Fire In The Minds of Men

AP English Seminar Paper

Danny Lovato
Period 1
Mr. Batt

Renowned English philosopher, John Locke, once said, Reading furnishes the mind only
with materials of knowledge; it is thinking that makes what we read ours. Locke argues that
when we read, we are given a toolbox. It is the interpretation and the thought behind each of
those tools in our box that let us understand the literature we consume, and more importantly, it
is through literature that we learn to think. Two authors that exemplify the role that thinking and
interpretation play in the nature of reading are the two great Williams. For starters, Faulkner is
focusing on the different kinds of order in The Sound and the Fury. The order of time, place, and
memory. As a writer, he mixes up the narration and forces the reader to decode and figure things
out, forcing the reader to become a kind of Benjy in their own right. Benjy needs things to be
organized and routine and orderly. We, as readers, in order to understand the narration, must also
organize and order the sequence of events and things. Ultimately, Faulker forces us to think for
ourselves as we decode and follow his narration. In reading The Sound and The Fury, we learn
how to think in a different way through the eyes of multiple narrators and characters who all
perceive the world differently. While Faulker teaches the how with regards to thinking,
Shakespeare explores the why. Hamlet boils down to a play about thinking and thought, the
transition from thinking to acting. And ultimately, what does it mean to be...or not to be?
Benky operates with a stream-of-consciousness kind of thinking. Everything in Benjys
world operates purely by association. In the first pages of The Sound and the Fury, the reader is
thrown right into Benjys mind. Only by reading more and more are we able to piece together his
mental processes. Similarly, Hamlets soliloquies reveal an association-oriented way of thinking,
though its not nearly as extreme as Benjy. Associative thinking is illustrated in the plays most
famous soliloquy, Hamlets To be or not to be:

...To die, to sleep-To sleep--perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub,

For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause. (III,i,72-76) (1. Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Folger
edition. New York: Washington Square Press, 1992. All further quotations from
Shakespeare will come from this edition)
Hamlet has no clue what hes going to say when he begins his soliloquy. He is thinking
aloud. Shakespeare lays all of the pieces of the puzzle out for Hamlet, and we as readers or
audience members, are given the treat of watching him put them all together. The play itself is a
step-by-step display of a persons thought process. Rather than mix things up chronologically
like Faulkner, Shakespeare chooses to withhold information from the readers until Hamlet
himself discovers them. Forming connections between memories and the current situation is one
of the fundamental principles of being human. Our minds operate associatively. In reading

Hamlet and The Sound and The Fury, we are given a lesson in psychology. We learn how
to think, and how others think. Be it through association, or conscious and connected
thought. Faulkner teaches us how to think and connect the dots as readers, while
Shakespeare attempts to show us why.
Like Hamlet, Quentins narration operates in a total stream-of-consciousness

fashion, revealing that both of these characters are men of the mind and not men of
action. Reading both books in such close proximity to each other, the comparison of
Hamlet to Quentin is an organic one. Because of the more intellectually-oriented
personality traits, Quentin and Hamlet are more inclined to speak than to actually act. In
Hamlets case, he spends the entire play thinking things through and manipulating

situations to his advantage. In Quentins case, his words are really all he has. In
examining both characters, one mutual trait emerges above all others: Words hold power.
In Quentins case, words are his entire world. Quentins world is one of honor, time,
family, and virginity; its the world of the southern gentleman, but also the world of
an educated man. Quentin lives in a world of abstracts. Faulkner makes this evident when
he removes all punctuation from the narrative. Punctuation is, in and of itself, something
abstract. In removing the punctuation, Faulkner once again gives the readers the everimportant job of thinking through the writing, and in this case, he makes the readers focus
on words the same way that Quentin does. Quentin has shot Herbert he shot his voice
through the floor of Caddys room... (105) (2. Faulkner, William. The Sound and the
Fury. Vintage International edition. New York: Random House, 1990. All further
quotations from Faulkner will come from this edition). In this one piece of information,
there are at least four different interpretations of the words themselves. Faulkner forces us
to obsess and ponder and become frustrated with Quentins thoughts and words the exact
same way that Quentin himself is. Hamlets love for and appreciation for the power of
words is most easily recognized in the play within a play (within a play within a play,
depending on your interpretation). He uses the words of the play in order to confirm or
deny the Ghosts allegations of his Uncle:
There is a play tonight before the king;
One scene of it comes near the circumstance
Which I have told thee of my father's death:
I prithee, when thou seest that act afoot,
Even with the very comment of thy soul

