Abstract This paper discusses the theme of sexuality as seen by Benjy, the mentally retarded Compson brother in William Faulkner's "The Sound and the Fury". Using many well chosen in-text citations, this essay discusses how Benjy understands the sexuality of his sister Caddy, what sexuality implies for him, and how he tries to free her from her sexuality.
From the Paper:
"In William Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury, characters appear to trip and stumble through time as they attempt to narrate a past that is so painful for them that they sometimes lose control of their memories in narrating them. While the episodes in the different characters? chapters seem to flow from their minds without restrictions, there are, if closely examined, correlations between the memories. While Quentin's and Jason's memory triggers can be subtle and nested in dialogue, Benjy?s, because he is mentally impaired, are much more concrete; he relies on concrete images and objects as triggers for his memories. In the earliest episodes of Benjy's narration, clothing becomes an important symbol for sexuality that then serves as a trigger for Benjy's memories involving his sister Caddy and his issues with her sexuality."?
From the Paper "William Falkner's The Sound and the Fury portrays the twisted mental inter-workings of a horrible family tragedy. Three brothers from the same mentally abusive family narrate their stories in a stream of conscious manner depicting the madness of each individual. Each narrator has a warped view of life in the Compson house; involving an alcoholic father, an absent and weak mother, and a highly demanded, loving sister. Without solid parents, each brother's world is stabilized on the shoulders of their perfect sister, Caddy. Her failure to remain perfect in the eyes of each brother catapults catastrophe into the lives of the Compsons. "
Abstract The following paper discusses the way in which Faulkner's characters: Benjy, Quentin, Jason, and Dilsey, display the common views on racial issues of the time, as well as Faulkner's own views of the society he lives in. The writer examines how each character shows a different side of Southern life, and varying degrees of understanding towards the African- American cause.
From the Paper "My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery" (Lincoln 636). President Abraham Lincoln did free the slaves January first of 1863, creating chaos in the American South (Segal 244). Slavery, being abolished, had been replaced by confusion. African American wageworkers replaced slaves in most jobs, but did not share in the wealth of white men (Hale 94). The Jim Crow laws left black citizens living in segregation, in poverty, and with the constant threat of violence, despite the government's intention of creating a separate but equal society (Chafe 31). The white man still perceived himself as superior to other races, and asserted and reiterated their inferiority with every word and gesture (Chafe 1). William Faulkner was raised during the turbulent times of the early twentieth century, when the pre-existing social structure was banned, and none had been conceived to replace it (Morris 12). His characters in The Sound and the Fury exhibit his uncertainty with respect to the racial issues of the era. Benjy, a mentally handicapped man, does not perceive racial differences and is unable to act upon his "superiority". Quentin III is the typical southern gentleman - always aware of blacks, and perceiving himself as above them (Davis 71). Jason, the youngest son, has become burdened by his social position - he has been forced to lower himself to the level of a working class "slave" to support his family, despite the shame it brings him. Quentin IV seeks attention, love, and protection, but cannot accept it from the only person who offers it, Dilsey the African American housekeeper (Davis 70). Finally in part four of the novel Faulkner reveals his own views of the restoration in Mississippi. He views and tells Dilsey's story from a literate, white, southern male point of view, showing his inability to criticize Southern notions, and his sympathy and respect for all black people (Howe 61). Faulkner's fictional family, the Compsons, exemplify the different views of racial inequality that were common during the reconstruction, and the author's own uncertainty.
Provides a detailed analysis of how authorial instructions in Section 1 of American writer William Faulkner's "The Sound And The Fury" smooth the progress of the reader's mental actions.
Abstract As a modernist writer, William Faulkner extensively makes use of and experiments with the literary technique of stream-of-consciousness. This being, by definition, "a narrative technique ... that renders the inner life of a character through an unending flow of thoughts, emotions, images, memories, and other associations moving through the character's mind." Faulkner, therefore, by making use of various narrative devices, guides the reader's imagination throughout the first section of "The Sound and the Fury" in such a way that she or he experiences the world of the thirty-three-year-old retarded narrator, Benjy, the way the latter does. This paper looks into the several authorial instructions for the production of actual sensory content, as well as into Faulkner's depiction of 'moving images,' which is often such that the process of composing the images on the mental retina is rendered less demanding.
Paper Outline
Introduction
Sensory Mimesis
Vision
Other Senses
Making and Moving Images
Conclusion
From the Paper ""[Faulkner] always stressed the 'realness' of his characters, calling them 'flesh and blood people'... But, on the other hand, he always emphasised the artist's 'grab-bag of tools' and with that the artificiality of the character, constructed out of linguistic material." The fact is, like any writer, Faulkner has to try hard to translate the 'realness' of his characters onto paper, essentially making use of the linguistic sign. And he does that by constructing the personality and consciousness of a particular character by using specific linguistic and narrative devices. Bockting, in his article 'Mind style as an interdisciplinary approach to characterisation in Faulkner', terms this narrative approach as mind style, and defines it as 'the construction and expression in language of the conceptualisation of reality in a particular mind."
Abstract This paper studies the usage of time as a literary element in "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner. The paper explains that Faulkner employed stream of consciousness in this novel, a groundbreaking development in literature. The paper shows how this style enabled Faulkner to explain his story through four sets of eyes, causing the reader to experience the events in a new way each time. The paper also demonstrates how "The Sound and the Fury" relies heavily on a time motif and the impermanence of time. The paper relates to each of the novel's separate time sequences: one spanning three days, from April 6, 1928 to April 8, 1928, the other spanning thirty years, from 1898 to 1928. The paper concludes with a positive review of Faulkner's effective sequences of the passage of time.
From the Paper "'The Sound and the Fury' is written in four voices each one with a different view of the events which transpire. The first section, commonly referred to as the 'Benjy section,' is written from the perspective of thirty-three year old Benjy, who suffers from a mental handicap. This section rapidly jumps through scenes without regard to time, showing us Benjy's lack of acknowledgement of time and presenting a formidable challenge in comprehension when read. The second section, known as the 'Quentin section' is written from the perspective of the Benjy's oldest brother, Quentin, who is an extremely moral and virtuous man, believing in the purity of youth and struggles to maintain it, or the illusion thereof. The 'Jason section' follows, and is from the perspective of the middle Compson boy, Jason, a lover of money and immorality. The last section is Faulkner's explanation of the story. Using the character of Dilsey, the Compson family's black house servant, to present an outside view of the family's saga, Faulkner explains the novel in his own narrative voice."
