The Sound and the Fury Title: The title of this novel is The Sound and the Fury. This title is derived from one of Shakespeare’s most intriguing plays, Macbeth. Within Macbeth, Shakespeare describes life as “a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury.” And if life is “a tale told by an idiot,” there is justification as to of why Faulkner begins the book through the eyes of Benjy, a thirty-three year old retard. Author: The author of The Sound and the Fury is William Faulkner. He grew up in Oxford, Mississippi. After dropping out of high school, Faulkner pursued his studies at the University of Mississippi. And he was a member of England’s Royal Navy in World War I. Attempting to leave his mark in history as a great author, Faulkner created a host of characters comprised of the faults of human nature in the South. And Faulkner is characterized by the range of his technique and tone along with the themes concerning the South. Faulkner bought a pre-Civil War mansion called “Rowanoak” in Oxford, Mississippi which would be his home until the very day he dies. Major Characters: The first section of the book is seen through the eyes of Benjy, the retarded son of the aristocratic Compson family. In Benjy’s section, Benjy has no concept of time and portrays everything in the present, and in this case, April Seventh, 1928. The events that take place on this day are insignificant. However, these events bring about memories which are highly significant. Benjy doesn’t understand any abstract concepts such as integrity and time. Instead he just absorbs memories from what he sees and what he hears. He does, however, have the ability to sense any bad occurrences that are out of place. One example of this can be seen when Caddy loses her virginity. Benjy is able to sense this and moans continuously. Caddy is Benjy’s only source of affection and is entirely dependent on her. The next major character found in the book is Quentin. The second section of the book is seen through the eyes of Quentin many years before. Quentin is the oldest of the Compson children, and has romantic ideals about virginity. He is obsessed with his sister, Caddy, and is upset with her for wanting to marry a man name... ... middle of paper ... ... that from my offspring, but I am.” These are the words of Mrs. Compson from the final chapter when she learns that Miss Quentin has run away. She assumes that no harm would come come to her as she is aristocratic and has special privelages with God. This quote also gives evidence that she knows that her children do not consider her to be a real mother. The next important quote found in the book is “I seed de beginnin, en now I sees de endin.” Dilsey says these words in the last section of the novel when she learns that Miss Quentin has run away. This shows that she has insight on the children’s lives and shows that Faulkner purposely put her in to signal to the reader that the book will soon end. Relevance of the Work to the Present Time: This work has a lot of relevance today; for one thing, assumptions concerning attributes for individual classes are still made. A good example of this is the assumption that the rich people in big cities are supposed to know how to play an instrument and are to be found enjoying themselves in museums. There are many assumptions that are still made today that are entirely stereotypical.
The most important element in Quentin’s section is his obsession with time. To Quentin. time is torturous and destructive. He blames time for his loss of Caddy to sin and hence for his own suffering. Quentin becomes obsessed with avoiding time and attempts to avoid all implements which tell time. When he realizes that he has about as much chance of escaping time as stopping Caddy from losing her virginity, he tries to defeat time by destroying himself Therefore, at the end of his section, he commits suicide.
Growing up in the South, Faulkner gives a good perspective on what it was like for
On September 25, 1897 in New Albany, Mississippi, a son was born to Murry Cuthbert and Maud Butler Faulkner. This baby, born into a proud, genteel Southern family, would become a mischievous boy, an indifferent student, and drop out of school; yet “his mother’s faith in him was absolutely unshakable. When so many others easily and confidently pronounced her son a failure, she insisted that he was a genius and that the world would come to recognize that fact” (Zane). And she was right. Her son would become one of the most exalted American writers of the 20th century, winning the Nobel Prize for Literature and two Pulitzers during his lifetime. Her son was William Faulkner.
