Tearing your hair out yet?
I hope you had an enjoyable break. Please post a comment here on something incredible, awe-inspiring, miraculous, astounding, insert your own adjective of choice here, that you discovered in working out your chronology. We will continue to discuss time in class on Monday and then move to symbols for Tuesday and Wednesday. Please remember that the Quentin section should be read for discussion on Thursday!
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31 comments:
Cool. I think I'm the first person to comment (it says 'zero comments' and if it's lying to me I'll be very upset, might shed a tear or two).
Anyway, I spent about 3 hours on the chronology thing and I sort of went crazy in the middle of it. I honestly couldn't figure out when half of the events took place and there were a fair amount of them that seemed completely random. That being said (insert pause here: I'm desperately trying to think of something remotely redeeming about this process...) I actually got a lot more out of the chapter. I mean, I actually UNDERSTOOD some of what was going on and why the shifts in setting took place. I thought it was interesting that Caddy smelled like trees and Quentin, I believe, smelled like rain. It was an interesting contrast and I began to wonder what Jason smelled like (odd, since I usually don't ponder the odors of fictional characters and rarely those of real people either).
I actually may have discovered something profound, or at least I had a weird thought, about Benjy (sp?). So, I mentioned in class that he might be a Christ-figure (why am I ALWAYS noticing Christ-figures?!) basically because his birthday is around the time of Easter (the time Christ was resurrected) and he's sort of a martyr. The thing is, I randomly tied him to that poem we read ("I Go Back" by Sharon Olds) because he lacks that most important characteristic, a voice. He sees sadness, and sin and he can do nothing but cry. He is somehow separate from the rest of the family yet at the same time, deeply tied to them. He sees their downfall and cannot tell them. He must suffer because there is nothing else to do.
Well, that's pretty much all I got right now... I really hope I have a Google Account because if I don't and I need to retype all this I'm just going to get really mad and write about Benjy's 'attendants' being his apostles and Caddy being Judas (that's actually not too bad...)
Enjoy,
-Ashish [kabob]
And all becomes clear.
Even knowing the events and how Benjy melds the past and the present, I still love the imagery. One thing I thought was interesting was how Benjy connects Damuddy's death and Caddy's wedding. There are constrasting images that come up: Caddy and the dirty underwear and Caddy with the flowers in her hair. I think Benjy's narration is a way for Faulkner to establish what is important to the rest of the novel through the images he introduces in this section. The sensory details helped me figure out what was happening when (Caddy's underwear, the "saspurillah", the fire), and they were what stayed with me after the second reading.
I also have to say I love Benjy as a character. Although his section is difficult to read, he seems to have a sense of clarity that the other characters lack. He knows instictively when Caddy is with a man, and he is so loyal to her that it's heartbreaking.
I'm starting Quentin's section tonight. : )
Right, I haven't ripped out all my hair yet, but there is still time to.
Speaking of time, I'm going to do this whole blog in stream of conciousness...
No.
Faulkner starting the novel off with Benjy was probably a good idea, you definitely got the sense that the Compson family was on a decline. Also I think all Benjy's memories are related to Caddy. Nothing matters to Benjy as much as Caddy, he notices when she smells like trees and when she doesnt smell like trees. He crys when Caddy doesnt appear to be similar to how she was when they were kids. When she would come home from school and he would wait by the gate. Actually, i think Benjy never stops waiting for Caddy by the gate. Benjy has no sense of time, he exists in the past and present. He still thinks the Comptons own the pasture even though it has become a private golf course.
I lost track of what I was trying to say at the beginning, but anyway, Benjy makes the perfect opening narrator because he can set the groundwork for the reader. His narration is emotionless but he tells us the events that created the present. And the present is sad, friends.
We all seem to agree that the chronology of the novel is both important and difficult to understand. Having Benjy as the narrator is both good and bad. Benjy gives us an insight that no other narrator could. His series of flashbacks (although sometimes completely indecipherable) demonstrate the disfunctional nature of the Compson family. I found that throughout the flashbacks, Benjy always portrays Caddy as his helpful companion. Another part of the chronology that bothered me is the fact that Benjy does not go back to the main event. Instead, he diverges and doesn’t always return to the initial day. An example of this is when Benjy goes from Damuddy's death to other events. The main event is April 7, 1928, but Benjy continues to stray from this event. Before returning to it, he remembers events in 1910 in Versh’s cabin. I agree with Eric that Benjy is the perfect narrator to begin the novel. Benjy is a vehicle for Faulkner to lay the groundwork for the rest of the novel. The flashbacks are not merely random events, (although they seemed like it to me the first time I read the chapter) but rather a gateway into the nature of the Compson family.
