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"All you need is the story..."- Tim O'Brien
"Literature has been the salvation of the damned, has inspired and guided lovers, routed despair, and can perhaps...save the world." John Cheever
21 comments:
Jason as a social commentary...this is difficult. It seems much easier to think of the social commentary on the novel as a whole, but here goes:
In quoting Jason Compson's first line "Once a bitch, always a bitch...", it's clear that he has become this utterly cruel and bitter man. In many ways, Faulkner illustrates that while society may be to blame for Jason’s character, it is the corruption of his family that really formulates him. The decline of the South came after the civil war ended, and the corrosion of the Compson family followed. What has been deemed wrong and right has ultimately guided the Compson family to their decline of self-pity and self-absorption. Jason finds himself surrounded by a self-pitying mother, disgraced sister, suicidal brother, and a mentally retarded brother as well. Overtime, Jason develops a deep resentment for his family, which based upon the corruption of Southern values and family values. Because Jason is not able to sustain his family name, he therefore fails as a provider in the confined principles of the South.
Unlike the rest of his family, Jason remains unconcerned with the past and has absolutely no aspirations. Therefore, Faulkner demonstrates the idea that self-centered people like Jason and his family have no chance for survival in the world. Essentially, Jason serves as an acerbic social commentary.
I agree with Alyssa that Faulkner is making a statement about wicked people, but maybe not so much self-centered. I think that Quentin is much more self concerned than Jason is and that his section proves the dangers more than Jason's. We were joking around in class today that Jason is the stereotypical business man because he is so heartless and uses others emotions to manipulate them. His cruelty seems to stem from his obsession with money—how he did not get the job at the bank, how he steals money from Quentin, how he does not give money to Luster. The language and sentence structure used is clear and more exact than the other sections, clear and exact just like way Jason counts the money that he has stolen. Society has made Jason so focused on his financial state and so obsessed with his family’s reputation that he has lost the ability to be compassionate. The suprising thing is that although Jason is evil, he is not an implausable character, which in itself says something about society.
Jason's miserable character and the evil that has over taken him, shows that this is all that is left of the Compson family. Faulkner uses Jason to emphasis the decline of a once respected, upper class family- every member of that family has now fallen from grace, and just an angry, selfish man remains. Does this mean that Faulkner is trying to portray that the good moral codes and prestige of the South's finest is just a meaningless and temporary glory? I also think that Jason's behavior towards Dilsey and Luster can be interpreted as social commentary. Alyssa mentioned the Civil War, so I would say that Jason's cruelty mimics the ignorance and hatred which propelled white Southerners during the time of slavery. We discussed in class how Jason, similar to most of the Compsons, is a "trapped" character. Jason does not and it seems that he cannot simply abandon the burdens of his family. I feel that this sense of no escape and Jason's urge to hide the emotional scars of his past demonstrates the tremendous pressure society puts on class values and wealth. Would Jason have been such a bitter man if he didn't feel as if he had to live up to something greater? Personally, I think he is just cruel but maybe Faulkner was commenting on something deeper.
Haha, someone's comment got deleted, sweet.
But really, when one looks at Jason's section, they are shown Jason and his own personal struggles and deteriorations, however, this decline is also seen in the family, which represents a larger decline of the doctrine of good old southern families. The Compson's and Jason find their "power" outdated and useless outside of the family setting. The farm and the hired help are both outdated. The Compson's are an old Southern family holding on to the last traditions of their Southern life as they can, just as Jason is holding on to the last power he will be able to seize in his life, which is the power he holds over the other members of his family.
Besides family in general, Faulkner is definitely commenting on the role of women. Jason obviously has a very strong position: he gives cocky advise to the reader about how to control women and discusses their "evident" frailties and faults. Once he becomes patriarch of his broken family, he has no qualms with manipulating his mother. (As other people touched on, Faulkner might also be critisizing this familial hierarchy, through Jason's failure and that of his drunken father.) I think Faulkner is commenting on and even satirizing Southern misogynist tendancies. Even for his time, Jason is extreme. Where the other brothers loved Caddie dearly as a person, Jason detests her because she brings him disrespect. To add another facet to the contrast of siblings, though Jason is the most "clear" when speaking, we also respect him the least, and he is equally confused and corrupted by his family.
