Jonathan Janssen

Novemebr 20, 2008

English 475

Frye

Fragmented Time and the Compson Decline

A total, unified account of any one thing is always

speculative. Events, people and places, always vary in

description from person to person. Faulkner explores this

in his novel The Sound and the Fury by depicting the

decline of the Compson family through the perceptions of

several characters. One of the most intriguing and

enigmatic portrayals is given from the point of view of

Benjy, who his mentally handicapped. By luring the reader

through a landscape of disjointed time and sensory stimuli,

Faulkner creates a means to explore the events of the story

as Benjy truly experiences them. Rather than presenting a

linear recollection, the fragmentation of time is used to

focus on key episodes in the Compsons’ life, allowing the

reader to understand the events that are central to the

family.

Benjy’s section takes place on his thirty-third

birthday in the present time of the novel, 1928. The events

of this day flow in and out of scenes from the past, as

though they are happening simultaneously. To try to impose

linear chronology on this text is a mistake because while

the mind is trying to place each event in the context of

what has been read, the reader is removed from the intimacy

Benjy’s unique perceptions add to the individual moments.

It is as if Benjy lives in a perpetual present where

various scenes have little connection to a larger picture.

At the expense of linear continuity, the present Benjy

experiences is more intense. This heightened awareness is

expressed as emotional reactions that at first seem

disconnected, but are linked by sensory stimuli that the

reader can use as a sort of intuitive navigation of the

story.

The first of these important moments that Benjy’s

perception switches to is Damuddy’s death. It is a

significant moment in the life of the Compsons and Faulkner

uses it to reveal aspects of the characters. While hunting

for a quarter with Luster, Benjy hears a golfer yell

“Caddie” and begins to cry. Luster then makes him get in

the water.

“I hushed and got in the water and Roskus came and

said to come to supper and Caddy said,

It’s not supper time yet. I’m not going. She was wet.

We were playing in the branch and Caddy squatted down

and got her dress wet… (Faulkner 19)”.

The sensation of being wet and hearing the word “Caddie”

transports Benjy to a time he and his siblings were playing

in the branch as children on the day of Damuddy’s death. In

this scene we witness behavior of the children that reveals

the natures they will develop as they grow up. Caddy

exhibits her daring and immodesty by defying her parents

and removing her clothes. Quentin tries to keep Caddy in

her dress and out of trouble while Jason appears as a

tattletale that is loyal to his parents. These traits show

up again as the novel progresses and the children mature.

Damuddy’s death is also used to transition into scenes

of Caddy’s wedding, which is an emotionally tumultuous time

for the Compsons. In this portion of Benjy’s experience

during Damuddy’s death Caddy has climbed up in the tree to

see what is going on inside.

“We watched the muddy bottom of her drawers. Then we

couldn’t see her. ‘Mr Jason said if you break that

tree he whip you.’ Versh said. ‘I’m going to tell on

her too.’ Jason said. The tree quit thrashing. We

looked up into the still branches. “What you seeing.”

Frony whispered. I saw them. Then I saw Caddy, with

flowers in her hair and a long veil like shining wind.

Caddy Caddy… (Faulkner 47)”.

Again, Damuddy’s death is used to foreshadow events of the

future by displaying Caddy’s dirty drawers, a symbol of

Caddy’s sexuality. The memory of seeing Caddy in the tree

triggers another memory in Benjy of her in her wedding

dress. This introduces the reader to the fact of Caddy’s

marriage, but ties it to the image of her dirty drawers,

giving it an unclean feel.

Caddy and her sexuality cause Benjy to cry or act out

several times in the novel. These intense feelings that he

associates with her are involved in another important

juxtaposition of scenes in Benjy’s experience.

”Luster came back. Wait, he said. Here. Dont go over

there. Miss Quintin and her beau in the swing yonder.

You can come on this way. Come back here, Benjy. It

was dark under the trees. Dan wouldn’t come. He stayed

in the moonlight. Then I could see the swing and began

to cry. Come away from there, Benjy, Luster said. You

know Miss Quintin going to get mad. It was two now,

and then one in the swing. Caddy came fast, white in

the darkness. ‘Benjy,’ she said. How did you slip

out…’ (Faulkner 56)”.

Seeing Quintin in the swing with her boyfriend reminds

Benjy of the time he saw Caddy in the swing with Charlie,

which made him very upset. These two scenes flow in and out
of one another for a few pages, highlighting how similar

mother and daughter behave.

One of the last scenes that are coupled through

Benjy’s experiences is the present day and the day of his

name change.

”’Here. Look at the fire while I cuts this cake.’ I

could hear the clock, and I could hear Caddy standing

behind me, and I could hear the roof. It’s 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 (Faulkner

69)”.

This passage is the first in a series that involves his

name change. It is Benjy’s birthday in the present and

while Luster is serving cake, Benjy sits near the fire. The

sensations he receives from the flames while eating the

cake take him back to the day his named was changed. This

is an interesting pairing between the birthday and the name

change because they both involve concepts of birth.

There are many other places in the novel, aside from

the main ones mentioned here, where Benjy links moments in

time to senses. Caddy is constantly described as smelling

like trees and any memory of Caddy includes the

description. “Caddy smelled like trees (Faulkner 54)” is a

bridge between an experience of Benjy no longer allowed to

sleep with Caddy and another of her in the tree on

Damuddy’s death. Also, on the day Mr. Compson dies and at a

point during his name change, Benjy has vivid sensations of

the hot steam rising from his meal. The moments that Benjy

relives are memorable to him because of the feelings and

sensations he is experiencing at that time, but Faulkner

has carefully chosen these moments to give the reader

guideposts to the events in which the novel revolves

around.

The story of the Compson family is not a linear tale,

but rather a sensory and emotional journey that orbit

around a few central scenes. Faulkner explores this by

depicting the decline of the Compson family through the

perceptions of several characters. Benjy’s point of view

takes the reader through a landscape of disjointed time and

sensory stimuli, creating a means to explore the events of

the story. Rather than presenting a linear recollection,

the fragmentation of time is used to focus on key episodes

in the Compsons’ life, allowing the reader to understand

the events that are central to the family.

 Works Cited

Faulkner, William. The Sound and the Fury. New York:

Vintage Books, 1984.