Instead of pulling my hair to chronically order the events, I was biting my fingernails down to the cuticles. Yet when I was reading Benjy’s narration for the first time, I tried to just go with the flow and just read what was happening. I think this helped me remember which parts of time went with what and how the events related to each other. There were a few events that I knew was during a certain time period, but I didn’t know when they happened in retrospect to other events in that time. Benjy was a perfect first narration because he said his memories straight out. And although he could not do anything other then cry, his smells allowed me to relate with the characters he was talking about. At the end of his narration I loved Caddy because she smelt like trees, was brave, and showed her affection towards Benjy when the rest of his family brushed him off. I’d like to see whether other narrations relate to Benjy’s memories the same way.
Even though doing the chronology was extremely frustrating it helped me alot in understanding the events that Benjy described. The first time I read the section I went with Claire's suggestion in class and went with the flow and didn't really try to follow what was going on. That helped me get through it but at the end I didn't really understand what i had read. I had gotten general impressions of the characters, but the plot was really fuzzy. After doing the chronology I was able to pick out a lot of the different events, but I am still confused about some passages that I couldn't place into any of the major events.
One interesting thing that I noticed about Benjy is that he seems to be alot more aware of what is going on around him than people think. They talk about him as though he can't hear them and has no understanding at all. Even though he is very limited he has a certain sense of the people around him and the events taking place that his family doesn't know about.
Most of the members of the family share biases, knowledge, and assumptions about their situation. This makes it impossible to hear a an objective narrative through any of their voices. They have no perspective on the events of the plot because they are inside them. Benjy, however, is slightly removed from everything and everyone by the nature of his stupidity. So even though he is much less able to understand and interpret what he sees, he can actually describe it to the reader with more objectivity than any other character. He does not understand the implications of the family's changing fortunes, so he can speak of them without sparing us the embarrassing details.
That chronology took far too long, but I was able to connect a lot of sections that before I didn't realize were the same scene.
I agree with Laura on the imagery - I loved how Benjy could smell the roof and the night, and his fascination with the fire.
About the fire - remember when he touches the flame, burns his finger and puts it in his mouth? It reminded me of the story of Moses, where, when he's a baby, the king gives him a test to decide if Moses will live or die: he puts the baby in front of a crown (if he touches it, it means he's too ambitious and he dies) and a piece of hot coal (if he touches it he lives). Because like all babies he's attracted to shiny things, Moses reaches for the crown, but angels, to protect him, make him touch the coal; he burns his hand and puts it in his mouth, ending up with a lifelong lisp.
Benjy also has speech problems (he can't talk at all), and there's this same feeling of innocence/helplessness. Anyway, there's some more savoir/religious imagery for ashish, if I'm not completely reading too much into this.
I've always been awful at sorting out the dates of my own life, and trying to sort out the time line of Benjy's own discombobulated life made me as mentally challenged as Benjy. The simple one-liners that immediately launched into another memory were particularly tough--when in his life did that one line occur?
I've also realized my hatred for Mrs. Compton. She has literally whined about dying for over thirty years. Can't she die already? It's irritating to read of her ineptitude and uselessness.
Knowing what I know now of the Comptons, I reread the Macbeth quote that launched Faulkner's tale. The quote fits the story perfectly, especially the part in which he says, "Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player/ That struts and frets his hour upon the stage/ And then is heard no more." The Compton family is the "poor player," strutting around in its aristocratic and mighty roots. Yet as "to-morrow and to-morrow and to-morrow" drags onward, its time on stage shortens until the Compton family is "heard no more."
Faulkner is a genius; we should all worship him.
The chronology helped me to understand the major points and kind of clump the important events together, but I think I’m still not clear about a few of the scenes especially when Benjy goes into different memories every other line. Reading it a second time, I couldn’t help feeling pain and such sadness. Benjy is filled with such emotions that are both pitiful and so understandable. And even though he jumps around a lot, I can relate to that chaos of memories and feelings. One section I loved is on page 57:
”I could hear the clock, and I could hear Caddy standing behind me, and I could hear the roof. Its still raining, Caddy said. I hate rain. I hate everything. And then her head came into my lap and she was crying, holding me and I began to cry. Then I looked at the fire again and the bright, smooth shapes went again. I could hear the clock and the roof and Caddy.” When I read that, I just paused for a second. To me, it was extremely poetic and sort of defined the amalgamation of different senses and feelings of hate and love and sadness.
