AboutTed Nesbitt Expertise I am willing to assist anyone in the interpretation of the literature of any genre, but my expertise is in American literature. My masters thesis is an analysis of the heroic novels of William Faulkner. I am also adept in English literature, particularly Shakespeare and the romantic poets.
I will not edit or revise lengthy papers. Nor will I do homework.
Experience I taught advanced placement English in a preparatory school and am now a reference librarian at a medium-sized public college. I have been a volunteer at the grammar and writing, poetry, etymology and politics sections of allexperts for more than four years.
I have used your knowledge before; it's extremely helpful.
I am writing a paper about dysfunctional families in four different books, one
of which includes Faulkner's Sound and the Fury. The book, to me, has
obvious issues in regards to families.
What sort of insight can you give me about Benji in particular and his effect
on the family dynamics? How he relates to older brother Jason and Caddie?
Thank you
Jen
Answer Jen:
You "completely spaced it," and I had to plead, very politely, with you to complete the evaluation. As a consequence, you decided to rate MY politeness as an "8." If you should contact me in the future, Jen, I will "politely" refuse to answer your question.
Ted Nesbitt
As you know, I spent a great deal of time writing a lengthy answer to your question. Allexperts reports that you have read my answer, but you will not evaluate it. (1) It is polite to acknowledge my FREE SERVICE to you, and (2) your question remains in my inbox. I cannot remove it. Only YOU can, by completing the evaluation form.
I am asking you, PLEASE, to complete the evaluation form. It takes just a few seconds. I spent well over an hour writing to you.
You started your message by saying, "I have used your knowledge before; it's extremely helpful." When people do not say a simple "thank you," all of us who volunteer get very discouraged. Someday, you will need Allexperts again, and there may be no one here to assist you.
Thank you.
Ted Nesbitt
It's been a hectic day, but I am going to try to write a meaningful answer to your question. By "meaningful," I mean that I hope what I write makes sense.
This is your question about "The Sound and the Fury" --
What sort of insight can you give me about Benji [the correct spelling of his name is BENJY, not BENJI] in particular and his effect on the family dynamics? How he relates to older brother Jason and Caddie [and her name is spelled CADDY]?
First, Jen, there were FOUR Compson children. You really should be taking into consideration the relationships among the four, because, in order to understand the complete dysfunctional family, you need to analyze all four parts of it.
Very briefly, consider Caddy [Candance], the only girl. Benjy's view of her is from the point of view of an idiot. There are only THIRTEEN moments of time that Benjy can remember or comprehended, in his feeble-minded way. One of those time periods is the present day, April 7, 1928 -- the day before Easter Sunday. The other twelve times that Benjy comprehends or remembers revolve around Caddy, because she is the only Compson who actually cared for him. As a mentally retarded person, he was a "shame" or "embarrassment" to the other members of the family. Although Caddy had "romantic affairs," she truly loved her brother, Benjy. He sensed that love, and I'm not saying that he understood it, because we don't know if a mentally retarded person like Benjy is capable of that kind of understanding. Therefore, Benjy's FEELINGS are important. He FELT, rather than THOUGHT. So, Benjy's mental condition was a black mark on his family, but they were not really righteous people. They ALL had imperfections that contributed to the general dysfunctionality of the Compson family. When Caddy went away, Benjy lost his only real connection to his family. You should stress that point! Of course, since the family was in financial trouble, they sold some of their property, so that a golf course could be built. Golf courses have "caddies." Hearing a golfer call for his "caddy" both excited and saddened Benjy, who was always looking for his own lost "Caddy."
The "Quentin" section of the novel also is centered somewhat on Caddy, because Quentin actually loved his sister. [Incest, even thought of without being acted upon, is another mark of the dysfunctionality of the Compson family.] Quentin's suicide in his freshman year at Harvard was another black mark on the family. He was sent to Harvard to restore some of the family's lost "honor." He failed. The family continued its downhill slide.
The "Jason" section takes place on Good Friday of 1928. [Faulkner knew his Bible and Shakespeare and mythology well!] Jason and Caddy were related, in a way, because both of them sought unusual methods toward success. Caddy did so by becoming a "woman of the world." Jason tried to be an up-and-coming businessman, who intended to make the family [or himself] rich again. When the stock market closed on Good Friday, Jason was betrayed "by the Jews," just as Jesus Christ was. He was also "fleeced" [think of Jason and the Argonauts story in Greek mythology -- and Jason's quest for the Golden Fleece].
But, Jason hated Caddy. He attributed the further downfall of his family [and himself] to Caddy's misdeeds. Notice when I talk about Jason's relationship to his family, I actually mean how Jason felt about HIMSELF, because Jason was the most selfish, egocentric member of the family . . . although ALL of the Compson children were selfish and egocentric.
So, talk about dysfunctional children! Quentin committed suicide because he could not sexually consummate his desires toward his sister and he could not bear the fact that another man had. Jason was wiped out, financially, on Good Friday, basically because, from the standpoint of intelligence, Jason was the dumbest member. On the other hand, his sister, Caddy, show a great deal of initiative and intelligence, even if both were misdirected.
I don't include Benjy in the dumb category, because his mental condition placed him well below the "thinking level." Does mental illness run in families? Was Benjy, the idiot, a representation of the entire dysfunctioning of the Compsons?
OK, Jen, I know that I am writing too much . . . but I really want to help you and to get this important point across.
No one Compson family member could survive on his [or her] own. All of them needed "outside help." There is just one person who understood all the complex relationships [to the extent that she humanly could] in this family. And she was the maid, Dilsey. That is Faulkner's final statement of irony. A Southern family decayed -- much like the Southern tradition -- and the witness and partial savior or caretaker was an old, Black servant!
In the book, Faulkner wrote about the Negroes: "They endured."
The Compson family -- as dysfunctional as it was, with siblings both loving and hating their fellow siblings -- could not stand. They were held together by a Black servant. And, in the end, Dilsey recognized [on Easter Sunday] that she could do no more: She had seen the beginning and the end.
In your paper, Jen, you must strongly emphasize the great "lust for self" that was exhibited by all four of the children, even Benjy, who cried and screamed, when his little world was upset, when his regular routine was changed in the slightest way.
The Compson children could not survive as INDIVIDUALS. What chance did they have, therefore, of surviving as a FAMILY?
You've read the novel and you've probably read many articles and essays about the novel. You know the answer to that question.
Good luck on your paper. Please let me know how it turns out.
And thanks for reading my lengthy answer.
Ted Nesbitt
I just got your question and it's late. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning, but I'll send you an answer as soon as I can.
Please give me a little time. The relationships you are interested in are very complicated, which you well know.
