Free Essay

Time in the Sound and the Fury

In:

Submitted By sony3000
Words 1118
Pages 5
* The Impact of Time on the Theme and Characters of the Sound and the Fury * The Interpretation of Time Lapses and the Influence It Has on the Narration in Benjamin’s Section

Benjamin is 33 years old at April 7th, 1928. He is a child with a mask of adolescence and what he perceives from the world around him is totally different from normal people, because let’s say he has a gift that no normal person can have, he is an idiot. Our intentions aren’t about supporting the community of mentally handicapped people here by saying he has a gift, but to know a person, just like knowing animals, you have to get inside their heads. So we definitely don’t want to have negative badges on ourselves. Reading this section is specifically hard because we have to think like an idiot, and to achieve this matter we have to reinforce our sensory stimuli. Benjamin has no concept of time or place, he does as he pleased, and in order to extract his thoughts you should find the love of his life, who is obviously Caddy (Candace). Every single smell, place or sound can evoke his feelings toward Caddy, meaning that for example noticing a swing in the present can bring him back to the past and even thinking about the past can bring him to deeper levels of his past; or when Dilsey called Miss Quentin for the meal, he immediately remember the time with Quentin (his brother) who is in this specific part, the stimuli for his reminiscent. Although most of his memories are about Candace, he has other flashbacks to other characters in the novel too. These time lapses or flashbacks are the central orientation of this section. Since Benjamin’s mind is extremely disoriented, we have to find the right pieces of puzzles in order to make the final interpretation of what he says.
There are nearly 16 different time periods in this section, adding the perplexed consciousness of the idiot, it will be a difficult task to understand everything in the first time reading through them. But this ambiguity is to no intention trivial. William Faulkner introduced a set of methods for his ultimate goal of great emotional effects on the reader, which can be achieved by carefully analyzing every single line of this section. We are not paraphrasing those time lapses here, our aim is the significance of them on the theme and narration. But you can get some pieces of puzzle by noting that who takes care of Benjamin in different periods of time. Benjamin’s section can be divided to 3 person whom Benjamin was taken care of. Versh, who took care of him when he was a child, T.P. was his companion through his teenage years and Luster was the last caretaker.
April 7th, 1928, is the Saturday before Easter Sunday which is purposefully chosen correctly with the actual Easter Sunday of the same year. This date has 2 different connotations that we will extendedly discuss in symbolism section, but as what relates to this section, the 2 connotations have a positive and a negative remark. This day is referred to Black Saturday in Christianity, since in Friday Christ was crucified and Sunday was the day of Resurrection, it is traditionally conveyed one of the darkest day of Christian history. April is also the beginning cycle of life because all things start growing and rebirth is occurring. But Benjamin is the paradox of the current date, his ugliness is in contrast of the beauty of April, his purity is being questioned by the darkest day of history and what he remembers at this particular day is mostly about death and funerals of member of his family.
Such scenes were illustrated through various time lapses which sometimes happened without using italics. Every time Benjamin thinks about death, it appears that he has problem understanding the abstract notion of it, meaning that he is mixed up between one death and another simultaneously.
The memories of Benjamin are interwoven with connections that he makes in the present. Even the context that he is in are similar to what has happened to him before, for example as he wandered through the outside of the Compsons’ house, he came across different places such as barns, pastures and etc. and he remembered the same exact places that a particular part of his memory has happened. When he came back to his own house, he remembered the memories related to his house. So the memories are precisely dependent on the place he was and the effect that the place had on Benjamin’s consciousness. For example, the very first flashback which was started with “Caddy uncaught me and we crawled through” shows how the situation can affect Benjamin in the way his perception works, which William Faulkner often used with involuntary memory. Marcel Proust in his famous novel In Search of Lost Time came up with the involuntary memory, a memory which is evoked by sensory stimuli such as smells, sounds and sights for the character. Through the fences can be connected to imprisoned brothers of Compsons who individually tried to escape their own “fences” of the world around them but couldn’t manage to do it. As here, Caddy escaped her sexual boundaries that she had all her life in response to her family’s retention. There are other memories of the past that refers to Caddy and losing her sexual boundaries which is highlighted in some time lapses.
In a letter to Ben Wasson, Faulkner talked about some of the time periods in the Sound and the Fury: “The ones I recall off-hand,” Faulkner writes, “are: Damuddy dies. Benjy is 3. (2) His name is changed. He is 5. (3) Caddy’s wedding. He is 14. (4) He tries to rape a young girl and is castrated. 15. (5) Quentin’s death. (6) His father’s death. (7) A visit to the cemetery at 18. (7) The day of the anecdote, he is 33” (Selected Letters, 44).

