The Sound and The Fury (TSATF) by William Faulkner revolves around the rise and fall of the Compson family. We witness the events that unfold through the eyes and mind of the Compson sons by the use of monologues and stream of consciousness. Throughout the novel there is one character that is present yet absent in the lives of the Compsons: Candice Compson. William Faulkner described Caddy as his “heart’s darling”, yet he did not allow Caddy a voice in the novel. Although we are not able to hear her side of the story; it is clear that Caddy is the center of the novel. Some critics have argued about the relevance and importance of Caddy as a character in the novel, however, analyzing the role of Caddy in each of her brothers lives can demonstrate that she is the driving force of the action of the novel. One critic claimed, “This is not a novel about Caddy, despite Faulkner’s claims, but about her brother’s responses to her, about how men deal with women and sexuality.” (Clarke, 20) It is easy to see the novel as an account of the demise of the Compson family, however, the reason for this fall cannot be dismissed. That reason being Caddy. TSATF can be seen as a novel centered around a young girl’s coming of age story through the eyes of her brothers. The importance of Caddy as a character is defined by the mere fact that she serves as a catalyst for the brothers life changing events. Each brother provides a different perspective of the influence she has on the family and
In the short story A Rose for Emily written by William Faulkner, readers are immersed in the narrative of a supposed town member who describes the impact that the recent death of an old woman has had upon their small community. In the narrative, readers are taken on a journey through the life of Miss Emily, an old, lonely woman who is seemingly frozen in her own timeframe. As the story unfolds, readers learn about the various tragedies Emily encountered in her lifetime such as the sudden death of her controlling father as well as her alienation from other family members that leaves her utterly alone following his death. Audiences also learn about events that happened throughout Emily’s life that both molded her as a person and aided in shaping her reputation around the town. From her controversial relationship with a construction worker named Homer Barron to her suspicious purchase of arsenic at the local drug store, there is no question that Emily lived under the constant scrutiny of her fellow townspeople. After reading the initial sentences, it can be concurred that this story doesn’t simply describe the life of an old, questionably insane woman, but also the story of the age-old battle between old and new. Through symbolism and an artful arrangement of the events described, Faulkner is able to meticulously weave a tale of the clash between newer and older generations’ views and standards.
Falling apart and little hope left, the Bundren family travels together and only weakens their connections with one another. Attaining family love and appreciation,Faulkner alleges, can only occur when the members
The Sound and the Fury, by William Faulkner, is an excellent representation of culture change in America during the 1920s. The interaction between the Black servants and their white employers portray a sense of the feeling that the South was going through because they knew that times were changing, aristocracy was slowly diminishing and Modernism was rapidly rising. One of the strongest characters in the novel is Dilsey, who narrates the last part of the novel. She is represented as a grandmother figure, a black servant to the Compson family. Dilsey was present when the Compson family rose to power and remains during their downward spiral. Dilsey also represents a deeper meaning for the novel, she represents the modern era which is
So much of what one learns about love is taught by people who never really loved in return. That was the case for the perturbed Dewey Dell and the relationship obtained with her mother Addie Bundren. Dewey Dell, the only daughter of Addie, is left alone to discover the social constructions that Addie went through. Addie, as a mother, is hardly ever represented and she never proclaims her “love” for her daughter. Through Dewey Dell’s future motherhood, language, and sexuality, she undergoes conflictions and discoveries without the help of her mother. Dewey Dell’s character signifies the defilement of future female generations living in a patriarchal society. Faulkner uses the disconnected relationship between Dewey Dell and Addie to demonstrate
Analyzing character in a Faulkner novel is like trying to reach the bottom of a bottomless pit because Faulkner's characters often lack ration, speak in telegraphed stream-of-consciousness, and rarely if ever lend themselves to ready analysis. This is particularly true in As I Lay Dying, a novel of a fragmented and dysfunctional family told through fragmented chapters. Each character reveals their perspective in different chapters, but the perspectives are true to life in that though they all reveal information
“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner presents yet another example of a woman who possesses feelings of adoration and hatred but is constantly in despair and isolation because of the male influences in her life. Like the woman, Delia, in “Sweat”, she holds these hateful and even fearful feelings held up inside of herself until she acts out and does something drastic, for example, murdering Homer Barron (913). In “A Rose for Emily”, like in “Sweat”, the male figures are characterized as being very authoritative and controlling, in the case of Emily, her father is this male figure. The narrator provides a detailed description of him next to Emily as others pictured them, as a “tableau”. “Miss Emily a slender figure in white in the background, her father a spraddled silhouette in the foreground, his back to her and clutching a horsewhip, the two of them framed by the backflung front door.”(909). The imagery of the father clutching the whip next to the fragile Emily against a such a pure white background brings one to see and acknowledge the dominating and controlling nature of their relationship, better than any passage of conversation ever could
When a person has only been taught dysfunctional love, it is all too often that this is the only kind of love they will ever experience. In “A Rose for Emily”, William Faulkner explores an unorthodox relationship between an aristocratic southern lady named Miss Emily Grierson, and a blue-collar northern fellow named Homer Barron. The narrator, who likely represents the townspeople, describes Miss Emily’s unusual father in detail. Because of this illuminating description, the reader is able to begin to understand the strange dynamic Mr. Grierson and his daughter share. The story reveals how an over-controlling parent can negatively
In William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury, the Compson family passes from respectable to despicable as they relate their history through memories. Faulkner uses a stream of consciousness narrative style that confuses the chronology of time and the sequence of events. The story unfolds through the experiences and interpretations of three brothers obsessed with the actions and the absence of their sister, Caddy. Time has not been kind to the old Southern aristocratic family and the children are on the brink of both social and moral decay. The concept of time is a central theme throughout the novel that is altered by each
Faulkner’s use of southern gothic writing style helps the reader build a mental depiction of Miss Emily. When the town sent their ambassadors to discuss the taxes that were owed, Faulkner described Miss Emily as “bloated, like a body long submerged in motionless water” (2182). This description gives the reader the sense that the character is not well. Faulkner’s description that Miss Emily looked bloated achieves the desired effect on the reader to show how hideous she appears. This graphic description, combined with the author’s depressing description of the parlor (2182), makes the reader think of death. The reader gets the sense of being in a funeral parlor which helps to strengthen Faulkner’s narrative.
