in this novel.
The final chapter of the story could be considered to be in Dilsey's point of view, however unlike the other narrations, the story is told in the 3rd person, so the speaker feels much more omniscient. I find myself questioning why Faulkner would choose to write the narration of the final chapter this way? I feel it is possible that he did not want to assume the mind of a woman and write from a female perspective, however that seems too simple of a reason for Faulkner. Despite my efforts I may never understand the great brilliance behind Faulkner's mindset.*sigh*
This novel is centered primarily around Caddy, however we never get to meet her in a present moment, but rather she is always a piece of the past. We discussed in class how not only the readers, but Faulkner himself, have a great admiration towards Caddy. To me, Caddy is the purpose of this novel. Faulkner himself refers to her as his "hearts darling." Her role is imperative to every aspect of this story. Caddy is a representation of the New South emerging from the Old, and she is the ground of all the advancements presented in this story.
The Sound and the Fury is considered to be a great tragedy, yet their is not necessarily any tragic ending. There really is not much of an ending at all to this story. The book begins in a rather chaotic manor with Benjy's chapter, however ends in a calm narrative. This gives the reader a feeling of ease with the ending. I feel content with the ending, because Quentin achieved what Caddy had so longed to do; she escaped the Compson family. So we can hope for a better life for Quentin, and we can assume life to go on as usual in the Compson family household.

Jason's Chapter

Just to some up everything I took from this chapter in one concise sentence: Jason is a terrible human being. 
I was simply in ah at Jason's inhumane behavior. Something I found fascinating about Jason; he did not become an awful person because of anything that particularly caused him to be that way, but rather has pretty much been horrible his entire life. Even as a child he was a tattle tale and would taunt other children. Growing up did not cause this awful person to change his ways, he seemingly just became worse. This is mostly because Jason is very entitled and feels he deserves better than what he has; a bad job, not enough money etc etc..
Similarly to his brothers, Jason often reminisces the past. Jason likes to pinpoint all of his misfortunes onto Caddy. It would be too difficult for Jason to own up to his own mistakes, so he likes to point all of his problems towards one target. I find this humorous because Jason clearly deserves every single misfortune that has come his way, in fact, I think he deserves worse.
Jason has a strong hatred towards people. The opening line of his chapter is, "Once a bitch, always a bitch, I say," because what better way to begin a chapter than discriminating against women?(*insert sarcasm) He steals money from Caddy which he claims to be giving Quentin. Jason manipulates his own mother. He even taunts poor Luster with Circus tickets and then burns them. Honestly, no matter how hard you try, I guarantee you cannot find anything likable about Jason.(Unless of course you find bitter, rude, inconsiderate, entitled, selfish, horrible people to be likable?)
Jason could not care less about his family or anyone for that matter. All Jason cares about is himself and money. He is so wrapped up in self pity, and does nothing to achieve the ambitions he has. He just complains and blames others and it is so frustrating for me to read. Seriously this guy needs a therapist or something. 
I cannot help but wonder if it is possible for a person to truly be this awful? I certainly hope not.

Quentin's Chapter

After the difficulties I had reading Benjy's chapter, I thought that Quentin's chapter would somewhat come to me as a break, however Faulkner proved to be unyielding in his arduous writing style. I am rather dumbfounded at Faulkner's ability to capture the essence of the mind and thought process of his characters so vividly. I personally found Quentin's chapter to be quite strenuous to read. I feel that this chapter is especially confusing for readers due to the chaotic arrangement between past and present. Quentin's thoughts and memories are sporadic, and if there is one thing I found from this chapter, it is that Quentin thinks A LOT. He jumps between a present moment and a past memory in a matter of a sentence. Certain words and images would spark different memories in Quentin's mind creating the challenging task for the reader to keep track of time. Speaking of time, I found that Quentin has an odd fixation on time. He often thinks about time, partly due to the watch his father gave him, which ironically was a gift to Quentin as a way for him to forget about time.(did anyone else find this extremely odd?) Quentin often would lose track of time, while thinking about time, as a way to seemingly escape time? and then he breaks the glass of his watch and pulls out the hands..talk about crazy.