Observe mine uncle. If his occulted guilt

Do not itself unkennel in one speech,
It is a damned ghost that we have seen,
And my imaginations are as foul
As Vulcan's stithy. Give him heedful note;
For I mine eyes will rivet to his face,
And after we will both our judgments join
In censure of his seeming. (III.ii.81-92) (1)
Manipulation and persuasion are accomplished through Hamlets artful use of words. The
intrinsic power of words in exemplified and used in the worlds of both Williams. Using words as
a vehicle not only for their characters, but to teach the readers a lesson in psychology.
Yet while the Williams give us the how and the why in relation to the nature of thinking
and thought, Tess of the DUrbervilles and The Bacchae demonstrate what happens when things
are thought through and acted upon. In the case of Tess, it is not by incident, but by the thoughts
of others that ultimately ruin her, highlighting two ideas presented by Faulker that all tragedy is
secondhand and that virginity is just a word, which in turn exemplify Hamlets belief in the
power of words. The power of words, ultimately, are what lead to King Pentheus death in The
Bacchae.
In The Bacchae, everything that Pentheus hears about the wild women is secondhand. It
is his choice to believe the words he hears. He is manipulated by Dionysus and persuaded to give
in to his curiosity. The art of persuasion lies in the words themselves. While Pentheus dies at the
hands of the women, the consequence is a direct cause of his choice to give in to the power of
Dionysus and others words. Persuasion is Dionysus specialty. He perfectly manipulates
Pentheus in the pivotal scene in which Penheus is finally convinced to go and spy on the women:

D: Do you want to see them sitting, together in the wild?

P: Oh do I! I would give an untold weight in gold to.
D: Why has this desire suddenly comeover you?

P: But it would pain me so to see them very drunk . . .

D: You'd willingly look upon what's bitter to you?
P: Oh absolutely, taking my seat silently under firtrees.
D: But they'll hunt you down, even if you go in secret.
P: You make a good point: I'll go openly then.
D: Let me be your guide; you want to take a trip?
P: Let's go right now! I'll be angry if you make me wait.
D: Then cover your skin with fine linen robes... (iii. 819-830) (Euripides. The
Bacchae. The Bacchae and Other Plays. Trans. John Davie. New York: Penguin,
2005. All further quotations from Eurpides will come from this edition.)
It is through the power of persuasion that Dionysus is able to convince Pentheus to leave,
allowing Dionysus to exact his revenge. Ultimately, it is our choice as readers of these works to
determine the kind of power that we assign words in our own respective worlds, a privilege that
Tess DUrberville most definitely does not have.
After Tess rape at the end of the first phase in Hardys Tess of the DUrbervilles, our
heroine is forced to face the consequences. The rape itself is not what ruins Tess. When she gets
home, it is the whispers and rumors circulating about her that ultimately lead her onto the path
that shapes the rest of the story. To illustrate the power of words in the world of Tess, the most
immediate scene is the first one the reader is greeted with upon Tess return home. She sees a
man painting Thy damnation slumbereth not on fence. Tess then asks him if he believes what
he paints. His response exemplifies exactly what Tess does later on in the story:

he said, I have walked hundreds of miles this past summer, painting these texes
on every wall, gate, and stile in the length and breadth of this district: I leave their
application to the hearts to the hearts of the people who read em(92) (3. Hardy,
Thomas, Tess of the d'Urbervilles. World Classics edition. New York: Oxford
University Press:2008. All further quotations of Hardy will come from this
edition)

The painting mans response to Tess is eerily similar to what Faulkner makes readers do
when they read The Sound and the Fury. The words themselves are just words, it is the readers
job to interpret and internalize them as they see fit. Tesss reputation is ruined upon her arrival
home because of words. There is nothing unnatural about losing ones virginity, but its seen as
some kind of terrible sin because of the words in her world. The destruction of Tesss reputation
and her status as a ruined woman illustrate an argument presented by Faulkner in the Quentin
section of The Sound and the Fury. When Quentin and Jason are having an argument. Its nature
is hurting you not Caddy and I said Thats just words and he said So is virginity... (116)(3.) A
little bit later on in this same section, Faulkner shows the progression of a thought to words to
facts. ...making of unreality a possibility, then a probability, then an incontrovertible fact, as
people will when their desires become words.(117)(2) Quentin believes in words and their
power the exact same way that the people in the world of Tess believe in words. If it is said that
Tess is no longer a virgin, then that means that shes obviously not pure, which, once again, is
just an abstract concept. It is the words that are Tesss damnation, not her actions. The tragedy
lies in the reaction, not in the act itself.
Through these examples, John Lockes quotation is illuminated. In reading these works,
we are given a toolbox of knowledge. It is our job as readers to think, internalize, and interpreat
the works that we read. The words themselves give us the power to do any of this. The power of
words is both proven and refuted in Faulkner, it depends on the perspective; while its held up for
the audience to see in Shakespeare; while its consequences are perfectly demonstrated in both
Tess and The Bacchae. Tess world comes crumbling down because of words. Everything that
Pentheus hears about the wild women is secondhand. It is his choice to believe the words he

hears. He is manipulated by Dionysus and persuaded to give in to his curiosity. Ultimately, the
consequences of these words would not be noticeable were it not for the lessons in thought that
both of the Williams teach us. In reading these works, our minds have been furnished with some
high-quality tools. In analyzing and examining this body of literary works as a whole, we are
taking the final step in John Lockes prescription: thinking. In thinking about these works, they
have now transcended the barrier. Tess of the DUrbervilles, The Bacchae, The Sound and The
Fury, and Hamlet are all ours now according to Locke. And these are just the beginning of what
will eventually become a beautiful collection.