Plot Overview

Attempting to apply traditional plot summary to The Sound and the Fury is difficult. At a basic level, the novel is
about the three Compson brothers obsessions with their sister Caddy, but this brief synopsis represents merely
the surface of what the novel contains. A story told in four chapters, by four different voices, and out of
chronological order, The Sound and the Fury requires intense concentration and patience to interpret and
understand.
The first three chapters of the novel consist of the convoluted thoughts, voices, and memories of the three Compson
brothers, captured on three different days. The brothers are en!y, a severely retarded thirty"three"year"old man,
spea#ing in April, $%&'( )uentin, a young *arvard student, spea#ing in +une, $%$,( and +ason, a bitter farm"supply
store wor#er, spea#ing again in April, $%&'. Faul#ner tells the fourth chapter in his own narrative voice, but focuses
on -ilsey, the Compson familys devoted ./egro0 coo# who has played a great part in raising the children. Faul#ner
harnesses the brothers memories of their sister Caddy, using a single symbolic moment to forecast the decline of
the once prominent Compson family and to e1amine the deterioration of the Southern aristocratic class since the
Civil 2ar.
The Compsons are one of several prominent names in the town of +efferson, 3ississippi. Their ancestors helped
settle the area and subsequently defended it during the Civil 2ar. Since the war, the Compsons have gradually seen
their wealth, land, and status crumble away. 3r. Compson is an alcoholic. 3rs. Compson is a self"absorbed
hypochondriac who depends almost entirely upon -ilsey to raise her four children. )uentin, the oldest child, is a
sensitive bundle of neuroses. Caddy is stubborn, but loving and compassionate. +ason has been difficult and mean"
spirited since birth and is largely spurned by the other children. en!y is severely mentally disabled, an .idiot0 with
no understanding of the concepts of time or morality. 4n the absence of the self"absorbed 3rs. Compson, Caddy
serves as a mother figure and symbol of affection for en!y and )uentin.
As the children grow older, however, Caddy begins to behave promiscuously, which torments )uentin and sends
en!y into fits of moaning and crying. )uentin is preparing to go to *arvard, and 3r. Compson sells a large portion
of the family land to provide funds for the tuition. Caddy loses her virginity and becomes pregnant. She is unable or
unwilling to name the father of the child, though it is li#ely -alton Ames, a boy from town.
Caddys pregnancy leaves )uentin emotionally shattered. *e attempts to claim false responsibility for the
pregnancy, lying to his father that he and Caddy have committed incest. 3r. Compson is indifferent to Caddys
promiscuity, dismissing )uentins story and telling his son to leave early for the /ortheast.
Attempting to cover up her indiscretions, Caddy quic#ly marries *erbert *ead, a ban#er she met in 4ndiana. *erbert
promises +ason Compson a !ob in his ban#. *erbert immediately divorces Caddy and rescinds +asons !ob offer when
he reali5es his wife is pregnant with another mans child. 3eanwhile, )uentin, still mired in despair over Caddys sin,
commits suicide by drowning himself in the Charles 6iver !ust before the end of his first year at *arvard.
The Compsons disown Caddy from the family, but ta#e in her newborn daughter, 3iss )uentin. The tas# of raising
3iss )uentin falls squarely on -ilseys shoulders. 3r. Compson dies of alcoholism roughly a year after )uentins
suicide. As the oldest surviving son, +ason becomes the head of the Compson household. itterly employed at a
menial !ob in the local farm"supply store, +ason devises an ingenious scheme to steal the money Caddy sends to
support 3iss )uentins upbringing.
3iss )uentin grows up to be an unhappy, rebellious, and promiscuous girl, constantly in conflict with her
overbearing and vicious uncle +ason. 7n 8aster Sunday, $%&', 3iss )uentin steals several thousand dollars from
+ason and runs away with a man from a traveling show. 2hile +ason chases after 3iss )uentin to no avail, -ilsey
ta#es en!y and the rest of her family to 8aster services at the local church.
