The Sound and the Fury
Title:
The title of this novel is The Sound and the Fury. This title is derived from one of Shakespeare’s most intriguing plays, Macbeth. Within Macbeth, Shakespeare describes life as “a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury.” And if life is “a tale told by an idiot,” there is justification as to of why Faulkner begins the book through the eyes of Benjy, a thirty-three year old retard.
Author:
The author of The Sound and the Fury is William Faulkner. He grew up in Oxford, Mississippi. After dropping out of high school, Faulkner pursued his studies at the University of Mississippi. And he was a member of England’s Royal Navy in World War I.
Attempting to leave his mark in history as a great author, Faulkner created a host of characters comprised of the faults of human nature in the South. And Faulkner is characterized by the range of his technique and tone along with the themes concerning the South.
Faulkner bought a pre-Civil War mansion called “Rowanoak” in Oxford, Mississippi which would be his home until the very day he dies.
Major Characters:
The first section of the book is seen through the eyes of Benjy, the retarded son of the aristocratic Compson family. In Benjy’s section, Benjy has no concept of time and portrays everything in the present, and in this case, April Seventh, 1928. The events that take place on this day are insignificant. However, these events bring about memories which are highly significant. Benjy doesn’t understand any abstract concepts such as integrity and time. Instead he just absorbs memories from what he sees and what he hears. He does, however, have the ability to sense any bad occurrences that are out of place. One example of this can be seen when Caddy loses her virginity. Benjy is able to sense this and moans continuously. Caddy is Benjy’s only source of affection and is entirely dependent on her.
The next major character found in the book is Quentin. The second section of the book is seen through the eyes of Quentin many years before. Quentin is the oldest of the Compson children, and has romantic ideals about virginity. He is obsessed with his sister, Caddy, and is upset with her for wanting to marry a man name...
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... that from my offspring, but I am.” These are the words of Mrs. Compson from the final chapter when she learns that Miss Quentin has run away. She assumes that no harm would come come to her as she is aristocratic and has special privelages with God. This quote also gives evidence that she knows that her children do not consider her to be a real mother.
The next important quote found in the book is “I seed de beginnin, en now I sees de endin.” Dilsey says these words in the last section of the novel when she learns that Miss Quentin has run away. This shows that she has insight on the children’s lives and shows that Faulkner purposely put her in to signal to the reader that the book will soon end.
Relevance of the Work to the Present Time:
This work has a lot of relevance today; for one thing, assumptions concerning attributes for individual classes are still made. A good example of this is the assumption that the rich people in big cities are supposed to know how to play an instrument and are to be found enjoying themselves in museums. There are many assumptions that are still made today that are entirely stereotypical.
Throughout the novel the characters are put in these situations which force them to obtain information about the people they thought they knew. The center of finding out who everyone is was brought into play through the death of Marie. The story is told by David, only twelve years old, who sees his family an community in a different light for who they truly are under there cover. By doing his own little investigations, often times eavesdropping, David saw through the lies, secures and betrayals to find the truth.
In many of Faulkner’s stories, he tells about an imaginary county in Mississippi named Yoknapatawpha. He uses this county as the setting for his story “Barn Burning” and it is also thought that the town of Jefferson from “A Rose for Emily” is located in Yoknapatawpha County. The story of a boy’s struggle between being loyal to his family or to his community makes “Barn Burning” exciting and dramatic, but a sense of awkwardness and unpleasantness arrives from the story of how the fictional town of Jefferson discovers that its long time resident, Emily Grierson, has been sleeping with the corpse of her long-dead friend with whom she has had a relationship with.
The most important element in Quentin’s section is his obsession with time. To Quentin. time is torturous and destructive. He blames time for his loss of Caddy to sin and hence for his own suffering. Quentin becomes obsessed with avoiding time and attempts to avoid all implements which tell time. When he realizes that he has about as much chance of escaping time as stopping Caddy from losing her virginity, he tries to defeat time by destroying himself Therefore, at the end of his section, he commits suicide.
Growing up in the South, Faulkner gives a good perspective on what it was like for
For example, his mother Caroline illustrates this well as she often feigns illnesses and claims she is a burden on all others in order to gain their sympathy. His father also subconsciously tries to control him as he gives him life advice or claims theories that cause Quentin to obsess over concepts like time and how it won’t stop. Caddy is not specifically trying to control him, however, her actions dictate his life choices to a severe degree. Like Benjy, Quentin obsesses over Caddy’s promiscuity, but in addition, he attempts to remedy the loss of Caddy’s virginity by devising ideas such as killing themselves or claiming they committed incest together. Quentin’s reaction to Caddy’s loss of innocence is extreme in comparison with his brothers and could be considered mania as we view his long stream of consciousness, such as when his thoughts about her proposed wedding interrupt his other thoughts; “It’s her car aren’t you proud of your little sister owns first auto in town Herbert his present. Louis has been giving her lessons every morning didn’t you get my letter Mr and Mrs Jason Richmond Compson announce the marriage of their daughter Candace to Mr Sydney Herbert Head on the twenty-fifth of April one thousand nine hundred and ten at Jefferson Mississippi. At home after the first of August number Something Something Avenue South Bend Indiana. Shreve said Aren’t you even going to open it? Three days. Times. Mr and
Certainly, the “introverted” versus “extroverted” label is an accurate description of my personality. I prefer peace and quiet as opposed to the hustle and bustle of typical work day. Moments of solitude are also cherished and in this setting I am the most productive. I typically stay at work a few hours past my normal shift to complete the tasks I could not beforehand. This is typically due to the constant interruptions (whether superiors or subordinates) in my office. At times, I may send my personnel home a bit early, so I can begin my tasks and not stay later into the evening. As Kroeger, et al. describes, this “alone time” is essential to “sift” through the information and make “good, clear decisions” (2002, p.
