William Faulkner sure did know how to win friends and influence people through his writing. I can promise with hardly any doubt that the first chapter of The Sound and the Fury is one of the most disorienting and question-provoking opening chapter in all of literature. I've read a lot of books, including some of the classics that are on the same level as the trials of Hercules, such as A Tale of Two Cities, so I think I can make a kind of statement like that. Anyway...
Why would Faulkner think that it was okay to do that to innocent readers?
Faulkner deliberately tried to confuse his readers because, however much we may want to disagree, the confusion did create a hook—I'm excited to read more of the book because I want to figure out what just flew way over my head. Because I know the book has multiple narrators, I want to learn about the story from a more stable point of view—then I can make sense of Benjy's chapter. To be honest, I'm fascinated by the book so far.
Another question—why is the first chapter set on Holy Saturday (the day before Easter) when the narrator is 33 years old? I think Faulkner did this to paint Benjy in a "holy" light—while Faulkner wasn't trying to say that Benjy actually is Jesus, he was trying to say that the two are similar. Basically, Faulkner wanted the reader to sympathize with, admire, and love Benjy (much like his Southern audience would have sympathized with, admired, and loved Jesus).
Finally, what's the point of Benjy as a character? Why did Faulkner make him mentally disabled, for example? Personally, I believe that Benjy's severely diminished mental capacities allow Benjy to truthfully portray what the Compson family is actually like. While high-functioning narrators could distort the truth about the family, Benjy is unable to do so. Benjy describes the Caddy as a loving, free spirit who gradually was forced to submit to societal pressures, for example. Another narrator, such as Jason, may have described Caddy as a rule-breaking, bossy big sister—that's far from the truth. Benjy isn't capable of having any ulterior motives against anyone else in the story, so he is able to speak the truth about the family rather than about a sugar-coated version.
brilliant, great writing and love the strong analysis and voice
ReplyDeleteI also wondered what Faulkner was trying to accomplish by making Benjy the way he did. I thought your comparison of Benjy's mental state to the Compson family dynamic was interesting and accurate. You also mentioned how Benjy is unable to distort the truth and I agree mostly, but I think it's important to remember that it is only the truth from his perspective. Benjy doesn't distort things intentionally, but his narrative is like looking through a kaleidoscope; things get a little blurred. This was a really interesting blog that I enjoyed reading.
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