A Note on the Title
The title of The Sound and the Fury refers to a line from 2illiam Sha#espeares 3acbeth. 3acbeth, a Scottish
general and nobleman, learns of his wifes suicide and feels that his life is crumbling into chaos. 4n addition to
Faul#ners title, we can find several of the novels important motifs in 3acbeths short soliloquy in Act 9, scene v:
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time,
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. 7ut, out, brief candle.
;ifes but a wal#ing shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. 4t is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
<9.v.$'=&>?
The Sound and the Fury literally begins as a .tale @ Told by an idiot,0 as the first chapter is narrated by the mentally
disabled en!y. The novels central concerns include time, much li#e 3acbeths .AtBomorrow, and tomorrow0( death,
recalling 3acbeths .dusty death0( and nothingness and disintegration, a clear reference to 3acbeths lament that
life .AsBignifAiesB nothing.0 Additionally, )uentin is haunted by the sense that the Compson family has disintegrated
to a mere shadow of its former greatness.
4n his soliloquy, 3acbeth implies that life is but a shadow of the past and that a modern man, li#e himself, is
inadequately equipped and unable to achieve anything near the greatness of the past. Faul#ner reinterprets this
idea, implying that if man does not choose to ta#e his own life, as )uentin does, the only alternatives are to become
either a cynic and materialist li#e +ason, or an idiot li#e en!y, unable to see life as anything more than a
meaningless series of images, sounds, and memories.
Character List
Jason Compson III " The head of the Compson household until his death from alcoholism in $%$&. 3r. Compson is the
father of )uentin, Caddy, +ason 49, and en!y, and the husband of Caroline.
Caroline Compson " The self"pitying and self"absorbed wife of 3r. Compson and mother of the four Compson
children. Carolines hypochondria preoccupies her and contributes to her inability to care properly for her children.
3rs. Caroline Compson <4n"-epth Analysis? Mrs. Compsons negligence and disregard contribute
directly to the familys downfall. Constantly lost in a self-absorbed haze of hypochondria
and self-pity, Mrs. Compson is absent as a mother figure to her children and has no sense of
her childrens needs. She even treats the mentally disabled en!y cruelly and selfishly. Mrs.
Compson foolishly lavishes all of her favor and attention upon Jason, the one child who is
incapable of reciprocating her love. Mrs. Compsons self-absorption includes a neurotic
insecurity over her ascomb family name, the honor of which is undermined by her brother
3aurys adulterous behavior. Caroline ultimately ma!es the decision to change her youngest
sons name from Maury to en"amin because of this insecurity about her familys
reputation.
Quentin Compson - The oldest of the Compson children and the narrator of the novels second chapter. A sensitive
and intelligent boy, )uentin is preoccupied with his love for his sister Caddy and his notion of the Compson familys
honor. *e commits suicide by drowning himself !ust before the end of his first year at *arvard.
)uentin Compson <4n"-epth Analysis? #he oldest of the Compson children, )uentin feels an
inordinate burden of responsibility to live up to the familys past greatness and prestige. $e
is a very intelligent and sensitive young man, but is paralyzed by his obsession with Caddy
and his preoccupation with a very traditional Southern code of conduct and morality. #his
Southern code defines order and chaos within %uentins world, and causes him to idealize
nebulous, abstract concepts such as honor, virtue, and feminine purity. $is strict belief in
this code causes %uentin profound despair when he learns of Caddys promiscuity. #urning
to Mr. Compson for guidance, %uentin feels even worse when he learns that his father does
not care about the Southern code or the shame Caddys conduct has brought on the family.
&hen %uentin finds that his sister and father have disregarded the code that gives order and
meaning to his life, he is driven to despondency and eventually suicide.
