Mitchell Knecht 3/23/2014
RDG 990-002
RDG 990-002
THE SOUND AND THE FURY
WILLIAM FAULKNER
William Faulkner was an American author, born September
25th, 1897, in New Albany, Mississippi and died July 6th,
1962 in Byhalia, Mississippi. His place of birth greatly influenced his writing
style, both topic, and word choice. He was a writer of novels, short stories,
poetry, essays, screenplays and even a play. He is well known
Mostly for his novels and short stories, many of them take place
in Yoknapatawpha County, a place that was created based on Lafayette County,
where Faulkner had spent most of his life.
William Faulkner was one of the most important and recognized
American writers, mostly in Southern literature. His work was first published in
1919, but not until 1949 was he truly discovered, this was when he received the
Nobel Prize in Literature. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction twice, once in
1954 for “A Fable” and again in 1962 for his last novel “The Reivers”. His book
“The Sound and The Fury” was 6th of 100 on the list of best novels of
the 20th century. Among The Sound and The Fury were three more of
William’s works: As I Lay Dying, Light in August, and Absalom, Absalom! Among the prize winning books above,
other novels and stories he has wrote include: Go Down, Moses, Intruder in the
Dust, Sanctuary, A Rose For Emily, Light in August, The Hamlet, The
Unvanquished, though there are many more.
CHARACTERS:
Caroline Compson: Caroline is the mother of the family, she is
married to Jason Compson. Not an affectionate woman lets Disley raise her
children. She became mean and physical in her older days.
Jason Compson (Father): Jason Compson is the father of the
family, married to Caroline Compson. He is a whiskey loving alcoholic. He is a
workaholic and said to be a very cynical person which seems to always irritate
Quentin.
Quentin Compson: The oldest child of the family, the
1st of 3 boys. He is unable to deal with his sisters (Caddie), risqué
sexuality, he admits to performing incest to cover her actions. This is the
child that suffered most from Jason’s (father) cynical attitudes.
Jason Compson (Middle son): Jason Compson was the middle son. He
is a racist lowlife, who steals from his family for years; he steals his niece’s
child support money along with his uncle’s life savings. He becomes the “man of
the house” when his father passes in 1912.
Candace Compson: Nicknamed “Caddy”, the only girl of the family.
She is the main caregiver for Benjy. She seems to be the kinkeeper of the
family, the kind sweet child.
Benjamin Compson: Nicknamed “Benjy”, birth name was Maury after
his uncle, the youngest of the four children. He is mentally handicapped and is
shamed by the whole family because how he is, his temperament is very fragile
and seems to be yelling or crying for most of the book. His mother wanted his
name changed from Maury to Benjamin, and his father gave him the nickname
“Benjy”. Caddy is the only member
of the Compson family who shows Benjamin any affection or positive attention.
Miss Quentin Compson: Candace’s daughter, she is risqué just
like her mother. She is kind of the wild child and eventually runs away from her
home.
Disley Gibson: The slave of the Compson family. She is
Benjamin’s caretaker.
T.P., Versh, Frony, and Luster: T.P., Versh, and Frony are
Disley’s children who live with her, on the Compson land. Luster is Disley’s
grandchild, the son of Frony.
SETTING:
The setting of this book is a large plot of land in
Yoknapatawpha County Jackson, Mississippi in the first of the 20th
century and the last few years of the 19th century. The dates span
from 1898to 1928.
PLOT:
The Sound and The Fury is a book written about the Compson
family, they seem to be facing financial and family hardships. They live on a
large piece of land in Jefferson, Mississippi. The book is said to start on
April 7th, 1928, then jumps to June 2nd, 1910, then jumps
to April 6th, and finally ends on April 8th, 1928. Though
this may seem confusing chronologically, it is more complex than this. The
1st section written on the date of April 7th, 1928, is
written by Benjamin “Benjy” Compson, 33, the youngest boy of the family, who is
mentally handicapped. His style of writing is extremely complicated, said to
note his severe handicap, the language is hard to distinguish, and again,
chronologically it looks as if the author mixed up the pages. He talks about at
least three different time periods in this section. The 2nd section,
June 2nd, 1910 is written by Quentin Compson, the oldest Compson
son, who is attending Harvard University, which they had to sell “Benjy’s
pasture” to a golf course to fund. He admits to his father that he has been
committing incest with his own sister, Caddy. Throughout this section it talks
about all of the events leading to Quentin’s suicide. The 3rd
section of the book April 6th, 1928 is written from the point
of view of the 3rd son, Jason Compson, who is somewhat of a lowlife, he has
severe emotion problems, and is extremely racist. In this section it truly
illustrates who Jason is, rude and cynical, but after the death of his father
Jason Compson the 3rd, he assumes financial responsibility for the
family. The 4th and last section of the book is written on April
8th, 1928. It is not written by anyone specific, more so a
compilation of segments from multiple characters, though it mainly focuses on
Disley Gibson, the families slave. In this chapter Miss Quentin runs away with a
carnival worker, stealing money from Jason, and her Uncle whole life
savings.