I would like to agree with everybody that it was extremely difficult to put the events in chronoligical order. I still don't understand some parts of the first book. However, I now have a better understanding of what basically happens in the first book. I have a better understanding of the characters, their feelings, and their roles in the first book. When I read the first book the first time, i really had no idea what i was reading. When I was finished, I felt like I had read nothing.
Certain images and sensory details are extremely important in understanding Benjy and will probably have significant importance in the other books. Caddy's dirty underwear, Caddy's tree-like smell (Benjy thinks this), etc. will have significant importance in undertanding the rest of the novel. It seems that this first book establishes that Caddy is the most important character in the novel. I believe Caddy's relationship to each character is the focus of the novel.
Because of his limnited capacity, Benjy is unable to analyze or fully understand the meaning of each event or memory in the first book. This provides the reader with an almost an unbaised summery of the events and memories.
My point's similar to Jesse's, and I'm rewriting it because of the embarrassment I felt when looking at my earlier post. Benjy's narrative is a means for Faulkner to give explicit, specific, objective background information without compromising the text's first-person narrative. Benjy only understands what he sees on a surface level, so he is limited to objectivity. Also, his inability to understand time and tangential, confused way of thinking, e.g., confusing a golfer's caddie with his sister allow for a simple means to delve into past events. He cannot distinguish the past from the present, so he describes his memories in as much detail as he is capable of doing, while a person of at least normal intelligence would, of course, recognize that he or she was not actually experiencing the present. Also, a person of at least normal intelligence would not remember things for the same reasons Benjy does. Benjy's lack of intelligence is an important device , for it advances the text in ways its other, more intelligent narrators cannot.
Doing the chronology was definitely difficult, but it was also helpful. Like a lot of people, I read through Benjy’s section the first time with a “go with the flow” mentality. I finished it confused out of my mind. But after sitting down and going through it memory by memory, everything started making a lot more sense.
I think it was a great way for Faulkner to begin the novel and give the reader an overview of events. Because it is from Benjy’s perspective, there is no bias or justification for things that happen. He literally just tells what he sees, hears, feels, etc. Now, after reading his section, I think it will be much easier for me to understand the rest of the story.
I think I did a fairly decent job piecing together Benjy's fragmented narrative, but I am sure I made several mistakes and probably missed several important scenes. Although I do not fully comprehend the novel yet, I definitely feel like I have a better understanding of it.
I agree with Jesse in that Benjy is a crucial narrator because he is somewhat removed from the family, and therefore provides us with more of an objective perspective, but I agree with Rebecca in that he does understand what the family is going through and simply cannot articulate how he feels, (which has also been previously mentioned by many). I think this quality makes him an extremely strong character because his sensory imagery provides the reader with the basic information that is pertinent to the understanding of the novel. By having his narration first, the reader is provided with the basic events and information that is required to appreciate details of the decline of the Compton family, which I am guessing are expressed in the subsequent narrations.
Doing the chronology was definitely helpful. I was finally able to connect some of the memories together especially through common references like the fire, or the sassprilluh. The sensory imagery also added to this, Benjy's sensitivity towards smell in particular. When he's younger, he always connects the way Caddy smells to trees, but then as they both get older, Benjy notices that Caddy doesn't smell that way anymore. As Caddy grows older, she begins to abandon her days climbing trees and playing in the river. Through Benjy's sense of smell, the reader realizes that Caddy is growing up and losing her innocence.
I really enjoyed having Benjy as the narrator and I think it was appropriate that Faulkner chose to have the first chapter as Benjy's. I agree with what Ken and Jesse said, Benjy is effective as a narrator because he has an objective point of view and really the things that he's saying don't really have substance; his memories are only images that are piled together, which don't really have any meaning to him. Benjy acts like a window into the Compson's lives because he doesn't have any say in what's going on or any reasoning to the events going around him.
I am indeed close to tearing my hair out. When I completed the chronology, a few scenes became much more clear, but there are many others that have yet to make sense! But as I began to understand the chronology a little bit more, I began to further understand the characters. For example, I now am fully aware of Jason's cynicism, (Miss) Quentin's impatience and immaturity (at least I find her to be that way), Caddy's determination, Caroline's depression, Dilsey's strictness, and Benjy's helplessness. In addition, completing the chronology made me realize even more how sad of a book this is. I already believe it is worth it to study it but also very hard, emotionally, to read it. Some elements that I am interested in analyzing further include Quentin's character- what led him to feel so helpless as to commit suicide, for example- and Caddy and Benjy's relationship. I can't wait to talk about the chronology and the rest of the book as a class and I hope to enhance my understanding of it every day!
