In William Faulkner's novel, The Sound and the Fury, the characters narrate in a style in such a way that they are able to express a multitude of different thoughts or feelings at once. This narrative style is known as stream of consciousness. Through this, each of the characters express everything that is going through their mind whether it is through interior monologue or through a conversation with others (Mohammad and Alirezazadeh). Although all of the characters narrate through stream of consciousness, they all have different ways of conveying their thoughts and ideas. Benjy, Quentin, Jason, and Dilsey all have something different they are able to bring to the table, showing the Compson family from four different angles.
It was April Seventh, 1928, the birth of the dreaded Benjy section. This section composed of all interior monologue really puts the reader for a ride to the past, present, to the past again... and so forth. Because of the sporadic jumps through time, his thoughts can be dificult to follow. After all it is the "tale told by an idiot." Although it's difficult to understand, Benjy's section plays a key role in giving insight on the Compson family that none of the other characters are able to do. Faulkner’s reason for using Benjy as the narrator of this first section is to hint at the tragic events of the Compson family. He is able to sense that something is wrong through an interruption in the familiarity of events he is used to (Semino). The most prevalent of these situations are events dealing with Caddy. One of the most memorable moments in this section is when Benjy dislikes the new smell of Caddy's perfume. Because she did not smell like trees anymore, he sensed that something was different about her, and ...
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...y's section there would be a lot of questions that would be left unanswered.
Smith, Nicole. "Character Analysis of Disley in The Sound and the Fury." Article Myriad. N.p., 6 Dec. 2011. Web.
This article gives good insight on the narration style of Dilsey and her role in the Compson family. It talks about her strength and courage and how she was the last hope to try and hold the Compson family together. Out of everyone in the family she was the one who was the most sane and collected with their ideas. I think this article will help display the huge contrast between Benjy's and Dilsey's narration.
Churchwell, Sarah. "Sarah Churchwell: Rereading The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 21 July 2012. Web.
Millgate, Michael. "The Composition of The Sound and the Fury." The Composition of The Sound and the Fury. N.p., n.d. Web.
Throughout Faulkner’s “Barn Burning” the reader acknowledges that the protagonist Sarty exhibits an intuitive sense of
Bergan, Ronald. "A History of Creative Sound in Film (Abridged)." The Guardian. n.p, 17 July 2008. Web. 11 Jan 2014
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Stark, Elizabeth. “To Kill a Mockingbird: About the Author.” The Big Read. National Endowment for the Arts, n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. .
...thern Literary Journal. Published by: University of North Carolina Press. Vol. 4, No. 2 (spring, 1972), pp. 128-132.
William Faulkner was a twentieth century American author who won the Nobel Prize for Literature. Most famous for his novel The Sound and the Fury, Faulkner defines Southern literature. In his mythical county of Yaknapatawpha, Faulkner contrasted the past with the present era. The past was represented in Emily Grierson, Colonel Sartoris, the Board of Alderman, and the Negro servant. Homer Barron, the new Board of Alderman, and the new sheriff represented the present.
Brooks, Cleanth. "William Faulkner: Visions of Good and Evil." Faulkner, New Perspectives. Ed. Richard H. Brodhead. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey : Prentice-Hall, 1983.
Burns, Olive Ann. “Boy howdy, ma'am you have sent us a fine book.” The English Journal. Dec. 1989: 16-20 Web. 14 NCTE Jan. 2014
William Faulkner uses multiple narrators throughout The Sound and the Fury to depict the life of Caddy Compson without telling the story from her point-of-view. Benjy, a mentally disabled 33 year old, Quentin, a troubled and suicidal Harvard student, and Jason, a racist and greedy man, each give their drastically different sides of Caddy’s story to create an incomplete chronicle of her life. Faulkner’s first chapter explores Caddy’s life through the silent narrator Benjy. As a result of Benjy’s inability to talk, much of how he describes the world is through his heightened sensory awareness. Benjy constantly repeats the fact that, which, to Benjy, symbolizes Caddy’s innocence (Faulkner 6). Later in the novel when, Benjy realizes that Caddy has lost the innocence Benjy once idolized and loved (Faulkner 40).
Stillinger, Jack, Deidre Lynch, Stephen Greenblatt, and M H. Abrams. The Norton Anthology of English Literature: Volume D. New York, N.Y: W.W. Norton & Co, 2006. Print.
To the uninitiated, the writing of Flannery O'Connor can seem at once cold and dispassionate, as well as almost absurdly stark and violent. Her short stories routinely end in horrendous, freak fatalities or, at the very least, a character's emotional devastation. Working his way through "Greenleaf," "Everything that Rises Must Converge," or "A Good Man is Hard to Find," the new reader feels an existential hollowness reminiscent of Camus' The Stranger; O'Connor's imagination appears a barren, godless plane of meaninglessness, punctuated by pockets of random, mindless cruelty.
By reading closely and paying attention to details, I was able to get so much more out of this story than I did from the first reading. In short, this assignment has greatly deepened my understanding and appreciation of the more complex and subtle techniques Faulkner used to communicated his ideas in the story.
Smiles, Samuel. ""The Scarlet Letter."" The Critical Temper. Ed. Martin Tucker. New York City: Frederick Ungar Publishing Company, 1962. 266.
"William Faulkner (1897-1962)." Short Story Criticism. Ed. Jelena Krstovic. Vol. 97. Detroit: Thomson Gale, 2007. 1-3. Literature Criticism Online. Gale. Hempfield High School. 31 March 2010.
Di Yanni, Robert. "Character Revealed Through Dialogue." Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint from Literature. N. p.: Random House, 1986.