CONCLUSION:
The ending of this book this was somewhat predictable, but still
very good. While the Compson family seems to be imploding, Disley seems to be
growing happier and stronger with each day. The troubles keep rising, and
getting worse with Jason and Miss Quentin which ultimately leads to her running
off with the “man with the red tie” also stealing Jason’s life savings. Jason
chases after her, although he loses her rather fast. Disley and Luster take
Benjy to the cemetery, when they arrive home Luster sees Benjy, his eyes are
“…..empty and blue and serene again…” (P.321)
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS
BOOK?
I was turned on to this book one of my favorite country artists,
Eric Church; he mentions William Faulkner books in one of his songs. I am not
much of a reader, unless it is a textbook or an article on trucks, guns or other
things that interest me, so I had no starting point on where to look for a book.
I used to only read books on war until I lost a best friend in the United States
Navy that made reading about soldiers dying painful, something I would not
willingly do.
So I turned to
Faulkner, I found myself at Barnes and Noble thumbing through the series of
books that he had written and began to like his writing style. It is different
than from any author I have read before, his chronologically misplaced, southern
slang writing style caught my eye. After contemplating what book to get an older
gentleman approached me and began to talk about what an amazing writer Mr.
Faulkner is and how he loves all of his books. I was pulled between two books,
The Sound and the Fury, and Light in August. He advised me to read The Sound and
the Fury as it was one of his top 10 books he had ever read. I ended up
purchasing The Sound and the Fury and choosing to read it for my signature
assignment. Upon reading about half of the book I returned to Barnes and Noble
to purchase more of William Faulkner’s books because I liked the first one I had
started on. I purchased Light in August and As I Lay Dying, and am excited to
read these when I have some free time.
REFLECTION
The Sound and the Fury has turned out to be an interesting book,
quite a hard read though. There were multiple time that I threw the book down
and became frustrated because I could not understand Faulkner’s writing, but I
picked it back up and re-read the whole book, twice, if not three times.
Finally I learned there were hidden messages, such as Caddie
smelling of trees, and her muddy undergarments, and the shadows this made the
book easier. Along with writing out all of the characters, and who they were,
also all the main points so I could reference back if I got lost. While I did
become frustrated with this book multiple times I would suggest to anyone to
read this book, I enjoyed the writing style and the complexity of the book; you
really had to think about every word, down to every letter to understand the
true meaning. I would recommend reading William Faulkner to anyone who enjoys a
good read, and I am excited to start another one of his pieces.
WILLIAM FAULKNER
William Faulkner was an American author, born September
25th, 1897, in New Albany, Mississippi and died July 6th,
1962 in Byhalia, Mississippi. His place of birth greatly influenced his writing
style, both topic, and word choice. He was a writer of novels, short stories,
poetry, essays, screenplays and even a play. He is well known
Mostly for his novels and short stories, many of them take place
in Yoknapatawpha County, a place that was created based on Lafayette County,
where Faulkner had spent most of his life.
William Faulkner was one of the most important and recognized
American writers, mostly in Southern literature. His work was first published in
1919, but not until 1949 was he truly discovered, this was when he received the
Nobel Prize in Literature. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction twice, once in
1954 for “A Fable” and again in 1962 for his last novel “The Reivers”. His book
“The Sound and The Fury” was 6th of 100 on the list of best novels of
the 20th century. Among The Sound and The Fury were three more of
William’s works: As I Lay Dying, Light in August, and Absalom, Absalom! Among the prize winning books above,
other novels and stories he has wrote include: Go Down, Moses, Intruder in the
Dust, Sanctuary, A Rose For Emily, Light in August, The Hamlet, The
Unvanquished, though there are many more.
CHARACTERS:
Caroline Compson: Caroline is the mother of the family, she is
married to Jason Compson. Not an affectionate woman lets Disley raise her
children. She became mean and physical in her older days.
Jason Compson (Father): Jason Compson is the father of the
family, married to Caroline Compson. He is a whiskey loving alcoholic. He is a
workaholic and said to be a very cynical person which seems to always irritate
Quentin.
Quentin Compson: The oldest child of the family, the
1st of 3 boys. He is unable to deal with his sisters (Caddie), risqué
sexuality, he admits to performing incest to cover her actions. This is the
child that suffered most from Jason’s (father) cynical attitudes.
Jason Compson (Middle son): Jason Compson was the middle son. He
is a racist lowlife, who steals from his family for years; he steals his niece’s
child support money along with his uncle’s life savings. He becomes the “man of
the house” when his father passes in 1912.
Candace Compson: Nicknamed “Caddy”, the only girl of the family.
She is the main caregiver for Benjy. She seems to be the kinkeeper of the
family, the kind sweet child.