I Just Finished the Cronology. If you would notice the time is 11:00 i started at 8:00, at around 9:00 i thought this cronology would be the death of me. But now that i have finished I am releived, and i also have much more insight into benjy's section after having finihsed it. So although it took all that time, i definately think it was worth it.
My stunning realization that came from doing the cronology started in class on wednesday when we were making our cronologies. The relazation is that the Compsons shunned Caddy becasue they think she is a whore. Innocent, caring Caddy, who we see in Benjy's book as basically the only one who has true compassion for Benjy and does not treat him like he is completely incompetent because of his disorder. I loved Caddy, Benjy's moments with Caddy were my favorite moments in Benjy's section because the connection between the two character ans athe love they have for each other is so heart warming.
When I came to the realazation that the Compsons consider Caddy to be a slut and have basically disowned her becasue of this, I became angry. People in the Compson family are dying left and right. Quentin, Damundy, Uncle Maury, Mr. Compson, so one would think they would like to hold on the family members they still have left. The entire premis of Benjy's section is based on triggers he has in his present environment that remind him of moments he spent with Caddy, this shows his longing for Candance, he wishes he could get her back and does not understand that it is not Caddy who has Abandonded him but the Compsons who abandonded Caddy, leaving Benjy without the one source of emotional support he had in his life. I hate the Compsons for this, mostly Mrs. Compson, so what if Caddy is a bit promiscuous, she is still their family and she is not dead, and considering thigns don't seem to be going well for them they could use all the support they could get.
My head is spinning. Indeed, Faulkner may very well be a genius in his decision to begin the novel with such a terribly confusing narrator. At the same time, however, I can't help but think that many readers would have honestly been turned off by now.
When I first read through, the story seemed to make a bit more sense. But upon this close, precise analyzation I saw what a complicated mess it really was...and I did want to forcefully remove the strands on my head at times. Even though it really makes much more sense afterwards, I know that in the storm of chronologically-incoherent stream of consciousness that I definitely missed something. Nevertheless, the Compsons' story and their rapidly deteriorating situation are able to finally come together for the reader. And in turn, you can't help but sympathize with Benjy since he seems to be the only one with any real sense of morality, but, being unable to truly express his feelings, he is only able to sit idly by and watch as his family destroys itself. That's just torture.
The chronology was terribly confusing and quite difficult, but it was definitely worth the time in the end...Otherwise, I'd be many times more confused, and there would be no way I'd be able to escape the storm of consciousness told my our dear friend Benjy.
Putting together the chronology of events and memories was beyond frustrating and extremely challenging. Certain memories were very distinct-Damuddy's death, Christmas, Caddy's wedding, the present with Luster. The confusing blur that made up the rest of the first book began to make a little more sense, however. What I found most challenging was classifying Benji's memories that were only one sentence like, "The cows jumped." That is about the time I started to pull my hair out. And even though it is messy to make sense of, I like Benji's objective and innocent narration. Revisiting the first section of the book also further convinced me that Caddy is a character worth meeting, for the way selfless way she mothers Benji is touching and admirable.
Yeah, okay, seven am probably isn't the best time to be doing this (I could be eating breakfast...). But anyway, I liked going through Benjy's section and putting it in order.
No joke.
It's kind of like putting together a puzzle. You've got a bunch of pieces in a random order, you have to make sense of them. With puzzles, you use the color and the shape. With this, it's the details (as Laura said, I think). Most scenes have some unifying characteristics, like the branch, or mentions of Benjy's caretakers.
What I really liked about this section was that Benjy seems to notice details that "normal" people wouldn't; you really get to see what's important to him by what he remembers. Plus, his perspective doesn't change at all, whether he's five, fifteen, or thirty-three. I couldn't imagine looking at things the same way I did ten years ago, or even last year, much less in the future.
I actually wanted to punch someone while I was reading this and attempting to figure out the chronology. However, once I made sense of the book I really enjoyed the story it told. I didn't expect to like the character of Benjy, I expected him to be somewhat annoying, but I liked the objective, innocent perspective he brought to the book. I was also sympathetic towards him, especially during scenes with his horrible mother. Additionally, the character of Caddy caught my interest. Her compassion was refreshing in a world that seemed to be filled with self-absorbtion. I also liked how strong-willed she was and I think Benjy associated Caddy with trees really fit her personality. I also really liked Dilsey...I'm not really sure why though.
Although the disorganization of the book was at first frustrating, after figuring it out I think it helps to understand and appreciate Benjy's perspective on the world. It helps the reader to understand how disoriented Benjy's world was and how confused he was.
Overall, I really like the book so far.
