The Sound and the Fury :: Essays Papers

About The Sound and the FuryThe Sound and the Fury, published in October of 1929, was Faulkners 4th novel, and clearly his first work of genius. Now considered to be one of the strongest American contributions to the fiction of high modernism, it has generated countless critical interpretations. In writing the novel, Faulkner experienced a creative absorption and passion that he was never to forget. He said of The Sound and the Fury, Its the book I feel tenderest towards. I couldnt leave it alone, and I never could tell it right, though I tried hard and would like to try again, though Id probably fail again. The novel tells the story, from four different perspectives, of the dissolving of a Southern family. The father is unfriendly and passive, and though he clearly loves his peasantren, he drinks himself to death. The invalid mother has no love for her children and continuously demands that she herself be interpreted care of. Benjy, the mentally retarded son of whom his mother is ashamed, is castrated after he begins to exhibit sexual behavior. Quentin, the troubled and romantic son, goes off to Harvard to fulfill his mothers lifelong wish and commits suicide there. Caddy, the only daughter, becomes pregnant while still a teenager and quickly marries a man who turns her out of the house when he discovers that their child is not his. Caddy is described as loose by many readers of the novel. Jason, the mothers favorite, loses his chance at a well-paying job when Caddys marriage fails and he is reduced to supporting the family by working in a general store. Caddys daughter, named after her brother Quentin, is brought up in the unhappy Compson household although everyone is forbidden to speak her mothers name. Quentin has her revenge upon her Uncle Jason when she steals the $7000 he has gathered by embezzling it from his mother and from funds sent to Quentin by Caddy. The family is supposed to be supported and cared for by a lazy family of black servants, led and held unitedly by the matriarch Dilsey (the only good person I found in the book). Because of its experimental style, The Sound and the Fury presents a challenge for readers.