I was warned at some point after beginning William Faulkner’s “The Sound and The Fury,” that it was considered one of most difficult books to read of all time. This surprised me initially, everything seemed pretty straight forward at first, but as I continued to read I noticed things were not exactly clearly explained.
In the first chapter, which is seventy plus pages, there were multiple times where a conversation would begin and Faulkner would use the expressions “he said” and “she said” a lot, normally this would not be such a big deal but effectively every single scene involved multiple male and female characters so whenever this happened it was never perfectly clear who was speaking.
The second chapter brought with it a different sort of confusion, a lack of punctuation. I believe the writing technique is called “thought stream” (I was close it is called “stream of consciousness”) where sentence after sentence is written as unique paragraphs with no use of quotation marks indicating speak or thought thus making it sometimes challenging to tell the difference between action and thought.
By the third chapter things began making sense.
I do not think I can continue being so ambiguous discussing “The Sound and The Fury” without introducing the characters, but there is a reason why I did not introduce them right away, I wanted to explain just how confusing the narrative approach Faulkner uses, and to add to this confusion he at no point properly introduces any characters. Everyone is present and the story begins, just like if we were dropped into the mind of a complete stranger and had to piece together who all these people talking were by their comments and actions, but if I explain who is who now, I can explain both what the hell was going on and why there was an deliberate added level of chaos in the narrative format because of it.
“The Sound and The Fury” is about the Compson family, and each chapter in this novel is told from a perspective of a different member of the family, with one exception. The first chapter is told from the point of view of Benjamin the youngest sibling of the Compson family and one of the reasons everything is so vague and confusing in this first chapter is because Benjamin is an invalid and in a deliberate effort to capture the sort of confusion Benjamin’s mind experiences on a constant basis Faulkner has creatively written every event with as little detail as possible. It is an interesting approach as we, the reader, are sent into a head scratching wonderment at the beginning of this tale and we only begin to piece together what is what as we read the next few chapters. The first chapter is a lot more coherent upon a second reading.
I knew the second chapter was from a different point of view than the first, but it took a long time for me to figure out who it was. At one point someone is referred to as “Deacon” and I thought, “oh this chapter is from Deacon’s point of view... who the hell is Deacon?” Well joke was on me because a few pages later I confirm this chapter is from the point of view of Quentin... who is now a man; let me explain. In the first chapter Quentin is clearly a young girl, but all of a sudden Quentin is now a man and in fact the eldest of the Compson siblings. At first I wondered if Quentin was deliberately miss gendered in the first chapter to emphasize Benjamin’s confused mind, but no, the reality of it was much simpler, they were two separate characters. The Quentin in the first chapter is the daughter of Caddy, and she is named after her uncle Quentin who is narrating the second chapter, this is not clear at first because Quentin, the eldest brother is not introduced in the first chapter, or if he was I did not catch it.
The third chapter helps clear up a lot of things. This chapter is from the point of view of Jason and Faulkner, apparently done testing the reader’s patients lets us know this by the second page by having someone address him as Jason. Jason is the third sibling by age in the Compson family and because of Quentin leaving the family and Caddy being a disgrace and being banished from the household it has fallen to Jason take care of things, and he is not happy about it.
Despite this third chapter being told to us by a rather unlikable bitter asshole in Jason, it is a very helpful chapter because Jason discusses at length his, mostly negative, opinions of his family, thus laying out for the first time in the novel, clearly who is who. It is also this character who has the most interaction with Miss Quentin, his niece, and we can begin to understand what exactly happened in chapter two and was vaguely introduced in the first chapter. Candace (Caddy) the second eldest sibling was promiscuous when she was young and had a child out of wedlock, that child being Miss Quentin.
I have attempted to explain and introduce things here in the same manner as I learned them whilst reading the book, for two reasons, first, you can understand the struggle, and second, you will be able to appreciate my appreciation after having pieced it altogether.
For people less patient than I and for future reference I have created a chart listing the needed details of the four chapters of “The Sound and The Fury:”
Also knowing the Compson family tree ahead of time would surely help clear up a lot of the earlier confusion I experienced going into the novel blind:
It is important to note the order in which these chapters transpire. The second chapter, Quentin’s, is eighteen years before Jason’s, and as such we are dealing with a much younger man in Quentin when we hear from his point of view.