The biggest struggle I found while reading The Sound and the Fury was whether or not Benjy can be considered a reliable narrator. For the first 75 pages or so, he is the only eyewitness account we have for events that are occurring and have occurred in the Compson household. So it makes the reader tend to trust what he is saying, simply because we have no other evidence to compare what he is saying with, or make our own assumptions. Yet, his disability brings up a problem with blind faith in his narration, for he could very easily be seeing things differently from what truly is going on. For instance, a "fight" between Caddy and Jason could be a playful slap or punch in the arm. I don't really believe that is the case, but it makes me at least question or ponder certain events that have occurred. As I read more into the book, and get different character's perspectives on the Compson family, I believe that I will be able to assess the family and the true intentions of the book more justly.
I was wondering...When this book first came out, how were people able to decipher what was going on without the guide of a family tree, or an AP Lit class? Did Faulkner write some follow-up, some explanation of his novel, like Wright did? Although this novel is somewhat, scratch that, very trying to read, something about the way the novel's written gives me a certain feeling... it's intruiging, because you get small insights into the plot and the characters, but it is surrounded by a jumble of events, thoughts, and time shifts. Maybe the actual layout, or "stream of conciousness" voice that pervades the book emphasizes the disillusioned, chaotic fall of the Compson family. If the novel was told by a rational voice, with an exacting, chronological story, then the reader wouldn't have a sense of how scattered the family is, and how both in the narration and the plot, everything falls apart.
The chronology homework was terribly painful. It did clear up some of the confusion, granted I was still pretty lost on some of those one-liners in italics.
Magnificent, awe-inspiring, so far? No bolt of revelation has really hit me yet. Maybe I just did the homework wrong. Well, maybe there is something. There is a kind of flow to the story, a method to Faulkner's madness. You can't really see it when you read it (since you're too befuddled to catch anything particularly deep), but going back over the different sections and focusing particularly on the transistions was interesting. The way Benjy skips between memories is fascinating. It gives meaning to that whole "sense of smell is the best way to remember something" line. His reliance on physical cues is... different.
I just discovered that 'befuddled' almost means to make stupidly drunk (courtesy of dictionary.com). Which reminds me rather sharply of Benjy drinking saspurillah. I find it a rather fitting word to describe Benjy's section of the book.
Initially, I did not think I would find anything awe-inspiring or amazing about Benjy's section--I expected a jumbled mess of memories that were out of order and too confusing to understand. However, after reading it (more than once) I decided I loved Faulkner's decision to start off the novel in Benjy's point of view. He was very innocent in his recollection of the memories. His emotions and emphasis on smells forced me to look at the text from a new perspective than I would have. Ms. Siegal mentioned that you would either love Caddy or hate her and there is no in between. I personally love her character because she was so caring to Benjy while he was cast aside by the rest of his family because he wasn't normal.
While reading Benjy's section, I definitely have to admit that I was completely lost. I admire how the narrator truly stuck to Benjy's capabilities. He narrated directly from Benjy's perspective, and truly grapsed the world the way Benjy saw it day by day. Events jumped at me randomly, and it was almost impossible to piece together scences without careful analyzation and thought. However, in the end, piecing together the chronology of Benjy's narratation was a rewarding experience. It really set the novel up as objectively as possible from the beginning. I can tell already how the novel takes the shape of each of the character's perspectives, revealing their individual pains and sufferings within the household. Benji's limitations however allow readers to grasp a sense of the realities of the situations. The mistreatments and lack of cohesion are exemplified as objectively as possible. Readers are truly able to trust Benji, as he only retells what he himself sees and experiences. He understands little, and therefore is the only character not blinded by his own knowledge of his sufferings. I am definitely starting to appreciate this "stream of consciousness" setup of the novel more and more.
I read the first part of The Sound and the Fury a couple of years ago, so I’ve already went through the pulling-out-hair phase. During that time, I was halfway through Benjy’s section when I was honestly ready to hurl the book out the window. Thankfully, the novel was more enjoyable this time around because I already had a basic idea of the order of memories, so making the chronology chart wasn’t as stressful.
In response to previous posts, Benjy’s section has been described as both emotionless and filled with emotion. Which is it? I think the latter. Faulkner crafts the syntax so that “Caddy” or “she” (referring to Caddy) usually appears at the beginning or end of sentences, which serves to emphasize Benjy’s love and almost obsession for his sister. Thus, his stream of consciousness cannot be described as merely objective.
And to support Ashish’s Christ-figure idea, Benjy is turning thirty-three when the novel opens, which is also the age that Christ was at his crucifixion.
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