%uentins Southern code also prevents him from being a man of action. #he code
preoccupies %uentin with blind devotion to abstract concepts that he is never able to act
upon assertively or effectively. %uentin is full of vague ideas, such as the suicide pact with
Caddy or the desire for revenge against -alton Ames, but his ideas are always unspecific and
inevitably end up either re"ected by others or carried out ineffectively. %uentins focus on
ideas over deeds ma!es him a highly unreliable narrator, as it is often difficult to tell which
of the actions he describes have actually occurred and which are mere fantasy.
Caddy Compson - The second oldest of the Compson children and the only daughter. Actually named Candace, Caddy
is very close to her brother )uentin. She becomes promiscuous, gets pregnant out of wedloc#, and eventually
marries and divorces *erbert *ead in $%$,.
Jason Compson IV - The second youngest of the Compson children and the narrator of the novels third chapter.
+ason is mean"spirited, petty, and very cynical.
+ason Compson 49 <4n"-epth Analysis? Jason Compson '(
Jasons legacy, even from his earliest childhood, is one of malice and hatred. Jason remains
distant from the other children. )i!e his brothers, Jason is fi*ated on Caddy, but his fi*ation
is based on bitterness and a desire to get Caddy in trouble. 'ronically, the loveless Jason is
the only one of the Compson children who receives Mrs. Compsons affection. Jason has
no capacity to accept, en"oy, or reciprocate this love, and eventually he manipulates it to
steal money from 3iss )uentin behind Mrs. Compsons bac!. Jason re"ects not only familial
love, but romantic love as well. $e hates all women fervently and thus cannot date or marry
and have children. Jasons only romantic satisfaction as an adult comes from a prostitute in
Memphis.
+nli!e )uentin, who is obsessed with the past, Jason thin!s solely about the present and the
immediate future. $e constantly tries to twist circumstances in his favor, almost always at
the e*pense of others. Jason is very clever and crafty, but never uses these talents in the
spirit of !indness or generosity. #hough he clearly desires personal gain, Jason has no
higher goals or aspirations. $e steals and hoards money in a strongbo*, but not for any
particular purpose other than selfishness. ,n the whole, Jason is e*tremely motivated but
completely without ambition.
Jasons lac! of achievement stems primarily from his relentless self-pity. Jason never
forgives Caddy for the loss of the "ob at $erberts ban!, and he is unable to move past this
setbac! to achieve anything worthwhile in his later life. 'ronically, Jason becomes the head
of the Compson household after his fathers death-an indication of the low to which the
once-great family has sun!.
en"y Compson " The youngest of the Compson children and narrator of the novels first chapter. orn 3aury
Compson, his name is changed to en!amin in $%,,, when he is discovered to be severely mentally retarded.
en!y Compson <4n"-epth Analysis? en"y Compson
. moaning, speechless idiot, en!y is utterly dependent upon Caddy, his only real source of
affection. en"y cannot understand any abstract concepts such as time, cause and effect, or
right and wrong-he merely absorbs visual and auditory cues from the world around him.
/espite his utter inability to understand or interpret the world, however, en"y does have an
acute sensitivity to order and chaos, and he can immediately sense the presence of anything
bad, wrong, or out of place. $e is able to sense )uentins suicide thousands of miles away at
$arvard, and senses Caddys promiscuity and loss of virginity. 'n light of this ability, en"y
is one of the only characters who truly ta!es notice of the Compson familys progressing
decline. $owever, his disability renders en"y unable to formulate any response other than
moaning and crying. en"ys impotence-and the impotence of all the remaining Compson
men-is symbolized and embodied by his castration during his teenage years.
Miss Quentin - Caddys illegitimate daughter, who is raised by the Compsons after Caddys divorce. A rebellious,
promiscuous, and miserably unhappy girl, 3iss )uentin eventually steals money from +ason and leaves town with a
member of a traveling minstrel show.