Another interesting thing to note is the sudden change in narrative style with the final chapter being third person omniscient. Not only does Faulkner break his own method by doing this but he surprises us, the reader, but not including a chapter from the point of view of the last sibling, Caddy. For all intents and purposes it feels like Caddy is the primary protagonist, as she is the corner stone of importance in every chapter and holds vital emotional importance to each of her brothers.
Benjamin is constantly looking for her when he is a child, holding onto her dress and allowing her to lead him around. An added level of confusion, as if there was not enough in the first chapter, is that Benjamin discusses events past and present without any clear distinction at times. In the present day of April 7, 1928, Caddy is long gone and Benjamin is completely lost without her, even with the assistance of black servant Luster to help him, this is at least one of the reasons he cries constantly. Caddy represents order in what is otherwise a world of absolutely chaos for the mentally challenged Benjamin.
Quentin’s dependence on Caddy is a lot more emotional. Quentin cannot cope with the fact that his younger sister has been promiscuous with at least one man named Dalton Ames, who may, or may not, be the father of Miss Quentin. So protective of his kid sister is Quentin that he attempts to explain to his father that he is the one that got Caddy pregnant. I first thought that maybe Quentin did have incestuous relations with his sister, as this would add to the shame and downfall of their family, this would also explain why Quentin went into his own self imposed exile. I could not be certain myself so I looked up the opinions of others on this and the consensus appears to be he was lying in a vain attempt to protect his sister, nonetheless the point stands that Quentin loved his sister so much that the idea of her being a tramp wrecks him, and he cannot bear to be part of the family anymore.
Jason is a completely different story. I felt like the bitter anger Jason was a rather sympathetic character, while at the same time I was unsure if I could truly trust what I was reading since his analysis of his family is ridden with personal bias. Jason, rightly or wrongly, blames Caddy getting pregnant as the reason for him not obtaining a job at the bank; since the Compson family was shamed they would not hire him I suppose. Also Jason hints quiet strongly that Caddy’s mistakes resulted in her squandering her opportunities for an education and in turn his as well. So from this perspective Jason feels very justified in hating Caddy and driving her away, but despite doing so he still attempts to raise Caddy’s daughter Miss Quentin. Jason is a very interesting character because even though he represents an intense level of hatred and cruelty within the Compson family he is loyally doing the best he can, and is clearly his mother’s favorite. There is a level of duality in his character that makes him compelling.
After all of that, I really wanted to hear from Caddy’s perspective, two of her brothers love her dearly, and one of them hates her bitterly, so getting to learn her feelings and thoughts on the matter would have been perfect.
An obvious overarching theme in “The Sound and The Fury” is the various hubris and flaws within the Compson family that ultimately lead to the doom of the family. The father, Jason senior, is a drunk. The mother Caroline is ill and very codependent on others. Quentin is too emotional and maybe in love with his sister. Caddy is slut, supposedly. Jason is a bitter wreck, and deathly poor and unstable. Benjamin is an invalid. Lastly Miss Quentin is taking after her mother Caddy running off with some man in the end. The family line is dead, Jason refuses to get a wife, and we do not even know what Quentin is up to, but it appears as though Caroline will never have any grand children with the last name Compson. Perhaps more so the family is finished because they have degenerated in such shameful ways, the various flaws listed above are the cause of, but also the existence of the end of the Compson family.
I was discussing some of this with my roommate and he voiced that “The Sound and The Fury” sounded like a nightmare to read, and I think for the average person it would be; it might even be a headache for many well read individuals, but I actually really enjoyed the challenge. Faulkner triggered the part of my brain that loves solving puzzles and trying to make sense of who was who and what had happened and was happening made “The Sound and The Fury” a real page turner for me. I was searching every paragraph for hints and subtle remarks that would fill some of the details that were either denied to me or perhaps I had glanced over earlier. Even though I never got to really get to know Caddy, who was probably the most interesting character of all it is almost better this way, my imagination either fills in the blanks or I am left wondering what was the whole story in the end.
A southern family failing to produce a future generation of themselves after poverty, illness, and disgrace ruin them is in theory not a particularly interesting story, and in turn “The Sound and The Fury” in theory would not on merit of its core story be worthy of being a literary classic, however the unusual and varied writing styles invoked make it a very unique piece of writing and I can also assume that is why it is considered the classic that it is.