“There’s zero correlation between being the best talker and having the best ideas” (Quiet). You probably find it as no surprise that introverts and extroverts differ in a multitude of ways. Looking for a job? When I was, I came across multiple employers seeking an energetic person. In other words, an extrovert. Now mind you, I was applying for introverted jobs. I’m Currently working at a library despite their job description stating they were seeking someone with an “energetic” personality. But you see if I ran a company, I wouldn’t post what personality type I want. It just doesn’t make sense to me. If anything, I’d want an introvert to be working by my side. Despite the human species overall flaws, it seems as though introverts are more knowledgeable due to their second nature of taking time to think before they speak whereas extroverts will speak now and think later.
The introvert is the kid who prefers to be in a read a book more than go to a party. It is a kid who likes to think and daydream and gets lost in their own thoughts. It is a kid who would prefer to do their work alone rather than in a group. They tend to like to be in familiar surroundings and may be resistant to things outside of their normal routine. Most introverts would prefer to stay at home and read a good book during time off than go on a trip. It is the child who does not want to be put on the spot by the teacher. It is the kids who are often over shadowed by the loud extrovert who needs to be the center of
Jason Compson III, the father of the Compson family, is considered a weak character due to flaws in his personality. Although he is the head of the Compson family, he is not a strong enough fatherly figure to prevent the family’s downfall. Mr. Compson is an indifferent father and lacks compassion towards his children. Instead of being supportive and loving Mr. Compson is an ironic and pessimistic man. In one instance, Mr. Compson tells his son Quentin “bad health is the primary reason for all life. Created by disease, with putrefaction, into decay” (#). The advice he gives his children is cynical as well. When Quentin tries to help his sister Caddy, Mr. Compson states “no battle is ever won he said. They are not even fought. The field only reveals to man his own folly and despair, and victory is an illusion of philosophers and fools” (#).
Society today favors extroverts. As a society, we see values such as outgoingness and sociability very important. These are all traits of extroverts (Cook). Even schools value these traits, which is, in a way, negatively impacting introverts. Because introverts don’t possess these specific traits, they feel that there’s something wrong with them, and in turn causes them to try and become more extroverted. It doesn’t really work that way. You can’t try and pass as something you’re not. Being an introvert is not a bad thing, though, as Cook talks about in his article. Working in a group causes us to mimic the behaviors of other without realizing we’re doing so. This is called groupthink, when the beliefs of group members conform, often unconsciously, to those beliefs of other group members. Introversion can help solve this problem, though. Since solitude is one of the most important factors for creativity, working on projects solo can help create better and more efficient solutions than if the problem was solved with multiple people working in a group. According to Cook, humans function better along than with others. Introverts are more likely to be motivated by dedication to their
William Faulkner was a Nobel Prize-winning author who was famous for writing about the American South and boldly addressing social issues that everyone else was afraid to, including slavery and Southern aristocracy. “Faulkner became known for his faithful and accurate dictation of Southern speech” (“William Cuthbert Faulkner”) and poetic style in his prose works. One of his more subtle works, “Barn Burning,” focused on loyalty. The short story “Barn Burning” demonstrates to readers how loyalty to the law must sometimes take priority over loyalty to family.
As the clock ticks, days come and go and time passes by. On Earth, every society revolves around clocks whether it be at work or at school. Each day of our lives we have somewhere to be or something to do at a certain time. Just think about it, without clocks there would not be a past or future, everything would be in the present. Quentin quotes, "Because Father said clocks slay time. He said time is dead as long as it is being clicked off by little wheels; only when the clock stops does time come to life." In this phrase Quentin is describing that everything you have missed in the past is only made possible if the clock stops marking the difference between past and present. Faulkner plays around with individual time, especially with Quentin by explaining that everything Quentin does is on his own time rather than public time. “It was Grandfather's and when Father gave it to me he said I give you the mausoleum of all hope and desire; it's rather excruciatingly apt that you will use it to gain the reducto absurdum of all human experience which can fit your individual needs no better than it fitted his or his father's.” In this quote Mr. Compson is trying to tell Quentin that even though the watch has been handed down to each generation, it cannot even begin to measure time the way any person experiences it. Therefore, Quentin decides that his watch...
