The Sound and the Fury (1929) (edit title/settings)

Page numbers refer to the Vintage International "corrected text" paperback edition of The Sound and the Fury, published by Random House. Scene numbers are supplied for convenient cross-referencing.

P. 3, Scene 1 (1928) Through the fence . . .

As indicated by the heading, this section is set in the present time, April 7, 1928, which is the Saturday before Easter Sunday. (Faulkner was very careful to make the date coincide with the actual date of Easter in that particular year.) Throughout this section, the dating is easy since each scene is identified by the presence of Luster as Benjy's attendant and by Luster's searching for a lost quarter as they wander about the Compson premises.

In the appendix to Malcolm Cowley's The Portable Faulkner and also in the Norton critical edition of the novel, Faulkner wrote that Luster was fourteen years old and that Luster was capable of handling an idiot who was twice his age. Since Benjy is thirty-three on this day, Luster would have had to be sixteen or seventeen. Furthermore, internal evidence in the section indicates that Luster would have to be more than fourteen because in another scene (Scene 7), which occurs in April 1913, Luster is already born and is playing with baby Quentin, Caddy's daughter. We must therefore assume that Faulkner was in error in assigning Luster's age as fourteen. After all, he wrote the appendix approximately sixteen years later without rereading the novel (see Malcolm Cowley, The Faulkner-Cowley File), and the appendix should be viewed, at least partly, as a separate artistic creation because there are several other troublesome inconsistencies between it and the text.

As noted above, the date, April 7, 1928, is also Benjy's thirty-third birthday. All of these facts have a certain symbolic importance. April, as a month, is symbolic of growth and also decay, of life and also death. It is the month in which Christ was crucified, and the Saturday between the Friday of Crucifixion and the Sunday of Resurrection is, by tradition, one of the figuratively darkest days in the history of Christianity. April is also the month when all things begin growing again — the beginning of the cycle of life. Thus, Benjy is placed in the midst of greenness and fertility of April, and his moaning becomes the hopelessness of all the voiceless misery represented by the death of Christ. The flowers that Benjy loves are a contrast to the ugliness of his own appearance. In this month of rebirth, however, Benjy is conscious only of death — many of the things he remembers are associated with funerals and with deaths.

Critics have often characterized Benjy as a Christ figure because he is thirty-three years old, the age of Christ when He was crucified. Benjy has been castrated, which implies that the modern Christ is impotent against all the evil present in the modern world. Benjy also suffers as Christ did, but Benjy's suffering is to no avail. He cannot intervene, as did Christ, because he is, Faulkner says, an idiot. The implication through all these Christ images is that the Christ figure in the modern world is reduced to an impotent, moaning, mindless being who cares only for his own personal comforts.

This section is narrated as though we were seeing all the events through the eyes of a thirty-three-year-old boy-man. Since Benjy is incapable of logical thinking, we have a section that seems terribly confused and illogical. Most of the section simply records sensory impressions that he remembers. When he sees one thing, such as a fence, he is immediately reminded of another episode in which the same object was involved. There is often a jump back in time without any warning to the reader. In one paragraph Benjy might be remembering something that happened only a few years ago, and then suddenly he recalls a similar event that happened some fifteen, twenty, or thirty years ago, and, once in the past, he might either come forward or go further backward in time. Often, but not always, the time change will be indicated by the use of italics.

Since the section is being narrated by a mentally slow man who cannot comment on actions, we must note carefully the images that affect him. For example, when he hears the golfers call for their caddie, the word reminds him of his sister, Caddy, whom Benjy loves more than any other person. The mention of her name causes him to start moaning. Likewise, the golf course at one time belonged to the Compsons. It was generally referred to as "Benjy's pasture." In 1909, Mr. Compson sold this pasture in order to send Quentin to Harvard and to buy more liquor for himself. Thus, in one sense, Benjy misses both his sister, Caddy, and his pasture. Furthermore, in 1910, Benjy was castrated after people thought he was trying to attack some young girls. Consequently, when Benjy sees the golf balls, he is perhaps reminded of his castration.

P. 4, Scene 2 (two days before Christmas, about 1902) Caddy uncaught me . . .

In this paragraph, we shift abruptly into the past, into what we call "the Patterson episode." It is virtually impossible to date this episode with absolute accuracy since there is no definite indication of its chronology. However, from suggestive evidence, we must assume that both Caddy and Benjy are still rather young. It is therefore safest to assume that this passage — and the entire Patterson episode — occurs in December (two days before Christmas) in 1902, or 1903, or 1904. The earlier date is more likely since Caddy would be only eleven years old and would still have her innocence, as suggested by Benjy's reaction to her. The later date (1904) would place her in early puberty and would probably cause a different reaction in Benjy's mind.