Faulkner has characterized all the characters in the best possible way. Emily Grierson, Homer Barron, Judge Stevens – the mayor of Jefferson, Mr. Grierson – Emily’s father, Tobe – Emily’s servant, and Colonel Sartoris – a former mayor of Jefferson are the major charters in the story. The narrator describes Emily as a monument, but with a lot of negativity. The story shows us how she was a smart young girl and then how she end up being an overprotective and secretive old woman. She refused to accept the change when her father died and that’s why she kept telling all the people in town that her father is still alive. Homer Barron is much like Emily. Like Emily, Homer is an outsider and becomes the topic of gossip. The narrator describes Homer as a big man with dark complexion with a good sense of humor. Tobe’s character in the story plays an important role. He is a loyal and dutiful servant. He cared for Emily till she died, but he walked out of the back door and never returned after Emily’s death. Mr. Grierson was a well-maintained person. When he was alive, Emily’s house was always beautifully maintained. He earned a lot of respect in the society but when he died the respect towards his family died with him.
1. Discuss the ways in which Faulkner uses Miss Emily 's house as a symbol and/or metaphor both her character 's personality and circumstances and for the narrative 's broader themes. What does the description of Emily 's house—at the beginning of the story, particularly, but also throughout the narrative—reveal about her character? About the story 's historical setting? About the narrative 's central concerns?
One of the biggest themes in the novel “The Sound and the Fury”, written by William Faulkner, is how the presence of time affects human life. The novel is separated into four different parts, Benjy’s, Quentin’s, Jason’s, and a third person narrative that could be considered Dilsey’s section. Benjy, Quentin, and Jason are all Compson children, and Dilsey is their black servant. The motif of time is obvious in this novel, as Faulkner emphasizes how the passing of time affects all four of our narrators differently.
In Faulkner's story, an onlooker tells of the peculiar events that occurred during Miss Emily's life. The author never lets the reader understand Emily's side to the story. Instead, the reader is forced to guess why Emily is as strange as she is. In the story, Emily had harbored her father's dead body in her house for three days (par. 27). The reader is told of how the town looked upon what Emily had done, but the reader is never able to fully understand Emily's actions until the end of the story.
Faulkner cannot be criticized for the creation of a bad vision of women in the case of Emily Grierson. The character was a victim of circumstances, where the gender issue was only one of several factors. But it played its role in tragic events. From the lens of feminist theory, the major problem of the story was the fact people believed women cannot deal with their problems (even personal) by themselves. As Faulkner focused on Miss Emily, it is hard to claim, if this attitude was limited by female representatives of noble families. But it is possible to suggest women of all social classes were closely watched by moral crusaders. Forcing women to follow customs, like marrying before thirty, they simultaneously disrupted their attempts by additional requirements. It could be the social status, like in the case of Miss Emily, or any other feature. But the result was the same: the community felt sorry for woman, who could not satisfy its requirements, despite the fact the society made it impossible or too difficult by itself. Miss Emily’s actions were extreme, but they reflected a strong pressure a woman could feel in such
Bleikasten concludes that Faulkner, like many of his contemporaneous authors, recognized the inability of language to express beauty, truth, and perhaps womanhood, and so could only explain by not explaining, narrate by not narrating, and write by not writing. I think one could additionally argue that this is why Faulkner does not “write” Caddy, or give her a voice, because language would (apparently) spoil her beauty (which I cannot help reading as an excuse). When Bleikasten insists that Faulkner’s “insistence on his failure was no pose,” I get frustrated with him, because I simply want to ask, “How do you know?”. I already have trouble taking Faulkner’s introductions seriously when he describes the development of The Sound and the Fury for they seem to include much idealization and dreamy hindsight.