...nfortunate events, Mark Twain became very bitter, cynical and reclusive from the outside world. Edgar Allan Poe’s gothic style of writing and Mark Twain’s humorous and realism tone of writing have played a large role in the reasons of why literature is the way it is today.
As a child, Faulkner was well aware of his family background, especially the notoriety of his great-grandfather who had moved to the Mississippi Delta from Tennessee in 1841 (Zane). William Clark Faulkner was a Civil War Colonel, a lawyer, a planter, a politician, a railroad entrepreneur, and a best-selling novelist best known for The White Rose of Memphis. He died in the streets of Ripley, Mississippi, where a former business partner he had forced out of his railroad gunned him down (Padgett). While Faulkner had never met his great-grandfather, he was a powerful influence. When his third grade teacher asked what he wanted to be when he grew up, the young William replied “I want to be a writer like my great-granddaddy”(Padgett).
Any one who’s ever visited the south has a true appreciation for the writings of William Faulkner. Everything ever written by William Faulkner has a trace of the South that can be felt by just reading his words. Growing up in Mississippi, Faulkner was exposed to the Deep South and everything it had to offer, both good and bad. Through his writings, William tackles some of the most difficult issues of his time period and sheds light to the every day issues going on in the South. William Faulkner set the precedent for future generations, and he will arguably never be contested in his southern style. Without William Faulkner, American literature would be blind to the truth of the South and all its glory.
With the scientists background knowledge of niches and genetics, two hypotheses were formed. Hypothesis # 1: If a person is an extrovert then they will have a higher biological fitness than an introvert because they will have less difficulty finding a partner. Hypothesis #2: If a person is an introvert, then they will be more successful (in terms of money) because they will show more focus in their work environments.
Society today favors extroverts. As a society, we see values such as outgoingness and sociability very important. These are all traits of extroverts (Cook). Even schools value these traits, which is, in a way, negatively impacting introverts. Because introverts don’t possess these specific traits, they feel that there’s something wrong with them, and in turn causes them to try and become more extroverted. It doesn’t really work that way. You can’t try and pass as something you’re not. Being an introvert is not a bad thing, though, as Cook talks about in his article. Working in a group causes us to mimic the behaviors of other without realizing we’re doing so. This is called groupthink, when the beliefs of group members conform, often unconsciously, to those beliefs of other group members. Introversion can help solve this problem, though. Since solitude is one of the most important factors for creativity, working on projects solo can help create better and more efficient solutions than if the problem was solved with multiple people working in a group. According to Cook, humans function better along than with others. Introverts are more likely to be motivated by dedication to their
If you are an introvert, you probably know how it feels like to be routinely passed over for leadership roles in school, in an organization or in college. The daring boy who always speaks his mind and raises his hands in class is always recognized as a better student representative than the introverts in the room. The frustration and disappointment that introverts have to go through because of the common misunderstanding that they are shy or anti-social has probably left a negative impact in your life. For centuries, people have preferred extroverted leaders rather than introverted leaders because great leaders are always characterized as gregarious and charismatic (McHugh,
Susan Cain, in her book “The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking” explores introversion and extroversion and how introverts are powerful in their own way, using their unique way of working together and thinking skills/styles to influence the world around them, using many sources to back up her information and tell her story correctly. One source Cain uses is Carl G. Jung who studied types of behaviors and came up with introversion and extroversion.
When discussing extraversion-introversion, there does not seem to be a plethora of similarities simply because the two are on opposite ends of the continuum (Peake, 2014, p. 8). Differences on the other hand are identified much easier between the two. One main difference is the way individuals perceive each trait. Extraversion is seen as a good quality and is often used as a positive trait. Although it is not entirely true, introversion is looked at as a negative trait for someone to possess in today’s’ society (Peake, 2014, p. 8). The best way to explain how these two traits differ would be the type of stimuli that motivates
Carl Jung said there's two main types of personality, the introvert and the extrovert. I became an introvert, a person who likes to spend majority of their time by themselves. I become more comfortable with the inner world of my thoughts and feelings rather than the external world. I didn't have play dates, neither was I invited to any, I ate lunch by myself nor was invited to birthday parties, at the time it didn't seemed to bother me. Only thing that mattered was fulfilling the goals set for me by my family since they provided everything I needed and wanted. Most might conclude that being an introvert I mostly will have social and emotional issues. But according to Jung, “Introvert does not necessarily imply that person's social recluse, but rather, they prefer less company over more”. Instead I used the time alone to better myself academically, I had very good grades, won science fairs and spelling bees. My introvert personality traits only became an issue during my adolescent years when I had no choice but to come out of my own internal world to face the outside/external world head on. (Jung