A close examination of the shift in time will familiarize the reader with the basic technique, or rationale, by which Faulkner shifts time. When Luster helps Benjy through the fence in 1928, Benjy's mind automatically returns to an earlier scene in which he was involved in the same type of activity. Getting snagged on a nail while he is with Luster reminds him of a time twenty-six years earlier when he was snagged on a nail when he was with Caddy. Time, of course, has no meaning for Benjy, and the past and the present blend into one response for him. Many of the scenes in the past that Benjy remembers are connected with his sister, Caddy, in one way or another. Note also that when there is a sudden shift in time, as in this passage, Faulkner will often (but again, not always) give the reader a hint of a time change by putting part or all of the scene in italics; or if one scene in the past is in italics, he will often shift to roman type for the next scene in the present.

P. 5, Scene 3 (about 1902) "It's too cold out there."

The mention of the cold weather just before Christmas carries Benjy's memory back to an earlier scene the same day. Faulkner's technique often shifts the time sequence back and forth without regard for chronological order. To read the passage in chronological order, one would read this section first. These passages are characterized by Benjy's reaction to sensual impressions, such as the coldness of the iron gate or the rattling of the leaves. His world is based upon things that he can immediately sense or that give him pleasure.

The entire Patterson episode (Scenes 2, 3, 5, 9, 10, and 46) has the least thematic importance in the novel. It functions mainly to contribute to the complete picture of the Compson world. For example, note how Uncle Maury ingratiates himself with his sister (Mrs. Compson); note also that every one of his actions has some type of selfish motivation — either he drinks Mr. Compson's liquor or borrows money from Mrs. Compson, or he uses the Compson children as his go-betweens or as his pimps. This act alone indicates the total lack of any moral values on the part of the Bascomb family. Note also that Mrs. Compson is more concerned about Benjy's being a judgment on her than she is about Benjy's welfare.

P. 6, Scene 4 (1928) What are you moaning about . . .

At the end of the above passage, circa 1902, Benjy's memories of his sister, Caddy, cause him to start moaning in the present (1928), and Luster, his attendant, cannot understand this sudden moaning because naturally he cannot know what is transpiring in Benjy's mind. Consistently, Benjy's moaning is the result of his remembering Caddy. In this short passage, Faulkner introduces the idea of pacifying Benjy with a flower (or weed), a contrasting image to his sterility.

P. 7, Scene 5 (about 1902) "What is it."

This section is an obvious continuation of Scene 3, interrupted only by Luster's complaining about Benjy's moaning.

With this scene, it now becomes clear why Benjy was moaning in the earlier section. He instinctively knew that it was about time for Caddy to come home from school, and he wanted to be at the gate when she came. Actually, we should see this scene as representative of the many times when Benjy went to the gate to meet Caddy, an action that carries significant import later, when Benjy remembers going to the gate to meet Caddy and being accused of attacking some young girls.

This scene also gives us additional insight into Mrs. Compson's character. Her whining is always a result of some minor event that she thinks happened simply to upset her. Mrs. Compson's selfishness is seen in her concern that Benjy might get sick when she is going to have a house full of company. Her concern is not so much with Benjy's possible sickness as it is with the thought that it would inconvenience her.

P. 9, Scene 6 (1928) Cant you shut up . . .

Again, Benjy's memory of Caddy causes him to start moaning, and the moaning annoys Luster. We should be aware that the two, Luster and Benjy, are moving about the environs of the Compson estate and certain objects evoke early memories for Benjy.

P. 9, Scene 7 (April 1913) "Git in, now, and set still . . ."

The exact time of this section is difficult to determine. Most critics assign it to sometime (a week or so) after the death of Mr. Compson. (For example, see Stuart and Backus, "Each in its Ordered Place," American Literature 1958, pp. 453-54.) Evidence drawn from other parts of the novel indicates that the scene must take place at least a year after Mr. Compson's death, probably on the first anniversary of his death. We know that Mr. Compson died less than two years after his son Quentin committed suicide in 1910, making Mr. Compson's death occur in the spring of 1912. We also know that Jason did not start to work in the hardware store until after his father's death and after Mrs. Compson used a thousand dollars of her inheritance to invest in Jason's job. Since this scene presents Jason as already working at the hardware store, it is unlikely that the scene occurs only a week or so after the funeral. And since Mrs. Compson is carrying fresh flowers, we may assume that the scene is in the springtime. Furthermore, Miss Quentin, as a young girl, is down at Dilsey's house playing with baby Luster, who was born about 1912 and would have to be about a year old, again suggesting that the scene should be set in 1913. It is difficult to assign it a later date (such as Spring 1914) because Roskus is still alive and it is suggested that he did not live long after the death of Mr. Compson.

The reader should now become aware of a developing pattern. The things that Benjy remembers are correlated with the day's activities in 1928. These scenes in the earlier part of the section are evoked as a result of Luster's taking Benjy to the same place where an earlier event was initiated. For example, in the preceding scene in 1928, Luster carries Benjy by the carriage house, and Benjy remembers another event that involved the carriage house — that is, the trip to the graveyard. Therefore, all the scenes in the first part of the section occur as a result of Benjy and Luster's actions outside the house, in 1928. In contrast, the scenes that Benjy remembers about his name being changed from Maury to Benjy occur in the last part of the section because Luster carries Benjy into the house, and events inside the house evoke these other memories.