Works Cited
A. NICHOLAS FARGNOLI, M. G. (2008). Critical Companion to William Faulkner: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work. New York NY: Facts On File, Inc. An imprint of Infobase Publishing.
Cliffnotes. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.cliffsnotes.com: http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/s/the-sound-and-the-fury/summary-and-analysis/the-benjy-section
Faulkner, W. (1990). The Sound and the Fury. A Division of Random House, Inc. New York: Vintage International.
M., R. S., & Polk, N. (1996). Reading Faulkner. The Sound and the Fury: Glossary and Commentary Reading Faulkner Series. University Press of Mississippi . Bragg, Melvyn. "In Our Time: Proust". BBC Radio 4. April 17, 2003

Similar Documents

Free Essay

William Faulkner

...public, as even though his work was majorly written in early 1900’s, it wasn’t appreciated till 1949. This is what made him as one of the most celebrated writers in the field of American literature in his time. As per the information on William Faulkner, 13 novels and a lot of other short stories were published by him by 1920. This included the famous novels like “As I lay Dying”, “The sound and the Fury”, and “Light in August”. On the day of William Faulkner receiving the Nobel Prize, he stated in his speech: “the young man or woman writing today has forgotten the problems of the human heart in conflict with itself which alone can make good writing because only that is worth writing about, worth the agony and the sweat.” (http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1949/faulkner-speech.html) His most of writing focused on the conflicts that humans face within himself/herself. Every human has a fight within themselves that they need to win before they can win any war in this world. Unless the war within is not conquered, no victory outside will present any satisfaction and this is a very important aspect for a writer to understand. Let’s look at William Faulkner’s point of view from some of his own writings. In a four part series “The Sound and the Fury”, was written...

Words: 937 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Joavudd Narrative

...Using a small black cloth, provided by John, I wrapped it around my head, preventing from any further sandstorms to whip the grains into my eyes and nose. It was able to protect my nose, and only times when I needed to cover up my eyes, I extended the cloth to the top of my eyebrows. There was little conversations among John and I, just the simple questions and answers when we rode our horses throughout the Joavudd territory. The sound of the occasional wind and scurrying of animals- the sound of life in the Kingdom Joavudd, raised as the day passed by, but I knew by the end of the day, everything will be inaudible. It was an aesthetic sight-dunes of sand rose up on the flat surface, which also scooped down low, forming little valleys....

Words: 1209 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Captain America

...also known as Captain America (Chris Evans) who is still learning to maneuver his life to today modern life versus his original time period during WWII. Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) who works for SHIELD has been there for Rogers to make sure he has what he needs to be comfortable and adjusted to modern society. Throughout the film, Rogers is trying to defeat the Winter Soldier, who he later finds out is his old time friend Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), from harming many innocent civilians. The scene I chose was after Fury was attacked and almost killed by SHIELD and the Winter Soldier and went to Roger’s apartment. At the beginning of the film, Fury explained that his grandfather always had trust issues, which lead the audience to believe that he too had trust issues. This is seen in this scene because he is quietly sitting in Rogers living room with the lights off. At the same time, Rogers is talking to his neighbor who later tells him he left his stereo on. Recalling that he never had it on he sneaks into his apartment to later find Fury sitting down peacefully. The music that is heard at the apartment is from the 40s and the quality sounds like it could be a record playing. The music is diegetic and can be heard in the background as Rogers and Fury secretly discuss the situation. At the moment Rogers has no idea what Fury has gone through and Fury is trying to give Rogers hints by typing on his cell phone two to three words such as “SHIELD IS COMPROMISED”. To me the music...