As everyone mentioned, Jason is a product of a declining society and of a declining family. Jason's reaction and behavior towards his and his family's situation serves as Faulkner's social commentary. Jason, the youngest of four children, has been overlooked his entire life and has been left with the burden of providing for his family. But, instead of actually trying to make something of himself, he is pessimistic and has no hope. He can't handle being subservient to anyone, but throughout his section he bitches and moans about how immigrants are taking away from him and how he could've had it all but everything was wasted on Quentin, etc. I think what Faulkner is trying to say, in regard to the South after the war, that people need to move on. There were hundreds of thousands impoverished immigrants coming into the nation with absolutely nothing and making something of themselves. Through Jason, Faulkner is saying that Southerners, especially those who come from old wealth, need to abandon their pride and move on, start new.
When I read Jason's section, I have to admit that the social commentary Faulkner was trying to make wasn't as apparent to me as other novels we have read this year (Hard Times)-- It really was this blog that got me thinking about how this section relates to society and the outside world as a whole.
During my crazy "Matilda" rant and self-dubbed genius (I wish) comparison between Jason and the Trunchbull, I looked back to the book to see when it was written because apparently I have issues with time and context--Miss Siegs you understand--and I verified my belief that it was written in the 1920s. From the tid-bits that I have absorbed from history class, I 'm pretty confident that I can characterize the 1920s as a highly sexualized and rebellious or "roaring" era. Jason's section has a great deal of emphasis on Cady and the outcome of her childhood promiscuity. To me, the link between the events in the novel and the actual events that were occuring in history are very apparent. I think that one of Faulkner's intentions in creating Jason was to object to the revolutionizing era that was occuring while trying to explore and predict what society was going to become in the future.
...My prediction and hypothesis are solely based off of the fact that I think I'm good at analyzing things but usually find random links that can work but are just bizarre. However, to all of you who are reading this I hope you enjoy my creativity and are able to comprehend the inner workings of the brain of Mara Schlanger. Goodnight.
I am very fascinated by this question because it seems very challenging at first glance, but actually has meaning on several grounds. Jason's obsession with money and power, both of which define him, represent the evils that Faulkner must have observed in his society. Rachel's comment about Jason's treatment of women as an element of social commentary is also very believable. Jason's manipulative nature causes him to treat other people- most notably his black servants and the women in his family- as if they are not human. Faulker may have intended to convey a larger message- that blacks and women were inferior. As an additional point that hasn't yet been touched on, I think that the question of Jason's level of intelligence is an interesting way to answer this question. He is bitter about the fact that he did not have time for Harvard. But that does not prevent him from being a good, although corrupt, businessman as Ari G mentioned. I think that this distinction between the educated intellectual and the working man is important because it portrays the different positions in society to which people had access and the obligations that individuals and families faced.
well i wasn't in class today but steinman just called me to let me know there was a blog so i gotta thank him for that.
i don't know if we talked about this today but basically the only thing i could possibly see jason as being a commentary of is the great depression.
the depression happened in 1929. the book takes place mostly in 1928. one of the causes of the depression was poor foundations in businesses like agriculture. jason discusses how the farmers just play the stocks because their crops dont turn out well and they dont do well in the stocks either. in the end, even jason is left with a closed out bank account with about $20 in it.
i guess you could also say that jason represents the effect of society on the individual but that could easily be said for any of the characters so i'm not sure how valid it is to say that jason represents it more than any other character. then again, i suppose that was never the question.
if i think of anything else i'll post more.
Jason's section is the first section where we really get to see the world that exists outside of the Compson family. The Compson family was a prominent family during the time of the Civil War and has now deteriorated into what we know as the Compson family. Jason clearly has an issue with his social standing and feels the need to put others down because of it. He criticizes the Jews who live in New York because he is jealous of their wealth and he is rude to blacks because they are the only people around who are considered lower then him.
