The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
"The Sound and the Fury," a novel by William Faulkner, delves into the disintegration of the Compson family, a once-prominent household in Mississippi. The narrative unfolds through four distinct perspectives, reflecting the family's tragic decline and the impact of time on their lives. The first section is narrated by Benjy, the developmentally disabled youngest son, who experiences fragmented memories of his siblings, particularly his beloved sister Caddy. His reminiscences reveal deep emotional scars and familial bonds amidst the family's deterioration.
The second section is told through the mind of Quentin, the eldest son, who struggles with his sister's sexuality and ultimately succumbs to despair. His narrative culminates in his tragic decision to take his own life. The third perspective comes from Jason, the bitter and resentful brother, who grapples with his family's financial woes and his own harsh views on the world around him. Finally, the story closes with the perspective of Dilsey, the Compsons' devoted African American maid, who provides a contrasting sense of resilience and continuity amidst the family's chaos.
Faulkner's work is notable for its innovative narrative techniques and deep psychological insights, capturing themes of loss, memory, and the complexities of familial relationships in the face of societal changes. As readers engage with the Compsons' story, they encounter a poignant exploration of human experience and the burdens of legacy.
On this Page
The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
First published: 1929
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Stream of consciousness
Time of plot: 1900–1928
Locale: Mississippi
Principal Characters
Jason Compson , a retired lawyer, the Compson family patriarchCaroline Compson , his wifeCandace “Caddy” Compson , ,Quentin Compson , ,Benjamin Compson , andJason Compson , their childrenMiss Quentin Compson , Candace’s daughterDilsey , the Compsons’ maidLuster , Dilsey’s grandson
The Story
The Compsons, a once-prominent Mississippi family, are in decline. The land that was once their sprawling plantation has been sold and turned into a golf course, and their once-splendid mansion is badly dilapidated. At the head of the family are Mr. Jason Compson, a retired lawyer taken to drink, and his wife, Caroline, a hypochondriac who spends most of her days in bed.
Benjamin, the Compsons’ youngest child, a developmentally disabled man, begins to tell the story of his life. On April 7, 1928, his thirty-third birthday, while he walks along the golf course with Luster, his caretaker, Benjy begins to reminisce about his childhood years. His mind jumps from event to event, covering more than a dozen events in all.
Several of Benjy’s flashbacks concern his older sister, Caddy, to whom Benjy is quite attached. In his childhood memories she cares for him and plays with him and lies next to him in bed until he falls asleep. Benjy also remembers Caddy’s wedding and her subsequent departure from the Compson household, which disturbs Benjy profoundly.
Many of Benjy’s memories are painful. They include the death of his grandmother, whose wake takes place while the Compson children play in a stream, and his brother’s death. He recalls a day during his teenage years when he embraces and fondles a local schoolgirl, thinking she is his sister, Caddy. Benjy is castrated for that offense.
At the end of his narrative, Benjy returns to the present. He and Luster look out his bedroom window and watch his niece, Quentin, climb out the window of her bedroom and run off into the night.
In the second chapter, dated June 2, 1910, Quentin, the Compsons’ oldest son, tells of the events leading to his suicide. He is a Harvard University student, and he spends the final day of his life getting his affairs in order—delivering suicide notes to his roommate and father and packing his trunk. As he takes one last trolley ride around Cambridge, his mind flashes back to the troublesome events that have led him to suicide. He has been particularly upset by his sister Caddy’s romantic affairs. The night that she lost her virginity was especially traumatic for Quentin, as was her marriage the following year. (Caddy married because she was pregnant.) Quentin has been jealous of his sister’s lovers.
While he wanders around Cambridge, he observes some local boys fishing, and he befriends a young immigrant girl whom he meets in a bakery. Late in the day, he meets some schoolmates and attends a party that ends abruptly when Quentin inexplicably picks a fight with the hosts’ son. In his own mind, Quentin is lashing out at one of Caddy’s lovers.