In the first chapter, which is seventy plus pages, there were multiple times where a conversation would begin and Faulkner would use the expressions “he said” and “she said” a lot, normally this would not be such a big deal but effectively every single scene involved multiple male and female characters so whenever this happened it was never perfectly clear who was speaking.
The second chapter brought with it a different sort of confusion, a lack of punctuation. I believe the writing technique is called “thought stream” (I was close it is called “stream of consciousness”) where sentence after sentence is written as unique paragraphs with no use of quotation marks indicating speak or thought thus making it sometimes challenging to tell the difference between action and thought.
By the third chapter things began making sense.
I do not think I can continue being so ambiguous discussing “The Sound and The Fury” without introducing the characters, but there is a reason why I did not introduce them right away, I wanted to explain just how confusing the narrative approach Faulkner uses, and to add to this confusion he at no point properly introduces any characters. Everyone is present and the story begins, just like if we were dropped into the mind of a complete stranger and had to piece together who all these people talking were by their comments and actions, but if I explain who is who now, I can explain both what the hell was going on and why there was an deliberate added level of chaos in the narrative format because of it.
“The Sound and The Fury” is about the Compson family, and each chapter in this novel is told from a perspective of a different member of the family, with one exception. The first chapter is told from the point of view of Benjamin the youngest sibling of the Compson family and one of the reasons everything is so vague and confusing in this first chapter is because Benjamin is an invalid and in a deliberate effort to capture the sort of confusion Benjamin’s mind experiences on a constant basis Faulkner has creatively written every event with as little detail as possible. It is an interesting approach as we, the reader, are sent into a head scratching wonderment at the beginning of this tale and we only begin to piece together what is what as we read the next few chapters. The first chapter is a lot more coherent upon a second reading.
I knew the second chapter was from a different point of view than the first, but it took a long time for me to figure out who it was. At one point someone is referred to as “Deacon” and I thought, “oh this chapter is from Deacon’s point of view... who the hell is Deacon?” Well joke was on me because a few pages later I confirm this chapter is from the point of view of Quentin... who is now a man; let me explain. In the first chapter Quentin is clearly a young girl, but all of a sudden Quentin is now a man and in fact the eldest of the Compson siblings. At first I wondered if Quentin was deliberately miss gendered in the first chapter to emphasize Benjamin’s confused mind, but no, the reality of it was much simpler, they were two separate characters. The Quentin in the first chapter is the daughter of Caddy, and she is named after her uncle Quentin who is narrating the second chapter, this is not clear at first because Quentin, the eldest brother is not introduced in the first chapter, or if he was I did not catch it.
The third chapter helps clear up a lot of things. This chapter is from the point of view of Jason and Faulkner, apparently done testing the reader’s patients lets us know this by the second page by having someone address him as Jason. Jason is the third sibling by age in the Compson family and because of Quentin leaving the family and Caddy being a disgrace and being banished from the household it has fallen to Jason take care of things, and he is not happy about it.
Despite this third chapter being told to us by a rather unlikable bitter asshole in Jason, it is a very helpful chapter because Jason discusses at length his, mostly negative, opinions of his family, thus laying out for the first time in the novel, clearly who is who. It is also this character who has the most interaction with Miss Quentin, his niece, and we can begin to understand what exactly happened in chapter two and was vaguely introduced in the first chapter. Candace (Caddy) the second eldest sibling was promiscuous when she was young and had a child out of wedlock, that child being Miss Quentin.
I have attempted to explain and introduce things here in the same manner as I learned them whilst reading the book, for two reasons, first, you can understand the struggle, and second, you will be able to appreciate my appreciation after having pieced it altogether.
For people less patient than I and for future reference I have created a chart listing the needed details of the four chapters of “The Sound and The Fury:”
Chapter
|
Chronological
Order
|
Narrator
|
Style
|
April
7, 1928
|
Third
|
Benjamin
|
Confused/Vague
|
June
2, 1910
|
First
(Big Time)
|
Quentin
|
Stream
of Consciousness
|
April
6, 1928
|
Second
|
Jason
|
Yokel
Slang
|
April
8, 1928
|
Forth
|
Third
Person
|
Normal
|
Also knowing the Compson family tree ahead of time would surely help clear up a lot of the earlier confusion I experienced going into the novel blind:
Another interesting thing to note is the sudden change in narrative style with the final chapter being third person omniscient. Not only does Faulkner break his own method by doing this but he surprises us, the reader, but not including a chapter from the point of view of the last sibling, Caddy. For all intents and purposes it feels like Caddy is the primary protagonist, as she is the corner stone of importance in every chapter and holds vital emotional importance to each of her brothers.
