race and motherhood

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Recommended: Structure the sound and fury by William Faulkner

In William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury, the juxtaposition of the two mother figures, Caroline Compson and Dilsey Gibson illustrates the role of race in Southern society. Caroline, the white, egocentric, self-indulgent, self-pitying hypochondriac is portrayed as superior to Dilsey, the loyal, stoic black servant who selflessly cares for the Compson family. Faulkner’s language depicts the inherent discrepancies in the value placed on the roles of Caroline and Dilsey. The formal tone of the narrators in addressing Caroline as “Mrs. Compson or mother infers her social stature. In contrast, Dilsey, is referred to as mammy or by her first name. Informally, mammy means mother. However, in the south, its connotation is the derogatory, racially prejudiced definition of a black woman working as a servant for a white family, nurturing the family’s children. When addressing Dilsey, Caroline often “called, without inflection or emphasis or haste, as though she were not listening for a reply at all” (267). Caroline’s sense of entitlement is evident in her expectation that Dilsey would respond immediately. Similarly, any need or desire in the Compson house appears to be Dilsey’s responsibility. Caroline follows Jason up to the stairs, calling his name, but “then she saw Dilsey and she quit calling him and began to call Dilsey instead” (280). Calling her name shifts the obligation from Caroline to Dilsey thereby making her a scapegoat for the family’s problems. (the scapegoat seems like a stretch for this example). Caroline lacks involvement in her children’s upbringing. After hearing Benjamin cry, Caroline, questions, “Cant I even be sick in peace. Do I have to get up out of bed […] with two grown negroes to take care of him” (59... ... middle of paper ... ... the Compson, represented when she says to Frony and Luster, “I seed de beginning, en now I sees de endin” recognizes her time with the family, from the family’s previous success and their upcoming demise. Unlike the Compsons, Dilsey’s family will likely never reach their full potential because of the racially prejudiced and segregated society in which they live. (how does this fit) Jason acknowledges the role Dilsey assumes since she began working for the Compsons by declaring, “when [servants have] been with you for a long time they get so full of self importance […] Think they run the whole family” (207). Jason implies that Dilsey has assumed a leadership role within the family even though she does not deserve it. Contrarily, he gives his mother a role that she does not want, “You are the head of [the house] now” (257). (needs to tie in with rest of essay)

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