Quentin eventually returns to his room, puts on a fresh collar, brushes off his clothes, packs a few more articles in his trunk, and departs to take his own life. Quentin’s brother Jason later reveals that Quentin drowned himself.
In the third chapter, Jason (along with Benjy) relates the events of April 6, 1928. He argues with his teenage niece, also named Quentin, before she leaves for school, accusing her of cutting classes and chastising her for wearing revealing clothing and excessive makeup. He then goes to work at the local hardware store and argues with his boss. Throughout his narrative Jason makes disparaging remarks about Jews, African Americans, women, and the members of his own family.
Jason reveals that Caddy, rejected by her husband, has been expelled from the Compson household, though her daughter, Quentin, remains. Jason explains that he receives and cashes Caddy’s child-support checks, then delivers phony checks to his mother, which she burns because she will not accept Caddy’s money.
On his lunch break, Jason spots his niece driving around town with a man wearing a red tie. He pursues them but loses their trail after they clandestinely flatten one of his tires.
The events of the final chapter took place on April 8, 1928, Easter Sunday. Dilsey, the Compsons’ elderly African American maid, prepares breakfast shortly after daybreak. She feeds Luster and Benjy, then waits for Jason, Quentin, and Mrs. Compson to come to breakfast. When Jason appears, he announces that he has been robbed; the window to his room has been broken and his strongbox pried open. When he finds out that his niece Quentin is not in her room, he correctly assumes that she has stolen his savings (which consist mainly of Caddy’s child-support payments). He notifies the police and embarks on a long, fruitless drive to find Quentin and the man wearing the red tie.
While Jason tries to track Quentin, Dilsey, her family, and Benjy attend Easter services. Dilsey feels the pain that the Compson family has endured over the years and weeps, claiming that she has done her best to raise the Compson children properly.
After church, Luster drives Mrs. Compson and Benjy in a surrey to the cemetery. When Luster takes a wrong turn at the town square, Benjy breaks into hysterics. With the help of Jason, who has returned to town following his futile search, Luster regains control and heads the vehicle home.
Bibliography
Artuso, Kathryn Stelmach. Critical Insights: William Faulkner. Ipswich: Salem, 2013. Print.
Bloom, Harold, ed. Caddy Compson. New York: Chelsea House, 1990. Print.
Bloom, Harold, ed. Willaim Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury. New York: Bloom’s Literary Criticism, 2008. Print.
Gandal, Keith. “The Sound and the Fury and Military Rejects: The Feebleminded and the Postmobilization Erotic Triangle.” The Gun and the Pen: Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Faulkner, and the Fiction of Mobilization. New York: Oxford UP, 2008. 151–166. Print.
Karl, Frederick R. William Faulkner: American Writer. New York: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1989. Print.
Kuminova, Olga. "Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury as a Struggle for Ideal Communication." LIT: Literature Interpretation Theory 21.1 (2010): 41–60. Print.
Marius, Richard. Reading Faulkner: Introduction to the First Thirteen Novels. Ed. Nancy Grisham Anderson. Knoxville: U of Tennessee P, 2006. Print.
Matthews, John T. The Sound and the Fury: Faulkner and the Lost Cause. Boston: Twayne, 1991. Print.
Parrish, Susan Scott. "Faulkner and the Outer Weather of 1927." American Literary History 24.1 (2012): 34–58. Print.
Porter, Carolyn. William Faulkner. New York: Oxford UP, 2007. Print.
Pryse, Marjorie. "Textual Duration against Chronological Time: Graphing Memory in Faulkner's Benjy Section." Faulkner Journal 25.1 (2009): 15–46. Print.
Towner, Theresa M. The Cambridge Introduction to William Faulkner. New York: Cambridge UP, 2008. Print.
Tredell, Nicholas. William Faulkner: The Sound and the Fury, As I Lay Dying. Cambridge, England: Icon Books, 1999. Print.
Vickery, Olga W. The Novels of William Faulkner. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State UP, 1959. Print.