I found myself questioning Quentin's mental stability, especially in relations to his sister Caddy. At first I thought he just had a strange fixation on her, however this progressed into a disturbing obsession. Quentin hates to see or hear about Caddy being with other men, and even tries to involve himself in her love life. I was disturbed by his relentlessness attempt to convince his father that he committed incest with her. I also found it unsettling when Quentin would speak of going to hell, and his desire to be isolated with Caddy while there. I was personally disgusted by this behavior, however it is very apparent that he cares deeply for his sister which is somewhat admirable. Overall, I am really anxious to know more about his relationship with Caddy, and what may have happened between the two of them.

Benjy's Chapter

Benjy's account of the Compson family is said to take place in 1928, however his stories range over a large span of time. In no specific chronological order, Benjy re-accounts multiple memories of the Compsons. I found this to be difficult to follow at times for there is nothing to specifically distinguish the time period the reader is in and the memories that Benjy recalls. It may seem strange that Faulkner would begin his novel with the character described to be an "idiot." However, I feel Faulkner set up his novel in this way so the reader could hear the stories of the Compsons through the most innocent mind provided.

 The date of Benjy's account, April Seventh, 1928, is particularly intriguing for this was the Saturday before Easter. What makes this more fascinating is that Benjy is 33 years old, which happens to be the same age of Christ when he was crucified. Automatically, Faulkner begins his novel by creating Benjy as the symbolic figure of salvation for the Compsons. In this case Benjy may prove to not be an "idiot" to his family after all, but rather their source of redemption.

I often times found myself rather sympathetic of Benjy. He is looked down upon in his family (even his own mother even views him as punishment for marrying into a lower social class). Benjy however is rather nostalgic, which I felt emphasized Benjy's fondness towards his memories. As for the family as a whole, I felt that Benjy's tendency to be nostalgic shows the need to cling to the past, rather than face the present. This ties into the South due to its recent past with the Civil War during this time period. Despite the fact that slavery was abolished, the same family continues to work for the Compsons. Another thing about Benjy is that he insists on consistency. I found his name change to be the greatest disruption of Benjy's desire to stay consistent. I admire that Benjy has these need because I felt this made his stories more factual. Because he is at the bottom of his family already, he gains nothing from being bias or creating stories in his head. Although he has disabilities, I think he may be the most reliable source in the novel.

William Faulkner's The Sound and The Fury

The Sound and The Fury has often been said to be William Faulkner's greatest work, which is impressive considering it was only his fourth novel. Without yet reading the book, I learned that Faulkner has a very distinct style shown in his frequent shifts of time, narrator shifts, and his ability to subtly reveal the thoughts of his characters to the reader. He presents each character with their own set of views and biases, as each tells their own perspective on a particular story.
A graduate instructor of English and PhD candidate of the University of Mississippi in Oxford, John B. Padgett, created a website dedicated to William Faulkner. Padgett created this website as a way for readers of Faulkner to find a better understanding of his works, lift, and world. Padgett explains his experience with reading The Sound and The Fury as something he cannot merely describe. Padgett points out that one of the first things readers will recognize in Faulkner's novel is the language. He explains that the language is difficult to comprehend for it "has to be," because of "the old verities and truths of the heart" that cannot merely be told in only a few words. It is made clear that The Sound and The Fury is a very difficult book to understand, however provides an experience that is highly rewarding.
Padgett's website provides all the information needed while reading Faulkner. I learned a lot about Faulkner's life. He grew up in Rowan Oak, and preferred to be out of the "public eye." This was difficult for him however, as the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1950. Faulkner was very inspired by his surroundings, and was most productive while alone in Rowan Oak. I found it very fascinating to discover that Faulkner is "the most-studies author in the world, with more books, articles, and papers written about his work than any other writer besides Shakespeare."
Faulkner describes his novel The Sound and The Fury to be his "most splendid failure." There are four sections in the book, each told in a different character's perspective. The novel has been both highly praised and criticized. It provokes a vast variety of opinions and interpretations. I was informed that Caddy Compson plays a very significant role, and may even be the key character in the novel. I will be sure to read about her very closely as I immerse myself into this novel.