Jason Blog 3/30

Answer and reflect on the Jason Chapter

Review several key passages from this chapter that help to describe Jason as a character in relation to the Compson family and its "new system." Identify your passages. Describe the relationship between narrative structure (form) and characterization (content).

“Once a bitch always a bitch, what I say.” Mrs. Oles, you’ve probably read that quote about 20 times on other people’s blogs by now, but I am adding it to mine to emphasize how Jason’s mind is blockaded from reality. He cannot accept the fact that Caddy is grown up now and pregnant. Jason puts on a facade of the victim, but on the other side of that mask he is really a two-timing thief who finds his throne in the family by blaming others. Not to mention the fact that he is disgusted by Miss Quentin! My theory of his hatred is that fact that she is the “bitch” of Caddy, for Caddy was pregnant with Miss Quentin without being married. Another reason could be the fact that her name is, Quentin. When the brother, Quentin, died the family spoke no word of the incident; maybe this is because in the old southern culture it is a disgrace to commit suicide if your life already is doing well. Enough of my rambling though, going back to how Faulkner describes Jason as a character in relation to the Compson family and the new dynamic. Once Mr. Compson died from alcoholism, the family was shifted into even more of a downward spiral. The mother couldn’t even take care of her children after the death because of her physical conditions, and Caddy can’t step up to the plate because she has now become a disgrace to the family herself, and Bengy is incapable of anything apparently because he is an “idiot”. The only one left to help out is the older brother, Jason. Jason has always been a proficient worker, so when he had to quit his job (that earned him quite the load of bucks shall I say) he was not satisfied to say the least. Keeping in mind this chapter is a day before the Bengy chapter, the reader understands how the more time goes on in the story, the more inconsiderate, he becomes. As to the narrative structure, this is the thing that frustrates me the most, but I am going to take a swing at it. I believe that the form emphasizes the qualities that the characters possess, such as Jason’s dimwitted retorts. Faulkner writes with what seems like a series of unfinished thoughts, as he creates an atmosphere of frustration to be a member of this family.

Quentin Blog 3/23

June Second, 1910 answer and discuss on your blog: 1) Share your visions of Quentin  2) give your impression of his fragmented mental state.  3) review Quentin in comparison to his brother—3a) both are obsessed with Caddy, but what are the differences in their obsession? 4) Choose one passage from Quentin's chapter and give a brief description of the following. make sure you identify the passage for your readers 4a) Who Quentin "is" during that passage—what are his obligations to his family? 4b) Who is he most concerned with? 4c) In what time period do his thoughts reside (in college, during the present, or sometime during his youth)?

1) First off, in the beginning of the chapter, it is to be noted that Quentin is struggling at Harvard. This is most likely due to the stress of being the hope of the family, receiving an education, and actually doing something with his life. Being a Harvard kid is a huge deal, but it is not always easy to go through a challenging school, like so, if your parents do not support you- let alone your siblings. 2) All children want is to make their parents proud of them and how much they've achieved. More specifically with Quentin's case, he wants to keep things orderly (after all he is a Harvard kid) but with all the messy relationships back home, it's hardly ideal. Thus introducing his scattered mental state. Another issue that leads up to Quentin's skewed mental health is his ideas social constructs being crushed by Caddy's pregnancy. Due to Quentin and Caddy being siblings, Quentin still sees Caddy as a little girl, and this pregnancy completely shatters that innocent image. 3) Now, the writing style Faulkner uses for both Benji are very similar even with the two consistently obsessing over Caddy; the difference here is that Benji looks back at his experiences remembering through sensory, innocence, and symbolism, while on the other hand, Quentin recalls his experiences more clearly through intricate details of living with the family.  4) On page 63 (in my book), Quentin recalls how if his sister might have tried to have a better relationship with his mother the rest of the siblings' relationships with the family might have been better, "If I could say   Mother.  Mother." 4a) Quentin switches from present and past to maybe about 15 years of age. His obligation to the family is to stay at Harvard and focus on his studies so he can succeed further in life, unlike his parents who just made a dysfunctional family. 4b) He is most concerned with Caddy in this passage due to the incident that leads to her pregnancy being on Quentin's mind. Faulkner never discussed clearly who the baby's father was, but it can be interpreted and suggested as an incident of incest. 4c) Giving a reason to leave the disorderly and dysfunctional world, these thoughts occur in college leading to his death.

Benji Blog 3/20

On your blog respond to this section answering these questions and reflecting on your reading. What role does Benjy play in the Compson family? What does his unique perspective show us about the Compsons? What might Benjy's need for consistency, and his extremely strong nostalgia for the past say about the concept of family? About the South as a place? Does Benjy fulfill a symbolic role in the novel?

1) Benjy does not have a role in the family that is deemed significant by the Compsons, all they think of him as is the root of all their troubles. Because Benjy is always taking the reader through time shifts mainly in the past, one can assume Benjy is not happy with how he is being treated now with the Compsons. Going back in time is his happy place, mainly consisting of Caddy and flowers and such. This personality aspect of his shows how mean and heartless the Compsons are.

2) Benjy is constantly being taken care of, so when the family is falling apart, Benjy has no idea what in the world to do. In order to remain his calm, he thinks of his childhood when everything looked a lot brighter. This is due to the fact that people will sympathize and feel bad for a little kid with a disability, but not a full grown man with a disability- something Benjy himself cannot understand fully. So he was treated fairly as a child, but when he had to live with the Compsons when he got older, they looked upon and treated him as a burden showing a lack of knowledge of how to care for a disabled person, something prominent through the society of the south in the 1940s. 

3) Benjy is a symbol for all that has failed in the family. Since the family sees him as only an animal with no brains, they really have no luck making anything any better. However, one could argue that Benjy symbolizes hope for the family for Benjy has glimpses into the future, only if he could communicate those occurrences to the family that hope could become reality.

Why this novel is titled, "Sound and the Fury" and what is an allusion to.

To start off, this title is a reference to the Scottish tragedy, "Macbeth", telling the reader the moment they pick up the book that is is not going to be a happy story. The quote itself is from Shakespeare, and it is the moment Macbeth realizes that everything isn't worth it anymore. By titling the novel a direct quote from the Scottish play, Faulkner is conveying to the reader that the story is not going to proceed in harmony. All the characters will have a different influence towards Benji, but they will not always be a good one.