So I read the final chapter of The Sound and The Fury, and let me just say, this book took so many turns I felt like I was driving on Lombard Street. Overall I wasn't expecting the book to end like it did but that doesn't mean that I didn't like the ending. I feel like Faulkner ended the book like he started it: a straightforward representation of a family in the South. This is fitting considering this is what I believe the book to overall be about. Faulkner is creating a motif of the social constructs of the Old South (that sound really smart!) and trying to get the reader to see how society is transitioning into one that is not as dependent on family and maintaining the dignity of the family name.
Faulkner writes his novel so that with each change in narrative, the story becomes clearer and more straightforward. I believe Faulkner writes like this in order to manipulate the thoughts of the reader and prevent them from judging too quickly, which would have happened if the whole story was presented at the beginning. This becomes apparent when examining the character of Caddy, who I believe is the central point for the stories theme. If the reader sees Caddy as how the Old South viewed her in the beginning instead of viewing her through the loving eyes of Benjy, then she wouldn't be seen as the beacon of hope for the Compson family that she is. Faulkner himself said that Caddy was meant to be a likeable character, and I believe that he writes Caddy like he does in the Jason chapter to show the way the Old South misconstrues the character of a person based on if what they do is deemed respectable toward their family. Caddy represents everything wrong with the Old South, so Faulkner presents her in a way that establishes her as a likeable character so that when we get to the view of the Old South, we as readers are not tempted to judge her the way the Old South has.
I feel like I just discovered a lot about this book by typing that last paragraph out and now everything makes sense. I see the genius behind Faulkner's novel and appreciate it more for not going the typical route when writing a book with a strong social message. Instead of directly telling the reader what to think, Faulkner decides to lead the reader to his conclusion by using a humans instinct to judge a person based on the perspective they get to view them in. I honestly wasn't feeling this book that much at the beginning (and up until the last chapter if we're being really honest) but after discovering what I believe to be Faulkner's message, I agree full-heartedly that this is one of the greatest pieces of American Literature.
I agree with you about Faulkner's meaning behind the novel: Old Southern views with a hint of Caddy, as I like to say. Your post gave me new insight, and it made me see the final chapter differently than I originally did. For example, I didn't catch the correlation between how the novel ended and how it began, like a full circle, so to say. Your views made me look at the novel as a whole a little differently, and I liked it!
ReplyDeleteHey Niko, I agree with you that Faulkner's order of narratives was meant to allow the reader form their own instinctive opinion about certain characters rather than being influenced by a particular character's opinion. I also agree with you that appreciating the book at the beginning was a bit difficult but once the message was understood, it was worthwhile.
ReplyDeleteI loved your post and totally agree with what you said. I liked how you pointed out that if Faulkner presented the beganning differently the book would not be what it is. I think that the beauty of Faulkner's work, atleast this one, is based in the developments of his themes and plot.
ReplyDeleteWe had very similar views on what the novel was essentially about. I also see the novel as one that is concerned with the battle between the Old and New South. This makes sense seeing that Faulkner was raised in the South in the period following the Civil War. The rest of his family would have or very nearly been products of the Old South, whereas Faulkner himself probably would have reflected more of the New South in his own life.
ReplyDeleteYour post was great! I liked your idea that Faulkner wrote the way he did in order to manipulate the reader’s mind and views on Caddy and the South. It really was clever on Faulkner’s part to present the story this way instead of the traditional story-telling way.
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