...ovel. Though she is not ever physically present, she is still always there. She shapes the story into a story of family, difficulty, sex and values. Caddy is not the best behaved character to ever enter a story, she can frequently be promiscuous, controlling and easily taken advantage of. None of which are considered to be character qualities we as a society value. But, she is strong and compelling. A hugely intriguing woman, and a character that we can love and empathize with. William Faulkner did a brilliant thing centering his book around her, he made her alluring. Had he told the story from her perspective, it seems that she would not have been a loveable character at all. He said it right, she was, “....to me too beautiful and too moving to reduce her to telling what was going on, that it would be more passionate to see her through somebody else’s eyes.” (WfotW)
Since the “Extrovert Ideal” (Cain 23) started introversion has been looked down upon. Typically this has been done by urging people to be more extroverted when trying to be hired for a job. Being extroverted started to be encouraged strongly by parents who want their younglings to succeed in life. To start the process kids go to school. Even at school introversion is deemed a bad habit. Class participation is added as a part of grades, further encouraging people to be extroverted. Nowadays however, the “Extrovert Ideal “ (Cain 23) has been ingrained in society long enough that it is considered right to be an extrovert and introverted people are considered flawed individuals. By raising awareness of introversion people can help solve the misunderstanding of introverts by society. If more people are aware of what introversion is the misunderstandings will gradually fade away. A big help in raising awareness is author Susan
There are two distinct personality types: introverts and extroverts. Introverts like to keep their thoughts to themselves and prefer to be alone; however, introverts are not always shy. On the other hand, extroverts are comfortable with sharing their ideas and opening up to others quickly. According to Anthony Hilling in “Extrovert and Introvert—what is the difference?, “It is wrong to think of introverts as being antisocial.” Furthermore, introverts and extroverts choose to socialize differently. Carl Jung defines “introversion as an attitude-type characterised by orientation in life through subjective psychic contents (focus on one's inner psychic activity).” Introverts are known for articulating their thoughts clearly in writing because they “tend to stop, reflect and absorb information before speaking, they reflect this kind of deliberate thought in their writing.” There is an apparent difference between the two personality types, explaining why many people believe that introverts and ex...
Benjy’s loss of Caddy drives his thoughts and memories in the story. From the beginning, Caddy has always given unconditional love to her mental brother, treating him like an equal to his other siblings. She is able to connect with him in a motherly way, as Mrs. Compson is ironically unable to do. In the first section, when the Caroline (the mother) and Uncle Maury fuss at Caddy for not putting gloves on Benjy before going outside, Caroline sympathetically comments, “My poor baby” (Faulkner 8). Defensively, Caddy assures him that “[he] is not a poor baby,” as “[he has] got [his] Caddy” (Faulkner 9). Figuratively, this thought repeats in Benjy’s mind several different times in the novel, as Caddy’s absence soon turns into an obsession for him. For example, Caddy’s “[smelling] like trees” is a scent that Benjy associates with her presence. The day that she got dressed up and wore perfume was the day that Benjy uttered a startling cry. To him, trees remind him of the comfort that Caddy giv...
For example, when asked a question at work I often answer with “give me just one second”, or “ill get back to you”. Most introverts need time for internal reflection. A chance to process the question and think about my response. Introverts make great listeners, are studious, and are okay with solitary activities (The Personality Page, n.d.). However, most introverts have a hard time with external communication and are sometimes perceived as being non-social (The Personality Page,
In this society, both introverts and extroverts may feel different as that lack the valued characteristics of the other group. Introverts may be criticized for their lack of social participation as they tend to be over stimulated and overwhelmed when attempting to follow the pace of extroverted peers. Extroverts on the other hand would feel impatient and lonely when energizing situations are not available to them. In conclusion, being an introvert doesn’t make one more inferior than extroverts, both traits are needed in order for a well-balanced society. Regardless of what personality trait you may have, it is important to nurture your own type of personality and adjusting to life as one’s life path should be measured according to your own purpose and values, not external achievements.