Words: 488 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Faulkner

...sexuality, and social decline that was taking place in the 1920’s and 30’s in the South. At the core of his stories and novels are symbols of decay, like Miss Emily in “A Rose for Emily”, and Southern pride, like in “The Sound and the Fury”. His experimental use of techniques, such as stream-of-consciousness and multiple narrators, make his work challenging to read, but nonetheless unique. Many of Faulkner's writings are set in Yoknapatawpha County, a fictional area reflecting his native Lafayette County, which played a major role in shaping one of the world’s most artistic imaginations. William Faulkner (he actually added the u later) was born on September 25, 1897, in New Albany, Mississippi. He was named after his great-grandfather, William Clark Falkner, the “Old Colonel” who often appears in William’s stories. As a young boy, he would often listen to stories told to him by his family, particularly his mother Maud and his grandmother Lelia – both of which were well-educated and excellent readers. These included stories of the Civil War, the Ku Klux Klan, slavery, and the Falkner family. Considering this, it is easy to see how themes of racism, sexuality, and battles of social class are unavoidably spread throughout novels such as “The Sound and the Fury”. Even during his childhood years, Faulkner was so distracted by his desire to write that he rarely showed interest in school, and actually never graduated. Instead he wrote poetry and even submitted some of his work...

Words: 1093 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Fahrenheit 451 Mechanical Hound Analysis

...The Mechanical Hound can often be described as a modern characterization of the Erinyes or the Furies from Greek mythology. The Furies were often known as deities of vengeance, which sounds awfully familiar when compared to the role that the Mechanical Hound played in Fahrenheit 451’s society. The Furies like the Mechanical Hound would punish crimes by pursuing culprits relentlessly. Playing off of this idea, Ray Bradbury shows how society quickly silences the voices of the few and through the mechanical parts of the hound that society is made up of many different people, but he does offer a sense of hope (that can also be seen as false sense of hope) by saying that the hound “sleeps” and that it does not act on it’s own. Although the Hound can be compared to the Furies, Bradbury is able to turn the Greek myth into something more sinister and complicated. Leaving the Hound as an overlooked theme and metaphor. The Furies initial task was to hear the complaints of mortals and then dish...

Words: 933 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Temple Drake Research Paper

...The well known American Author William Faulkner was born on September 25, 1897 in the city of New Albany, Mississippi. This remarkable writer, became famous for his writings inspired on the American South: In center Yoknapatawpha County. Top novels he had written at the time included: The Sound and the Fury, As I lay dying and Absalom, Absalom!, Sanctuary, and The Story of Temple Drake. His story Sanctuary was controversial, it was written in 1931. His story of Temple Drake was made as one of his projects. He was awarded in 1949, he received a Nobel Prize in Literature, and even was awarded two in each Pulitzers and National Books Awards. Throughout his life, he worked as a railroad financier, politician, soldier, farmer, businessman, lawyer,...

Words: 555 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Comparing Tragedy In Romeo And Juliet And Sure Thing

...These forms of comedy have different approaches on how intend to make the public laugh, for instance in satiric comedy they tend to make fun of a characters weakness, the way they act, or what they believe in. High comedy will consist more of “wit and wordplay” on the contrary of low comedy who show a “greater emphasis on physical action and visual gags” (Kennedy and Gioia 690-691). Romantic comedy is differs the most of the four since it tries to get the public to view characters with kindness as they fall in love with unfortunate accidents. In Sure Thing we meet Bill and Betty, Betty is sitting in the café reading quietly until Bill comes around asking for a seat this scene repeats itself various times, but the response from Betty changes after the sound of every bell. Just the idea of this one-act play is comedic, by seeing how the protagonist Bill, is struggling to obtain the attention of Betty after make many mistakes with every opportunity given by the bell. For example, in this scene from Sure Thing we can take notice of how the characters responses...