Jason's section shows the deterioration of the Old South and how it affects the Old Southern families and their positions. I think by putting this in Jason's section, who the reader is supposed to hate, it shows Faulkner's dislike of the Old South and that he feels people need to move on from these ideas.
Faulkner states, Jason is portrayed as a vicious, evil character. Not only is he a power-hungry, malicious, concious-less persona, he is a racist, a cheat, a crook, a lier, and a bully. Jason's violent nature can be traced to the brutal actions of southern citizens of the time. Not only were these people racist, some were physically violent to their servants, as when Jason shoves Dilsey when she is trying to protect Quentin. Jason's other moral iniquities can possibly be traced to the overall mentality of these people, given the decline of their culture and grandiose lifestyle. Jason's physical and emotional abuse of Quentin, his embezzlement of her money, are all examples of one stereotypical personality of the era: the arrogant bastard.Jason's mother could serve as another stereotyped character, the person who concedes failure (aka the decline of her family, or that of the Southern gentry) and slowly withers away. Another more concrete example of social commentary is the conflict that Jason has over the stocks that he is buying, and the competition with the "city people" whom he abhors. His financial troubles due to the booming cities and discintegrating rural areas shows the south's struggle against these financial powerhouses which are slowly choking their economy. Faulkner is using Jason's bad fortune as an example of the lives that most southerners led.
Ooh, tough question.
At first. I understand what Maddie was talking about...at first the social commentary doesn't seem very evident at all, but it's actually pretty clear. Jason is built out of all of this negativity, and every part of him can been seen as an aspect of society. Materialism, selfishness, physical and emotional cruelty, jealousy, social position, racism, and so on are embodied in the character of Jason. People in Faulkner's time (and ours still) were perhaps too caught up in their own needs, desires, and standings to care about the lives and emotions of others. They seek only to forward themselves in society, and Jason seems to be used to demonstrate the ultimate futility in all of these hateful pursuits.
Looking through other comments there seems like there's so much more going on that I'm missing...but at least what I stated above still seems to hold true.
I found that what Jason generally stands for, or even represents, perhaps, such as money and his need for power, among others, are things generally associated with corruption and iniquity. Portraying them through a character who is so easy to dislike only further exemplifies their evils, which may have been what Faulkner had intended to do. In response to the theories regarding Jason that have been mentioned, it seems that his malevolence is based on a need to justify himself and his self-worth, as outwardly he fancies himself as the epitome of perfection. With no one willing to verify his worth, he can only build himself up by destroying others. Essentially, that’s the story of insecurity and anyone who appears to have "self-love."
I digress--aside from that, Jason is blatantly a misogynist, and here I agree with Rachel on what I feel is truly the social commentary of the section. If the first line of his section, which reads, "Once a bitch always a bitch, what I say," doesn’t blatantly illustrate Jason’s misogynistic nature, his constant chauvinistic comments certainly do. Faulkner seems to be deriding his and the other male members of his family’s treatment of women and their role in southern society in general. The social commentary based on female treatment comes full circle, still applicable to the theories that the deterioration of the family, which is made clear in this section, represents the deterioration of the old South. The values of the culture were founded upon a patriarchal society, hence the misogyny, and although Jason attempts to assume that patriarchal role, the family deteriorates regardless.
Jason is, without a doubt, used by Faulkner to comment on a number of things about society - the decline of the South, the belief that women and blacks are inferior, etc. But I think this social commentary becomes most obvious when comparing Jason to Quentin. Maddie pointed out that Jason is a "working man," while Quentin is the "educated intellectual." This difference between them sets the ground for the point Faulkner is trying to make. Jason is stuck in the South, and from his treatment of the servants and the women in his family, it is obvious he thinks himself to be superior. Quentin, meanwhile goes to school in the North. He is kind to blacks and obviously admires Caddy. Jason is portrayed as evil and Quentin, though selfish, is essentially a good-hearted character. For me, it is in the differences between the two that I find what Faulkner is really saying.
I see Jason as a very materialistic being, whose every action is driven by personal profit. Whom does he love? Certainly not anyone in his household, and not the girl in Memphis. So if he represents materialism and worldly possessions, then perhaps Faulkner is trying to say the same as Dickens--those who reap in the tangible reaps little in the intangible. With his constant pursuit of money, he loses hold of everything else. Jason personifies what is wrong with absolute self-absorption.
