April/Faulkner Book: The Sound and the Fury

[Scheherazade]

I have finally read the thread from the start. There are many points highlighted/discussed but I would like to add my comments as well (at the risk of being repetitive and boring you guys!)

- I think Caddy becomes an important figure in her brothers' lives because their mother fails to act like a 'proper' mother figure, leaving a big gap and they all turn to her, instead of their mother, for feminine affection and assurance. I cannot help wondering if Quentin's obsession carries a tinge of Oedipus complex as well. He repeats couple of times in his chapter: 'If I’d just had a mother so I could say Mother Mother'.

- Caddy, I believe, does not get a chapter in the book because she is an 'image' for her brothers, idealised through lack of a mother figure. If there were a chapter from her point of view, she would become a 'real' person and we would find out about her and her thoughts, developing our like/dislike. However, without a chapter, we see her through her brothers' eyes and that is all we need to know about her, for the story's sake. Faulkner does not even give a clear indication of what happens to her after she leaves.

- Looking at chapters... I wonder if Faulkner is letting us see their world through different 'mediums'. Benjy perceives the world through his senses. He smells, hears (rain), sees and touches (burning himself in the fire). It is very interesting that his chapter is full of expressions suggesting that things seemly stopped existing when they are out of his sight and then come back again. Quentin perceives the world through his emotions. He is a very sensitive, emotional person and his actions are based on his feelings. Jason, on the other hand, is constantly calculating. We hardly ever witness him saying/thinking anything emotional or sensitive. He is all cool materialism and calculations. The omniscient chapter at the end comes too late; we still don't get an objective insight into the past as it mainly concentrates on present.

-The little Italian girl and her brother... Quentin befriends not only the little girl but also other little boys. I think it shows that he is more at ease with children. It is interesting that the little girl's brother is doing what Quentin himself would like to do with Caddy's boyfriends; confront and scare them off to protect his little sister. However, unlike the little girl's brother, he is not successful at confrontations.

- The significance of Easter... Virgil, I agree with your observation that Reverend Shegog's sermon addresses to the Compson family but I am not persuaded that any other religious festival would have done the trick. I can't help thinking that there must be a grand purpose behind Faulkner's choice even though I cannot put my finger on it - my limited knowledge of Christianity fails me, I am afraid.

[papayahed]

I- The significance of Easter... Virgil, I agree with your observation that Reverend Shegog's sermon addresses to the Compson family but I am not persuaded that any other religious festival would have done the trick. I can't help thinking that there must be a grand purpose behind Faulkner's choice even though I cannot put my finger on it - my limited knowledge of Christianity fails me, I am afraid.

I don't think any other religious festival would have fit either. Easter is about death and rebirth - perfect for this story.

[Scheherazade]

I don't think any other religious festival would have fit either. Easter is about death and rebirth - perfect for this story.

I can see how the death aspect fits in but what do you think about the rebirth? Rebirth of whom/what? A new class and social order maybe?

[papayahed]

I can see how the death aspect fits in but what do you think about the rebirth? Rebirth of whom/what? A new class and social order maybe?

I guessing a rebirth of the family (well the death of the old ways). Quentin is off to a new life. Jason has one less person to take care of, how soon before Benny is sent to Jacksonville (Jacksonville right?) and he probably won't be getting any more money from Caddie....

[Ryduce]

Could the death of the grandmother in the beginning be symbolic of the death of the traditional Southern society?

[Scheherazade]

I guessing a rebirth of the family (well the death of the old ways). Quentin is off to a new life. Jason has one less person to take care of, how soon before Benny is sent to Jacksonville (Jacksonville right?) and he probably won't be getting any more money from Caddie....

I am not sure the family will be 'reborn'. What is left of them? Jason, who is emotionally impossible to function and Benjy, who cannot function at all. I am not sure if we can still count Caddy and Miss Q in... Or even if we could, they have left the family so, in a way, don't want anything to do with it? It is ironic, I guess, that the rejects of the family are the only ones left to carry on (because they proved to be stronger/survivors?) I am not sure what kind of message Faulkner is giving here. I think I should really read this book again... and maybe again!

Could the death of the grandmother in the beginning be symbolic of the death of the traditional Southern society?

To me it seems like the Easter is symbolising more than the demise of the Compsons... A whole class and way of life are dying and I really like Ry's suggestion that Damuddy's death is the beginning of the fall. We never actually see her; she was ill (symbolic?) and then dies and, I believe, with her certain things disappear as well. Mrs C and Mr C are the ones left to tend to family. It was Jason, who had a particular fondness for her, wasn't it? She could deal with him but when she was gone, there was no one to check him?

[Virgil]

I can see how the death aspect fits in but what do you think about the rebirth? Rebirth of whom/what? A new class and social order maybe?

The aspect of Easter that fits in this novel is not rebirth, but sacrement and that sacrement becomes symbolic for a rite of passage. That's why I said other reiglious events from other religons could have worked if Faulkner and the characters belonged to those religions. If Faulkner had been Muslim and oriented the novel around Muslim culture, I could see Ramadan (a religious rite where sacrifice is required) worked into the novel.

[Scheherazade]

The aspect of Easter that fits in this novel is not rebirth, but sacrement and that sacrement becomes symbolic for a rite of passage. That's why I said other reiglious events from other religons could have worked if Faulkner and the characters belonged to those religions. If Faulkner had been Muslim and oriented the novel around Muslim culture, I could see Ramadan (a religious rite where sacrifice is required) worked into the novel.

Could you please explain why and how it becomes a rite of passage in the story, Virgil?

[papayahed]

The aspect of Easter that fits in this novel is not rebirth, but sacrement and that sacrement becomes symbolic for a rite of passage. That's why I said other reiglious events from other religons could have worked if Faulkner and the characters belonged to those religions. If Faulkner had been Muslim and oriented the novel around Muslim culture, I could see Ramadan (a religious rite where sacrifice is required) worked into the novel.

I don't see how sacrement fits the novel. Do you mean like one of the "sacrements", Easter isn't a sacrement .

[Virgil]

I don't see how sacrement fits the novel. Do you mean like one of the "sacrements", Easter isn't a sacrement .

Easter is not a sacrement, but communion is and that is derived from Easter events. A sacrement is a symbolic rite.

[papayahed]

Easter is not a sacrement, but communion is and that is derived from Easter events. A sacrement is a symbolic rite.

The Sacrement of Communion doesn't really fit with the novel. Communion is about the sacrifice Jesus made for us, we are recieving his body and blood at communion as a symbol of that sacrifice.

[Virgil]

The Sacrement of Communion doesn't really fit with the novel. Communion is about the sacrifice Jesus made for us, we are recieving his body and blood at communion as a symbol of that sacrifice.

Communion:
Commune, the bringing together of people into a community.
Communion: The ritual of shared humanity through the symbolic eating of the body and blood of Christ.

As opposed to the individual internalizations of Benjy, Quentin, and Jason.

Just dawned on me: Contrast the eating scenes (and there are several in the novel) with the last supper. Choas and fighting (TSATF) versus communal brotherhood (Matthew 26).

[papayahed]

I dunno, it seems to me that rebirth is more of a fit for this novel. At least for Quentin, throwing off the old ways and going out into the world.

[Virgil]

I dunno, it seems to me that rebirth is more of a fit for this novel. At least for Quentin, throwing off the old ways and going out into the world.

I think that's part of it too.

[ColdSore]

Just finished this on my own. Loved loved LOVED it. Hate to drudge up an old thread, but didn't know where else to talk about it.

I laughed out loud at how cruel and hilarious Jason's dialog could be at times.

Anyone else reading/read this?