Words: 1001 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

The Tell Tale Heart

...The Tell-Tale Heart Q. Choose a novel or a short story in which the author creates a fascinating character. By referring to appropriate techniques, show how the author has created this character and why you found him/her so interesting. Among the many strange and complex short stories by Edgar Allen Poe, ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ has come to be known as one of the most mysterious and psychologically intriguing. The story contains a fascinating character in form of the narrator, which is explored through Poe’s use of word choice, irony, and alliteration, as well as many other thought provoking techniques. The story as a whole explores the themes of perception versus reality, and the question of whether the evil within is worse than the evil without, and Poe delves into these themes using the character he has created to narrate the story. The story follows the murder of an old man and its aftermath, the story told with what seems like dazzling clarity on behalf of the narrator, obscuring the meaning of the act and calling the emotional stability of the unnamed, assumed male, narrator into question. In the very first sentence of the story, Poe introduces irony to draw in the reader, and leaves the beginning purposefully ambiguous to cause intrigue towards the narrator. “TRUE! – nervous – very, very dreadfully nervous I had been, and am; but why will you say that I am mad?” By starting the sentence with the word ‘true’, Poe leads us to believe what we read next will be some sort...

Words: 1499 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Shakespeare

...the dunnest smoke of hell, That my keen knife see not the wound it makes, Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark, To cry ‘Hold, hold!’ Lady Macbeth speaks these words in Act 1, scene 5, lines 36–52, as she awaits the arrival of King Duncan at her castle. We have previously seen Macbeth’s uncertainty about whether he should take the crown by killing Duncan. In this speech, there is no such confusion, as Lady Macbeth is clearly willing to do whatever is necessary to seize the throne. Her strength of purpose is contrasted with her husband’s tendency to waver. This speech shows the audience that Lady Macbeth is the real steel behind Macbeth and that her ambition will be strong enough to drive her husband forward. At the same time, the language of this speech touches on the theme of masculinity— “unsex me here / . . . / . . . Come to my woman’s breasts, / And take my milk for gall,” Lady Macbeth says as she prepares herself to commit murder. The language suggests that her womanhood, represented by breasts and milk, usually symbols of nurture, impedes her from performing acts of violence and cruelty, which she associates with manliness. Later, this sense of the relationship between masculinity and violence will be deepened when Macbeth is unwilling to go...

Words: 1767 - Pages: 8

Free Essay

William Faulkner's Literary Traits

...The Rebirth of the South: Wolfe, Faulkner, Warren The South is more distinctively a region than any other section of the United States is, because of the experiences and traditions that have taught it attitudes sharply at variance with some of the standard American beliefs: ● The sense of failure, which comes from being the only group of Americans who have known military defeat, military occupation, and seemingly unconquerable poverty; ● The sense of guilt, which comes from having been a part of America’s classic symbol of injustice, the enslavement and then the segregation of the Negro; and ● The sense of frustration, which comes from the consistent inadequacy of the means at hand to wrestle with the problems to be faced, whether they be poverty, racial intolerance, or the preservation of an historical past rich in tradition. In the years after the Civil War, the Southerner attempted to deny these things by the simple, but ultimately ineffectual, process of ignoring them. The Southern local colour writers concentrated on the quaint, the eccentric, and the remote; and the creators of the “plantation tradition” idealised the past. Against this sentimental view the first two voices that were strongly raised were those of Ellen Glasgow and James Branch Cabell, Virginians who in their differing ways defined the patterns which 20th-century Southern fiction was to take when it became serious and fell into the hands of that group of writers of talent who have practised...