I believe one of the most important aspects of southern society that Faulkner critisizes is the role of the family in the South. Falukner presents a very broken, disunited, and unloving family. This is unusual given the South's strong reputation of having very strong, united families. Throughout history, it has been noted that Southern families many times stay together, working and managing the plantations or farms together. However, no such family exists in The Sound and the Fury. I believe Faulkner is communicating that Southern families, once the gem of the South, are rapidly deterioating and disuniting. Faulkner could also be communicating that the South's reputation of having strong and united families is a myth.
I also believe Faulkner is trying to make the reader aware that more and more Southerners are becoming like Jason; hence, the reason why the South is unable to progress during this time period. An increasing amount of Jasons have doomed the South during the 1920s. The South has regressed and is in danger of never being able to progress and advance through time.
Jason's actions and attitudes are a clear reflection of the "Old South" or forgotten aristocracy that is quickly becoming background to a new southern philosophy in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Jason's emotional and vindictive treatment of African Americans, namely Luster and Dilsey, reveals that his head is stuck in the past, like many southerners Faulkner has probably come to know. His conceptualization of the African American culture and race is likewise stuck in the 1850s or 1860s philosophy, when slavery was readily present in much of the South. This leads the reader to believe that Faulkner, by developing Jason in this manner and making him the figurative "trash bin" for all the characters to dump their problems into, reveals that romanticized past Southern life is utterly disgraceful and outdated. What good in the story comes from Jason's attitudes towards African Americans? Better yet, what "good" does Jason experience that may somewhat redeem his behavior? Nothing. This only goes to show that by sculpting Jason in this manner, Faulkner is expressing an opinion on the nature of his society, specifically a criticism on the “Old South” frame of mind.
I think that Jesse made a great point in period 3 today about how Jason's hatred of the smell of gasoline represents his struggle to belong to the new Southern order. Gasoline represents the new technological era of cars as the primary form of transportation rather than the old-fashioned horse and buggy method (which Jason is accustomed to).
When I read this section, the simplicity of the narration surprised me. Tying this back to the social commentary question, Jason speaks directly because he cannot understand emotions and how his actions cruelly impact the people around him. (Because of Benjy’s attachment to Caddy’s wedding slipper, we know that the idiot child understands love better than Jason does.) Jason’s detachment from human feeling represents his utter detachment from the new order in society. The structure and linearity of Jason's narration demonstrates that he is part of a larger context, and this larger context gives us more clues to what Faulkner may have wanted us to see concerning the order of the old South.
Maddie commented that just because Jason did not go to Harvard it does not mean that he lacks intelligence. I think that this is interesting because in our society college seems to have a large impact on future job opportunities (or at least this is what most people think based on my understanding). By making Jason an uneducated yet intelligent individual, Faulkner informs readers that formal education is not essential for being smart. I doubt that this was his primary purpose in crafting Jason the way he did; however, it does give us an example to the underlying messages we may find in books if we study characters in depth.
All of Jason’s faults (and there are many) can be considered social commentary. Previous posts have already alluded to his thirst for power, racism, materialism, etc. When I was reading Jason’s section, I felt like Faulkner was trying to illustrate exactly what we should not be by portraying a character with a plethora of issues. Clearly, he is insecure. The old aristocratic values that place a heavy emphasis on reputation have been drilled into him, and having a suicidal brother, promiscuous sister, and retarded brother are not facts that Jason wants to share with the rest of the world. The impetus behind his materialistic tendencies is his wish to restore his family’s reputation. His other faults, especially racism, can be attributed to the scapegoat theory—he blames others, like blacks, Jews, and even his own siblings for everything that is wrong in his life. While he was writing Sound and the Fury, it seems like Faulkner carefully crafted Jason’s behavior and reactions, which are very realistic (I’m sure we’ve all blamed some poor innocent soul when we were insecure/mad). Psychology was developing during Faulkner’s time too, so maybe he took a psych class. Or maybe he’s just a genius. Probably the latter.
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