the sound and the fury guide

7/24/2019 The Sound and the Fury Guide

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The Sound and the FuryBy William Faulkner (1897-1962)

A Study Guide

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Introduction Time Shifts and Narration Settings Racial Mix and Race Relations

Characters Protagonist Antagonist Tye of !or"

#ear of Pu$lication Plot Summary Themes Strong Character

Prohetic Character Persistent Character Christli"e Character Climax

!riting Style Imagery Stream of Consciousness A$out the Title

Study %uestions &ssay Toics 'iograhy Comlete Text

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Notes and Plot Summary by Michael J. Cummings... 2007.

Introduction: Faulkners Jigsaw Puzzle

.......In The Sound and the Fury, the ast !re"uently intrudes uon the resent in the minds o! three central characters #ho each narrate art o! the no$el. %hisintrusion is not unusual& it haens to e$ery man and #oman !rom time to time. 'or e(amle, #hen you listen to a sermon in a church or a lecture in a classroom)or #hen you are *ogging or ma+ing a bed)a memory !rom yesterday, a year ago, or 20 years ago may suddenly seie your attention. - sound, a sight, a taste, or a

smell may ha$e triggered that memory. r the memory may simly ha$e srung u, unbidden.

.......In most o! this 'aul+ner no$el, the ast !re"uently intrudes uon the here and no#, barging into a character/s resent thoughts #ithout #arning. !ten,the memories occur #ithout heed to chronological se"uence. - memory !rom 10 might #al+ into the !irst aragrah on a age and a memory !rom 1 into the

third aragrah, #ith resent thoughts occuying the second aragrah. 3ut e$en #hen the resent is in control, it may $eer !rom one resent thought to anunrelated resent thought. Conse"uently, the e$ents in the no$el become li+e the ieces o! a *igsa# ule dumed onto a table. 4o#e$er, as the no$elrogresses, in!ormation slo#ly emerges that enables the reader to match one iece #ith another until a icture !orms, an imressionistic rendering o! the declineand !all o! a southern !amily #hose roots e(tend bac+ many generations. It is not easy, though, to assemble the ule. ne o! the uroses o! this study guide isto gi$e readers essential in!ormation ahead o! time so that they may more "uic+ly gras and better areciate the no$el.

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Time Shifts and Narration

.......%he e$ents in the no$el occur according to rele$ance and signi!icance, not time se"uence. %he no$el consists o! !our chaters. %he !irst is entitled 5-rilSe$enth, 126& the second, 5June Second, 106& the third, 5-ril Si(th, 126& and the !ourth, 5-ril ighth, 12.8 Male members o! a declining anddys!unctional southern !amily, the Comsons, narrate the !irst three chaters in !irst9erson oint o! $ie#, and the author resents the !ourth chater in omniscient,third9erson oint o! $ie#.

Chater Narration

.......Chater ta+es lace on Saturday, -ril 7, 12, the day be!ore aster, but !lashes bac+ !re"uently to re$ious years. %he narrator o! thischater is 3en*yComson, #ho #as born in 1:. 4e is !eeble9minded. 4e cannot sea+, read, or #rite. 4is retardation is so se$ere that he e$en con!uses the ast #ith theresent. - memory !rom long ago may occur to him as a resent e(erience. 'or e(amle, in resonse to a triggeringsensation)a sound, a sight, or a smell)hemight #ait by the gate in !ront o! his house !or his sister to come home !rom school e$en though his sister long ago mo$ed a#ay !rom his house. In resenting3en*y/s narration, 'aul+ner uses hrases that attemt to e(ress the surreal and irrational #or+ings o! 3en*y/s mind. In one assage, 3en*y says, 5I could smell theclothes !laing.8 In others, 3en*y hears the grass 5rattling8 or sees the #ind 5shining.8 ne roblem 3en*y/s narration oses)besides the con!using rat9a9tat o!dis*ointed thoughts)is that it ta(es lausibility and $erisimilitude. - character incaable o! sea+ing or #riting cannot tell a story)unless, o! course, the authorin$ades the mind o! this character and tells #hat he sees. 'aul+ner does so. Conse"uently, Chater is really a narrati$e oddity; a +ind o! $entrilo"uism in #hichthe author sea+s !or the narrator.

Chater 2 Narration

.......Chater 2 ta+es lace on June 2, 10. It also !lashes bac+ to re$ious years. %he narrator is


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.......In Chaters , =, and B, the settings are in northern Mississii in the !ictional locales o! Je!!erson, o+naata#ha County, and the nearby to#n o! Mottson.%he main characters, the Comsons, li$e on a rundo#n Je!!erson estate that includes the ancestral home, stables, a +itchen garden, and a cabin to house a !amilyo! blac+ ser$ants. -t one time, the estate #as considerably larger, but the Comsons sold a large arcel o! land to meet !inancial obligations. $er the years, theComsons ha$e +et horses and mil+ing co#s. In Chater 2, the setting is in and around Cambridge, Massachusetts, site o! 4ar$ard Dni$ersity. %he action ta+eslace on the !ollo#ing days; -ril 7, 12 EChater F& June 2, 10 EChater 2F& -ril ?, 12 EChater =F& -ril , 12 EChater BF. %here are !re"uent !lashbac+sto years in the !irst t#o decades o! the 20th Century and one !lashbac+ to a scene in 1.