Words: 2151 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Jason's Decline

...William Faulkner’s The Sound and The Fury gives a take on the decline of the old south not often seen. His discussion of racism and southern ideals leads the reader to understand more of what the old south was truly like. His novel centers around scenes of death, bringing the themes of the book to light through flashbacks. The juxtapositions of death with scenes of life showcase the themes of the decline of the old south, and corruption within southern families. The death of the Compson’s grandmother, DaMuddy, is the first step in the decline of the Compson family. She is the oldest matriarch of the family, and with her death, comes the decline of the family, the decline of their ideals, and the decline of the Compson family legacy. In Benjy’s section, her death is...

Words: 1183 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Analytical Essay In Flannery O Connor's Barn Burning

...housekeeper Dilsey so the children missed the true love of the mother. Caroline’s attitude was the main cause of the negative responses in the children. The mentally retarded child Benjy is making her completely upset. She is getting easily irritated and worried about small and minor matters and is not at all concerned about the feeling of children. It was his sister Caddy’s love that made all the difference for Benjy. Mrs. Compson worries that Benjy will get sick from the cold, but she seems more concerned about the prospect of Benjy’s sickness ruining her Christmas party than about his actual welfare. She gives more importance to her brother than her husband or her children. There was a time when aristocratic women conducted themselves in a particular manner maintaining their figure well but today times have changed and people do not give importance to the values of old order. In addition to this skirmish between mother and daughter also shows their...

Words: 1290 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

William Faulkner

...Name Professor Course William Faulkner William Faulkner is viewed by many as America's greatest writer of fiction. He was born in New Albany, Mississippi, where he lived a life of up and downs. Although, despite the down times he would become known as a poet, a short story writer, and finally one of the greatest contemporary novelists of his time. William Faulkner's accomplishments resulted not only from his love and devotion to writing, but also from family, friends, and certain uncontrollable events. William Faulkner's life is an astonishing accomplishment; however, it is crucial to explore his styles of writing, and how one particular style of writing was able to alter my path in the way I approach my goals in life. He adjusts the style to fit the topic, able to adapt a more traditional type as he easily can invent new, complicated techniques of writing. Throughout his early education, he would work conscientiously at reading, spelling, writing, and arithmetic. However, he especially enjoyed drawing. When Faulkner got promoted to the third grade, skipping the second grade, he was asked by his teacher what he wanted to be when he grew up. He replied, "I want to be a writer just like my great granddaddy"(Minter 18). Faulkner took interest in poetry around 1910, but no one in Oxford, Mississippi, could tell him what to do with his poems. Shortly after, he met a man named Phil Stone. So one afternoon, Stone went to Faulkner's house to get to know him better, and...

Words: 1252 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Cochlear Implant Pros And Cons

...different from a hearing aid. Hearing aids magnify sounds so damaged ears may identify them. Cochlear implants escape damaged areas of the ear and activate the auditory nerve directly. Signals made by the implant are sent from the auditory nerve to the brain, which recognizes the signals as sound. Hearing through a cochlear implant is not the same as normal hearing and takes time and practice to learn or relearn. On the other hand, it allows many people to identify warning signals, recognize other noises in the surroundings, and enjoy a talk in person or by phone.(National Institute on Deafness, 1) When the device was first developed...

Words: 714 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Macbeth Tragic Hero Research Paper

...becoming king is more difficult for him now. He does the extreme to make sure all the power is in his hands. Along with peripeteia comes anagnorisis. Anagnorisis is the moment when Macbeth, the hero makes a critical discovery. With anger towards his nemesis Macduff, he replies, “Accurséd be that tongue that tells me so,/For it hath cowed my better part of man!/And be these juggling fiends no more believed/That palter with us in a double sense,/That keep the word of promise to our ear/And break it to our hope. I'll not fight with thee" (5.8.21-26). He experiences anagnorisis when his efforts are taken advantage of and it's a little too late for him to switch things around, as he soon dies. The ones closest to him use him for power, but he has no time on his hands to make a difference. Peripeteia and anagnorisis lead to him being respected even after the big unexpected change in his...

Words: 786 - Pages: 4