3iss )uentin <4n"-epth Analysis? Miss %uentin
3iss )uentin is the lone member of the newest generation of the Compson family. Many
parallels arise between Miss %uentin and her mother, Caddy, but the two differ in important
ways. Miss %uentin repeats Caddys early se*ual awa!ening and promiscuity, but, unli!e
Caddy, she does not feel guilty about her actions. )i!ewise, Miss )uentin grows up in a
meaner, more confined world than Caddy does, and is constantly sub"ect to Jasons
domineering and cruelty. 0ot surprisingly, we see that Miss %uentin is not nearly as loving
or compassionate as her mother. She is also more worldly and headstrong than Caddy. 1et
Miss %uentins eventual success in recovering her stolen money and escaping the family
implies that her worldliness and lac! of compunction-very modern values-indeed wor!
to her benefit.
Dilsey - The Compsons ./egro0 coo#, -ilsey is a pious, strong"willed, protective woman who serves as a stabili5ing
force for the Compson family.
-ilsey <4n"-epth Analysis? /ilsey
-ilsey is the only source of stability in the Compson household. She is the only character
detached enough from the Compsons downfall to witness both the beginning and the end
of this final chapter of the family history. 'nterestingly, /ilsey lives her life based on the
same set of fundamental values-family, faith, personal honor, and so on-upon which the
Compsons original greatness was built. $owever, /ilsey does not allow self-absorption to
corrupt her values or spirit. She is very patient and selfless-she coo!s, cleans, and ta!es
care of the Compson children in Mrs. Compsons absence, while raising her own children
and grandchildren at the same time. /ilsey seems to be the only person in the household
truly concerned for the Compson childrens welfare and character, and she treats all of the
children with love and fairness, even en!y. #he last chapters focus on /ilsey implies a
hope for renewal after the tragedies that have occurred. &e sense that /ilsey is the new
torchbearer of the Compson legacy, and represents the only hope for resurrecting the values
of the old South in a pure and uncorrupted form.
Roskus - -ilseys husband and the Compsons servant. 6os#us suffers from a severe case of rheumatism that
eventually #ills him.
T.P. - 7ne of -ilseys sons, T.C. gets drun# with en!y and fights with )uentin at Caddys wedding.
Versh - Another of -ilseys sons and en!ys #eepers.
Frony - -ilseys daughter. Frony is also ;usters mother and wor#s in the Compsons #itchen.
Luster - Fronys son and -ilseys grandson. ;uster is a young boy who loo#s after and entertains en!y in $%&',
despite the fact that he is only half en!ys age.
The man with the red tie - The mysterious man with whom 3iss )uentin allegedly elopes.
Damuddy - The Compson childrens grandmother, who dies when they are young.
n!le Maury "as!om# - 3rs. Compsons brother, who lives off his brother"in"laws money. en!y is initially named
after Dncle 3aury, but en!ys condition and Carolines insecurity about her family name convince her to change her
sons name.
Mr. and Mrs. Patterson - The Compsons ne1t"door neighbors. Dncle 3aury has an affair with 3rs. Catterson until 3r.
Catterson intercepts a note 3aury has sent to her.
Charlie - 7ne of Caddys first suitors, whom en!y catches with Caddy on the swing during the first chapter.
Dalton $mes - A local +efferson boy who is probably the father of Caddys child, 3iss )uentin.
%hre&e Ma!'en(ie - )uentins roommate at *arvard. A young Canadian man, Shreve reappears in Absalom,
AbsalomE, one of Faul#ners later novels, which is largely narrated by Shreve and )uentin from their dorm room at
*arvard.
%poade - A *arvard senior from South Carolina. Spoade once moc#ed )uentins virginity by calling Shreve )uentins
.husband.0
)erald "land - A swaggering student at *arvard. )uentin fights with Ferald because he reminds him of -alton
Ames.
Mrs. "land - Ferald lands boastful, Southern mother.
Dea!on - A blac# man in Cambridge, 3assachusetts, to whom )uentin gives his suicide notes.
Julio - The brother of an 4talian girl who attaches herself to )uentin as he wanders Cambridge before his suicide.
%ydney *er#ert *ead - The prosperous ban#er whom Caddy marries. *erbert later divorces Caddy because of her
pregnancy.