Benjamin Compson: Nicknamed “Benjy”, birth name was Maury after
his uncle, the youngest of the four children. He is mentally handicapped and is
shamed by the whole family because how he is, his temperament is very fragile
and seems to be yelling or crying for most of the book. His mother wanted his
name changed from Maury to Benjamin, and his father gave him the nickname
“Benjy”. Caddy is the only member
of the Compson family who shows Benjamin any affection or positive attention.
Miss Quentin Compson: Candace’s daughter, she is risqué just
like her mother. She is kind of the wild child and eventually runs away from her
home.
Disley Gibson: The slave of the Compson family. She is
Benjamin’s caretaker.
T.P., Versh, Frony, and Luster: T.P., Versh, and Frony are
Disley’s children who live with her, on the Compson land. Luster is Disley’s
grandchild, the son of Frony.
SETTING:
The setting of this book is a large plot of land in
Yoknapatawpha County Jackson, Mississippi in the first of the 20th
century and the last few years of the 19th century. The dates span
from 1898to 1928.
PLOT:
The Sound and The Fury is a book written about the Compson
family, they seem to be facing financial and family hardships. They live on a
large piece of land in Jefferson, Mississippi. The book is said to start on
April 7th, 1928, then jumps to June 2nd, 1910, then jumps
to April 6th, and finally ends on April 8th, 1928. Though
this may seem confusing chronologically, it is more complex than this. The
1st section written on the date of April 7th, 1928, is
written by Benjamin “Benjy” Compson, 33, the youngest boy of the family, who is
mentally handicapped. His style of writing is extremely complicated, said to
note his severe handicap, the language is hard to distinguish, and again,
chronologically it looks as if the author mixed up the pages. He talks about at
least three different time periods in this section. The 2nd section,
June 2nd, 1910 is written by Quentin Compson, the oldest Compson
son, who is attending Harvard University, which they had to sell “Benjy’s
pasture” to a golf course to fund. He admits to his father that he has been
committing incest with his own sister, Caddy. Throughout this section it talks
about all of the events leading to Quentin’s suicide. The 3rd
section of the book April 6th, 1928 is written from the point
of view of the 3rd son, Jason Compson, who is somewhat of a lowlife, he has
severe emotion problems, and is extremely racist. In this section it truly
illustrates who Jason is, rude and cynical, but after the death of his father
Jason Compson the 3rd, he assumes financial responsibility for the
family. The 4th and last section of the book is written on April
8th, 1928. It is not written by anyone specific, more so a
compilation of segments from multiple characters, though it mainly focuses on
Disley Gibson, the families slave. In this chapter Miss Quentin runs away with a
carnival worker, stealing money from Jason, and her Uncle whole life
savings.
CONCLUSION:
The ending of this book this was somewhat predictable, but still
very good. While the Compson family seems to be imploding, Disley seems to be
growing happier and stronger with each day. The troubles keep rising, and
getting worse with Jason and Miss Quentin which ultimately leads to her running
off with the “man with the red tie” also stealing Jason’s life savings. Jason
chases after her, although he loses her rather fast. Disley and Luster take
Benjy to the cemetery, when they arrive home Luster sees Benjy, his eyes are
“…..empty and blue and serene again…” (P.321)
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS
BOOK?
I was turned on to this book one of my favorite country artists,
Eric Church; he mentions William Faulkner books in one of his songs. I am not
much of a reader, unless it is a textbook or an article on trucks, guns or other
things that interest me, so I had no starting point on where to look for a book.
I used to only read books on war until I lost a best friend in the United States
Navy that made reading about soldiers dying painful, something I would not
willingly do.
So I turned to
Faulkner, I found myself at Barnes and Noble thumbing through the series of
books that he had written and began to like his writing style. It is different
than from any author I have read before, his chronologically misplaced, southern
slang writing style caught my eye. After contemplating what book to get an older
gentleman approached me and began to talk about what an amazing writer Mr.
Faulkner is and how he loves all of his books. I was pulled between two books,
The Sound and the Fury, and Light in August. He advised me to read The Sound and
the Fury as it was one of his top 10 books he had ever read. I ended up
purchasing The Sound and the Fury and choosing to read it for my signature
assignment. Upon reading about half of the book I returned to Barnes and Noble
to purchase more of William Faulkner’s books because I liked the first one I had
started on. I purchased Light in August and As I Lay Dying, and am excited to
read these when I have some free time.
REFLECTION
The Sound and the Fury has turned out to be an interesting book,
quite a hard read though. There were multiple time that I threw the book down
and became frustrated because I could not understand Faulkner’s writing, but I
picked it back up and re-read the whole book, twice, if not three times.
Finally I learned there were hidden messages, such as Caddie
smelling of trees, and her muddy undergarments, and the shadows this made the
book easier. Along with writing out all of the characters, and who they were,
also all the main points so I could reference back if I got lost. While I did
become frustrated with this book multiple times I would suggest to anyone to
read this book, I enjoyed the writing style and the complexity of the book; you
really had to think about every word, down to every letter to understand the
true meaning. I would recommend reading William Faulkner to anyone who enjoys a
good read, and I am excited to start another one of his pieces.