Bill Faulkner Abstract

8/11/2019 Bill Faulkner Abstract

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/bill-faulkner-abstract 1/3

She should have died hereafter;

There would have been a time for such a word.

To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,

Creeps in this petty pace from day to dayTo the last syllable of recorded time,

And all our yesterdays have lighted foolsThe way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player

That struts and frets his hour upon the stage

And then is heard no more: it is a taleTold by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

Signifying nothing.

Abstract

During the Southern downturn, the Compson family struggles to maintain its

grasp on prosperity; as the years go by, a steady routine of normalcy develops,

influencing an increasingly average reputation for the family. In The Sound and the Fury,

William Faulkner explores the decay of reputation, family, and the human psyche in the

Old South.

The story, told in four parts, focuses on an increasingly intelligible point of view,

offset by an increasingly tumultuous course of action, ending in silence and blankness.

Benjy, narrator of the first part, suffers from severe mental handicaps. His mental

disarray disappears when he narrates, displaying beautiful images and perhaps the most

insight of any character. He recounts oppression against the black servants and against his

sister, Caddie. However, the first part focuses more on the oppression of Benjy, himself.

Showing this oppression of the most helpless individual provides a setting for the

family’s decay— partly influenced by the association with a mentally handicapped child.

Faulkner uses a wild, winding stream of consciousness form to shadow the tumult that

accompanies this steady fall of reputation.



The second part is from the viewpoint of Quentin during his days at Harvard. This

section of the novel focuses on the mental decay of an initially very well-off individual.

Quentin further explores the concept of oppression, focusing on his sister Caddie,

indirectly hinting at the world’s oppression against himself. His inner torment leads to

thoughts of death. A product of a prosperous family, Quentin seems to have the least

reason to suffer. However, Faulkner shows that much of what Quentin does rests

unsteadily on the edge of sanity. More stream of consciousness style appears in this

section, whirring even more rapidly than that of Benjy; Faulkner attempts to show that

the more present mind, in fact, suffers and panics more than the handicapped mind.

Jason, the oldest living son, narrates part three. His accompanying style of prose

flows much more comfortably than those of the previous two narrators. But his situation

displays much more mental strife and hopelessness. This portion of the book focuses on a

son’s attempts to preserve the family’s reputation as much as possible for as long as

possible — an attempt made in vain. In addition to relinquishment of old land and a

handicapped brother, a new member of the family, Miss Quentin, poses an additional

threat to the Compson’s reputation. The chapter consists of Jason trying to correct his

niece’s behavior out of want to create a perf ect family again. The helplessness resides

within the fact that the family cannot resolve: Mr. Compson died years ago, and Jason

does not possess the power to bring a family back together. Faulkner displays the

additional decline of the Compsons through Jason’s relentless efforts to reestablish the

family. Jason draws much sympathy because of his hopelessness.

Faulkner writes the final section of the book in third-person omniscient. The

chapter originally focuses on Dilsey, the family’s servant. She remains the steady part of



the family while the rest declines. This prose is the simplest of all, signifying the great

nothing that Faulkner wants the reader to feel.

This great nothing becomes the family’s routine, ending in routine.

Documents

Bill Faulkner Abstract