Racial Mi and Race Relations

.......In !ictional o+naata#ha County, blac+s outnumber #hites by aro(imately three to t#o. In the !irst three decades o! the 20th Century, Mississii #hites)as #ell as #hites else#here in the Dnited States)treated blac+s almost as sub9humans. %he #ord 6nigger6 or 6niggers6 occurs more than 70 times in The Soundand the Furyto re!lect the attitude o! #hites to#ard blac+s in the early art o! the century.

!haracters

Protagonist; %here is no clearly de!ined rotagonist in the no$el, although the !amily itsel! at least artly ! its the classical de!inition o! tragic rotagonist; a erson o!e(alted status Ethe Comsons descended !rom moneyed aristocratsF #ith a character !la# Ethe Comsons ha$e many !la#sF that causes him or her to err and !allto ruin. 4o#e$er, the tyical tragic rotagonist)such as edius in SohoclesGs Oedipus Rex)e(eriences a moment #hen he recognies and ac+no#ledges hismista+es. %he Comsons do not e(erience such a moment)unless, in


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Roskus 0i&son; 4usband o! ilsey #ho su!!ers !rom rheumatism.

+ersh1 T-P; Sons o! ilsey >ibson. %hey hel to loo+ a!ter 3en*y.

Fron#; aughter o! ilsey >ibson. She marries in 10 and gi$es birth to a male child, @uster.

"uster; Son o! 'rony and grandson o! ilsey >ibson. @uster, though less than hal! the age o! 3en*y, is charged #ith loo+ing a!ter 3en*y !rom time to time.%hroughout the no$el, there are re!erences to @usterGs loo+ing !or a lost "uarter, or as+ing eole around him !or a "uarter, so he can buy a tic+et to a tra$eling tent

sho#.

Shre2e1 S$oade1 0erald %land; 4ar$ard students #ho are !riends o! erald 3landGs mother.

!harlie; ne o! Miss ibson. ilsey is the matriarch o! a blac+ !amily that has long been attached to the Comson homestead. Hhen 3en*y#as younger, ilsey/s t#o sons, Aersh and %.P., !re"uently #atched o$er 3en*y #hen he #as outside. n this -ril day, that *ob has !allen to @uster, the son o!ilsey/s daughter, 'rony. Hhile 3en*y #atches the gol!ers, @uster searches !or a "uarter he lost in the grass. 4e lans to use it to go to a tra$eling tent sho#,#here there is a man #ho can lay a sa# li+e a ban*o. -t one time, the Comsons o#ned the land occuied by the gol! course)land that they re!erred to as

53en*y/s asture8 because it #as one o! his !a$orite laces on the Comson estate)but they sold it to alle$iate !inancial di!!iculties.

.......Hhile 3en*y and @uster cra#l through a hole in the !ence, 3en*y snags his clothes on a nail, reminding him o! a Christmas long ago #hen his clothes caughton the same nail and his sister, Caddy ECandaceF, came to his aid. Caddy #as the only member o! the Comson !amily #ho aid attention to 3en*y #hen he #asgro#ing u. Hhen a gol!er says, 54ere, caddie,8 the latter #ord triggers another memory o! Caddy, one in #hich 3en*y is outside #ith Aersh at the !ront gate o! theComson house. %here, they meet Caddy coming bac+ !rom school. She smells li+e lea$es, 3en*y thin+s. E4e associates the smell o! lea$es #ith urity and

innocence.F She scolds Aersh !or not ma+ing 3en*y ut his hands in his oc+ets against the cold, but Aersh had already told 3en*y to do so.

.......3en*yGs mind shi!ts bac+ to the resent !or a moment, as he and @uster come out to the other side o! the !ence. %hen 3en*y returns to the ast. 4is memoriesare dis*ointed, sometimes !ocusing on one moment !rom one year, sometimes on another !rom another year. In bet#een, his mind idles in the resent. 3ecause o!his retardation, he lac+s !ull a#areness o! chronology, !reely merging and mingling ast and resent. >radually, ho#e$er, he re$eals bits and ieces o! himsel! andothers around him. 'or e(amle, #hene$er he thin+s o! Caddy, he moans out o! sadness. ECaddy is gone !rom the household, but he still loo+s !or her.F Hhen she#as young, she #as a !ree sirit #ho did not #ait long to e(lore se(uality. She became regnant, married, had her child, and e$entually di$orced a!ter her

husband disco$ered that the child #as not his o#n.

.......Hhile @uster continues to search !or his lost "uarter, 3en*y recalls a time #hen he and his mother ride in a surrey dri$en by %.P. to a cemetery #here his !atherand brother


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#hich is signi!icant because o! #hat it re$eals about ilsey as a steadying in!luence.

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....... 6HhereGs Kos+us.6 she LMrs. Comson said.