P. 12, Scene 8 (1928) Cry baby, Luster said.

P. 12, Scene 9 (1902) "Keep your hands in your pockets."

P. 13, Scene 10 (sometime later) Mr Patterson was chopping . . .

The barn that Benjy sees in Scene 8 (1928) carries his memory back to a continuation of the earlier scene, when he and Caddy are delivering a letter to Mrs. Patterson. This event then causes Benjy to correlate that time with another time, when he tried to deliver a letter by himself. The time of this event has to be in the spring, some months later, because by now Mr. Patterson has intercepted a letter, and the affair must come to an end. Benjy's reactions here are also important. He was doing fine with his task until he looked at Mrs. Patterson's eyes and saw hostility and fear in them. Then he became frightened and could not move. Had Mrs. Patterson not been so hostile and frightened, Benjy would not have become so rigid and frightened. The results of this event will be narrated later on inside the house (Scene 46).

P. 14, Scene 11 (1928) "They aint nothing . . ."

As Luster leads Benjy down to the branch, or stream, Faulkner is preparing us for the most signicant jump back in time in the entire section, the one that occurs by the branch. This long section in the present time gives us the rationale for Luster and Benjy's journey. In the Jason section (Section III), we learn that Jason maliciously burned two tickets Friday night rather than give them to Luster, who is now searching for his lost quarter so that he can attend the minstrel show. The show itself becomes a dominant motif in the present since Miss Quentin will later become involved with some of the show people. Important also is the fact that Benjy's age is finally stated, and that the golfers calling for their caddie reminds him of his sister, Caddy.

P. 17, Scene 12 (1898) . . . and Roskus came . . .

P. 17, Scene 13 (1898) She was wet.

In dating these two parts, we should again be aware of the time shift. Scene 12 consists of only two and one-half lines and occurs about an hour or so later than does Scene 13. The arrival at the branch then evokes scenes associated with this branch back in 1898, which are the easiest to date because the children talk about their ages. Also, throughout the Benjy section, this branch episode conforms most accurately to a chronological order.

The scenes at the branch present symbolically most of the themes and ideas of the novel in miniature. These scenes show symbolically the fate and characteristics of the characters in later life. First, Caddy's actions here are extremely significant. That she falls down and gets her drawers muddy symbolically suggests her later sexual promiscuity. Her utter disregard for her own appearance and her willingness to remove her clothes in front of the blacks are correlated with her later acts that defy accepted social behavior. Second, Quentin is seen as the rather quiet and taciturn person who is more concerned with Caddy's actions than he is with his own. Even this early in life, he tries to prevent Caddy from soiling herself. When Quentin slaps her and she falls down again, we could suggest that, symbolically, Quentin is partially responsible for Caddy's sin.

Aspects of Jason's character are suggested here also. He is seen playing by himself down the creek. His isolation foreshadows his later rejection of all the family ties and his total disregard for any family feelings. Finally, when Benjy sees that Caddy has a muddy behind, he begins to cry. Later in the novel when Caddy has actually been promiscuous, Benjy is able to sense her immorality and cries about it. Basically, then, the adult characteristics of all the Compson children are suggested here in miniature — Caddy's muddy behind, Quentin's intense concern over Caddy's behavior, Jason's rejection and disregard for the family, and Benjy's ability to intuitively sense deviations from the norm.

P. 19, Scene 14 (1928) What is the matter . . .

Often Benjy's thoughts of the past are only temporarily interrupted by Luster's comments in 1928. This scene is a good example, for Benjy is thinking about the branch scene and Caddy's comforting him when Luster interrupts to ask why he is moaning. As soon as Luster is quiet again, Benjy's thoughts return to the branch scene, set in 1898.

Luster's remarks about Benjy's thinking the pasture is still his comes from the fact that once the pasture did belong to the Compsons, but Mr. Compson had to sell it to pay for Quentin's year at Harvard. This is our first knowledge of this fact, another one of the many facts that have to be held in abeyance until a later point in the novel when they will become clearer.

P. 19, Scene 15 (1898, same as Scene 12) Roskus came and said . . .

Note that the beginning words of this scene are almost identical to the entire Scene 12; it now fits into its proper chronological order. This scene further illustrates certain characteristics in miniature that will become dominant motifs later on. First, Caddy and Quentin are both concerned over whether Jason is going to tell on them. Apparently, Jason is different from the other children even at this early age, and he is not in their confidence. Quentin is more concerned over Jason's telling than is Caddy in spite of the fact that it is Caddy who is at fault. Again, this suggests Quentin's over-sensitive concern for Caddy's welfare. Quentin even goes so far as to try to bribe Jason not to tell. Caddy's later disregard for what her family thinks of her actions is foreshadowed here in her disgust at Jason and her pretended unconcern over whether or not he will tell. A further confusion is that Benjy is called "Maury," and during the first reading of the novel this creates a certain difficulty since we are not aware of his name change until later in the novel.