Quentin and Miss Quentin
Jason and Mr.Jason
Maury and Uncle Maury
I always mix these people up.I know who they are and everything,but because there is no concept of time I always get disoriented with who they are and their actions.
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Quentin and Miss Quentin
Jason and Mr.Jason
Maury and Uncle Maury
I always mix these people up.I know who they are and everything,but because there is no concept of time I always get disoriented with who they are and their actions.
I know what you mean, Ryduce. Keeps you on your toes. The two Jason's are the most difficult, since both are at some point in the story the head of the household. It's easier to tell the Quentins apart, for instance, when one of them is wearing red lipstick. :p
Riesa—Lord, no I'm not finished. I'm about halfway through Quentin's chapter. He just bought the Italian girl a roll. I gather from Virgil's posts that he and I have both read it before.
Yes, it is a very poetic novel. The narrative flow has been broken down to vignettes and so it feels like four stanzas of a poem. Riesa, have you read a Faulkner novel before? I really like Faulkner's sentences. They are different and I'm always amazed at how he captures a voice.Quote:
Originally Posted by Riesa
Yes, emily. I read this many years ago while an undergraduate. I just finished this reading yesterday and I loved it more than in college. This was not my favorite Faulkner novel back then, and while Light In August still is my favorite, this reading really made me appreciate TSATF. I'm going to re-read it again. If I have some time (and Lord knows lately I don't have much to myself) I'm going to go to the NY Public Library (main branch in Manhattan, which is outstanding) and do some critical research and see what some scholars say. I really want to know this book.
I just finsihed the first chapter. why do you think it is that Caddie smells like trees? And why is it we can hear the roof and fire? What's that all about.
Thanks for the intro, Virgil. And the heads up, Emily. I've been looking at sparknotes. Don't know if I should have waited until second reading though. I like to read a book through without any aids to get a first impression, then go back and use the helps. My Faulkner experience so far includes a couple readings of The Bear (quite some time ago) and some of his short stories. I wish I could keep up with you guys, but I think I'm going to just be learning from you on this one. Busy time--teaching, family, etc. The first section has been quite a trip. I'm having a little bit of a hard time with it being the perspective of a mentally handicapped person. When Benjy talks (moans) and when others relate to him, it's obvious that he is in that condition, but when we are inside his mind, he seems like a normal person. It doesn't seem consistent. That's bothering me a little. I'm wondering why Faulkner portrays all of these people as so dysfunctional, except for Dilsey. Why her as the one who's got it together? Todd
Papayahead, don't know about the roof and the fire, but Caddie...I think she probably smells like the trees because she's outdoors with Benjy a lot and the smell of the trees is the smell of nature, probably symbolizing innocence and purity. Later on I believe, after her immoral experiences, she stops smelling that way to Benjy.
There is one episode, when Caddy's 14, where she stops smelling like trees, but it's because she uses perfume. I don't have time to write down the passage, but she realizes that's what's upsetting him, and has him give the bottle to Dilsey. I think it's the sweetest quote, it made me tear up:
It shows just how selflessly devoted to Benjy she is; his happiness is her happiness.Quote:
"We don't care for perfume, ourselves."
Certainly innocence. Emily points out the perfume smell as counterpoint. Also, when Quentin the young girl escapes out the window in the last section, climbing out the window, it is pointed out that the tree has a particular aroma, not just an ambigious smell of tree that Benjy associates.Quote:
Originally Posted by toddhill
The fire confused me too. I think (and I could be wrong and when I re-read it I'll be more careful) it's Benjy's way of describing his castration.
That's what I was thinking too, but then I think somewhere in there during Caddy's wedding she smelled like trees also, but at that point she wasn't innocent any long.Quote:
Originally Posted by Virgil
Hmmm. I'm just speaking off the top of my head. I could be way off, but maybe the fact that she is getting married is a good thing, a pure thing, and so she smells like trees again. What do you think?
This book is like watching a movie with the scenes out of order.
It is not chronological or linear,but it is like a bunch of still shots jumbled together to create one giant image.
Oh realy, I didn't catch that.Quote:
Originally Posted by papayahed
Yeah, I like that analogy. That's why it seems so poetic like Riesa said.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ryduce
That's an interesting theory. I'm going to keep that in mind as I continue reading.Quote:
Originally Posted by toddhill
More analysis, less peanut-gallery tomorrow. :p I've been giving my post-it notes a workout in Quentin's section. No time just now, though.
Hey, I just had an epiphany about the tree smell thing while I was walking my dog through the neighborhood just now. Trees are in bloom here, especially dogwood trees, which give off a particular aroma at this time of year. Today is Aprl 4, just a few days different from when the novel is set. So I imagine the same aromas from various tree types occur in Mississippi, if not more so than around me. So the tree smell is associated with spring (with all it's meanings of rebirth) and with April (ala Chaucer's Canterbury Tales or T.S. Eliot's Waste Land) and with Easter (it is the Holy Weekend) and with the risen Christ. Perhaps.Quote:
Originally Posted by papayahed
Well, I wouldn't go quite so far as the risen Christ (I've learned to balk at the suggestion of Christ figures in literature), but the spring/Easter connection is a very intriguing one. How astute, Virgil!
And, no fair! Trees are blooming in NY already? It snowed today here in Vermont. :p
(And, uh... yeah, I'm still here. I wasn't lying when I said I had no time... now I have negative time. :blush:)
We can discuss whether Benjy is a Christ figure in the novel at some point. I believe it said he was 33 years old in the present time of the novel.Quote:
Originally Posted by emily655321
Coicindentally, emily, your post count as I write this is 3,333!
Yes our trees are blooming. I love spring.