....... 6Kos+us cant li!t his arms, today.6 ilsey said. 6%.P. can dri$e all right.6

....... 6IGm a!raid to.6 Mother said. 6It seems to me you all could !urnish me #ith a dri$er !or the carriage once a #ee+. ItGs little

enough I as+, @ord +no#s.6

....... 6ou +no# *ust as #ell as me that Kos+us got the rheumatism too bad to do more than he ha$e to, Miss Cahline.6 ilsey said.

6ou come on and get in, no#. %.P. can dri$e you *ust as good as Kos+us.6

....... 6IGm a!raid to.6 Mother said. 6Hith the baby.6 ilsey #ent u the stes. 6ou calling that thing a baby.6 she said. She too+

MotherGs arm. 6- man big as %.P. Come on, no#, i! you going.6

....... 6IGm a!raid to.6 Mother said. %hey came do#n the stes and ilsey heled Mother in. 6Perhas itGll be the best thing, !or all o!

us.6 Mother said.

....... 6-int you shamed, tal+ing that #ay.6 ilsey said. 6ont you +no# itGll ta+e more than a eighteen year old nigger to ma+e


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batied Maury, a!ter his uncle. 4o#e$er, in 100, Mrs. Comson changed his name to 3en*amin #hen she disco$ered that he #as retarded. EIn the 3 ible,3en*amin #as the youngest son o! Jacob, the Je#ish atriarch. See >enesis, Chaters B29B:.F She did not #ish to bring shame on the 3ascomb name. Caddy,ho#e$er, out o! resect !or 3en*y, sometimes calls him Maury........@ater, a!ter the intercetion o! the letter to Mrs. Patterson Ere!erred toabo$eF, 3en*y recalls the !ollo#ing scene in #hich Dncle Maury nurses in*uries in!lictedby an outraged Mr. Patterson. %he scene also re$eals in!ormation about Mr. ComsonGs hea$y drin+ing and Mrs. ComsonGs concern !or the 3ascomb name..

.......Dncle Maury #as sic+. 4is eye #as sic+, and his mouth. Aersh too+ his suer u to him on the tray.

.......6Maury says heGs going to shoot the scoundrel.6 'ather said. 6I told him heGd better not mention it to Patterson be!ore hand.6 4e dran+.

.......6Jason.6 Mother said.

.......6Shoot #ho, 'ather.6


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%ime in %urmoil

.......3en*y has little or no sense o! the assage o! time. $en a!ter Caddy has mo$ed out o! the Comson household, he #aits !or her at the !ront gate to comehome !rom school. 4is mind li$es in the ast and the resent as i! they #ere one.


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!lima

.......The Sound and the Furymo$es !rom beginning to end #ithout a single, un!orgettable, climactic moment that alters the course o! the no$el. ne gets the!eeling #hile reading the no$el that the clima( occurred in the distant ast, be!ore Chater . Hhat the no$el concentrates on is the outcome o! that long9agoclimactic moment)an outcome centering on dissolution, decline, decomosition, decay. In other #ords, The Sound and the Furyis one long denouement.4o#e$er, Miss


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Simile,.lliteration

. $air of )a#&irdscame u !rom no#here, whirled u$ on the &lastlike gaud# scra$s of cloth or $a$erand lodged in the mulberries, #here they s#ung

in raucous tilt and reco$er.)mniscient narrator.

!oncise Images

-long its "uiet length white $eo$le in &right clum$smo$ed church#ard, under the wind# &ells, #al+ing no# and then in the random and tentati2e sun.)mniscient narrator.

Simile,Meta$hor

/e was like a worn small rock#helmed by the successi$e wa2eso! his $oice.)mniscient narrator describing the reacher, the Ke$. Shegog. EMetahor; %herise and !all o! the ministerGs $oice resembles the sound o! ocean #a$es.F

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Stud# *uestions and 4ssa# To$ics

Hhich character in the no$el do you most admire Hhich character do you least admire (lain your ans#ers.

In #hat #ays does the resence o! 3en*y hel to de!ine other characters in the no$el

%o #hat e(tent do Southern culture and traditions a!!ect the attitudes o! the Comsons

Hhen she #as gro#ing u, Caddy #as sirited, #ith a mind o! her o#n. 4o#e$er, she married Sydney 4erbert 4ead to reser$e the 6good name6 o!

her !amily. 4ad Caddy lost her sirit Has she a bro+en #oman

o any o! the Comsons set goals !or the themsel$es

Hrite an essay e(laining #hether the treatment o! blac+s in the no$el accurately re!lects the treatment o! blac+s in general in the early decades o! the

1th Century.

Hrite an essay e(laining #hether the attitude to#ard #omen in the no$el accurately re!lects societyGs attitude to#ard #omen in the early decades o!

the 1th Century.

Sounds, smells, sights, eole, and laces trigger memories in 3en*y,


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@i!eGs but a #al+ing shado#, a oor layer

%hat struts and !rets his hour uon the stage,

-nd then is heard no more& it is a tale

%old by an idiot, !ull o! sound and !ury,

Signi!ying nothing.

E-ct A, Scene A, @ines 792F

.MacbethGs conclusion that li!e is nothing more than a tale told by an idiot sums u the 'aul+ner no$el. 3en*y, o! course, is the idiot.

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the sound and the fury guide

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