Benjamin is constantly looking for her when he is a child, holding onto her dress and allowing her to lead him around. An added level of confusion, as if there was not enough in the first chapter, is that Benjamin discusses events past and present without any clear distinction at times. In the present day of April 7, 1928, Caddy is long gone and Benjamin is completely lost without her, even with the assistance of black servant Luster to help him, this is at least one of the reasons he cries constantly. Caddy represents order in what is otherwise a world of absolutely chaos for the mentally challenged Benjamin.
Quentin’s dependence on Caddy is a lot more emotional. Quentin cannot cope with the fact that his younger sister has been promiscuous with at least one man named Dalton Ames, who may, or may not, be the father of Miss Quentin. So protective of his kid sister is Quentin that he attempts to explain to his father that he is the one that got Caddy pregnant. I first thought that maybe Quentin did have incestuous relations with his sister, as this would add to the shame and downfall of their family, this would also explain why Quentin went into his own self imposed exile. I could not be certain myself so I looked up the opinions of others on this and the consensus appears to be he was lying in a vain attempt to protect his sister, nonetheless the point stands that Quentin loved his sister so much that the idea of her being a tramp wrecks him, and he cannot bear to be part of the family anymore.
Jason is a completely different story. I felt like the bitter anger Jason was a rather sympathetic character, while at the same time I was unsure if I could truly trust what I was reading since his analysis of his family is ridden with personal bias. Jason, rightly or wrongly, blames Caddy getting pregnant as the reason for him not obtaining a job at the bank; since the Compson family was shamed they would not hire him I suppose. Also Jason hints quiet strongly that Caddy’s mistakes resulted in her squandering her opportunities for an education and in turn his as well. So from this perspective Jason feels very justified in hating Caddy and driving her away, but despite doing so he still attempts to raise Caddy’s daughter Miss Quentin. Jason is a very interesting character because even though he represents an intense level of hatred and cruelty within the Compson family he is loyally doing the best he can, and is clearly his mother’s favorite. There is a level of duality in his character that makes him compelling.
After all of that, I really wanted to hear from Caddy’s perspective, two of her brothers love her dearly, and one of them hates her bitterly, so getting to learn her feelings and thoughts on the matter would have been perfect.
An obvious overarching theme in “The Sound and The Fury” is the various hubris and flaws within the Compson family that ultimately lead to the doom of the family. The father, Jason senior, is a drunk. The mother Caroline is ill and very codependent on others. Quentin is too emotional and maybe in love with his sister. Caddy is slut, supposedly. Jason is a bitter wreck, and deathly poor and unstable. Benjamin is an invalid. Lastly Miss Quentin is taking after her mother Caddy running off with some man in the end. The family line is dead, Jason refuses to get a wife, and we do not even know what Quentin is up to, but it appears as though Caroline will never have any grand children with the last name Compson. Perhaps more so the family is finished because they have degenerated in such shameful ways, the various flaws listed above are the cause of, but also the existence of the end of the Compson family.
I was discussing some of this with my roommate and he voiced that “The Sound and The Fury” sounded like a nightmare to read, and I think for the average person it would be; it might even be a headache for many well read individuals, but I actually really enjoyed the challenge. Faulkner triggered the part of my brain that loves solving puzzles and trying to make sense of who was who and what had happened and was happening made “The Sound and The Fury” a real page turner for me. I was searching every paragraph for hints and subtle remarks that would fill some of the details that were either denied to me or perhaps I had glanced over earlier. Even though I never got to really get to know Caddy, who was probably the most interesting character of all it is almost better this way, my imagination either fills in the blanks or I am left wondering what was the whole story in the end.
A southern family failing to produce a future generation of themselves after poverty, illness, and disgrace ruin them is in theory not a particularly interesting story, and in turn “The Sound and The Fury” in theory would not on merit of its core story be worthy of being a literary classic, however the unusual and varied writing styles invoked make it a very unique piece of writing and I can also assume that is why it is considered the classic that it is.