Lorraine - +asons mistress, a prostitute who lives in 3emphis.
+arl - The owner of the farm"supply store where +ason wor#s. 8arl feels some loyalty toward 3rs. Compson and
thus puts up with +asons surliness.
n!le Jo# - A blac# man who wor#s with +ason at 8arls store.
Re&erend %he,o, - The pastor who delivers a powerful sermon on 8aster Sunday at the local blac# church in
+efferson.
Analysis of Major Characters
Mr. Jason Compson III
3r. Compson is a well"spo#en but very cynical and detached man. *e subscribes to a philosophy of determinism
and fatalismGhe believes life is essentially meaningless and that he can do little to change the events that befall his
family. -espite his cynicism, however, 3r. Compson maintains notions of gentlemanliness and family honor, which
)uentin inherits. 3r. Compson ris#s the familys financial well"being in e1change for the potential prestige of
)uentins *arvard education, and he tells stories that foster )uentins nearly fanatical obsession with the family
name.
Though he inculcates his son with the concept of family honor, 3r. Compson is unconcerned with it in practice. *e
acts indifferent to )uentin about Caddys pregnancy, telling him to accept it as a natural womanly shortcoming. 3r.
Compsons indifference greatly upsets )uentin, who is ashamed by his fathers disregard for traditional Southern
ideals of honor and virtue. 3r. Compson dismisses )uentins concerns about Caddy and tells his son not to ta#e
himself so seriously, which initiates )uentins rapid fall toward depression and suicide. 3r. Compson dies of
alcoholism shortly thereafter.
Mrs. Caroline Compson
3rs. Compsons negligence and disregard contribute directly to the familys downfall. Constantly lost in a self"
absorbed ha5e of hypochondria and self"pity, 3rs. Compson is absent as a mother figure to her children and has no
sense of her childrens needs. She even treats the mentally disabled en!y cruelly and selfishly. 3rs. Compson
foolishly lavishes all of her favor and attention upon +ason, the one child who is incapable of reciprocating her love.
3rs. Compsons self"absorption includes a neurotic insecurity over her ascomb family name, the honor of which is
undermined by her brother 3aurys adulterous behavior. Caroline ultimately ma#es the decision to change her
youngest sons name from 3aury to en!amin because of this insecurity about her familys reputation.
Canace Compson
Caddy is perhaps the most important figure in the novel, as she represents the ob!ect of obsession for all three of
her brothers. As a child, Caddy is somewhat headstrong, but very loving and affectionate. She steps in as a mother
figure for )uentin and en!y in place of the self"absorbed 3rs. Compson. Caddys muddying of her underwear in the
stream as a young girl foreshadows her later promiscuity. 4t also presages and symboli5es the shame that her
conduct brings on the Compson family.
Caddy does feel some degree of guilt about her promiscuity because she #nows it upsets en!y so much. 7n the
other hand, she does not seem to understand )uentins despair over her conduct. She re!ects the Southern code
that has defined her familys history and that preoccupies )uentins mind. Dnli#e )uentin, who is unable to escape
the tragic world of the Compson household, Caddy manages to get away. Though Caddy is disowned, we sense that
this re!ection enables her to escape an environment in which she does not really belong.
!enjy Compson
A moaning, speechless idiot, en!y is utterly dependent upon Caddy, his only real source of affection. en!y cannot
understand any abstract concepts such as time, cause and effect, or right and wrongGhe merely absorbs visual and
auditory cues from the world around him. -espite his utter inability to understand or interpret the world, however,
en!y does have an acute sensitivity to order and chaos, and he can immediately sense the presence of anything
bad, wrong, or out of place. *e is able to sense )uentins suicide thousands of miles away at *arvard, and senses
Caddys promiscuity and loss of virginity. 4n light of this ability, en!y is one of the only characters who truly ta#es
notice of the Compson familys progressing decline. *owever, his disability renders en!y unable to formulate any
response other than moaning and crying. en!ys impotenceGand the impotence of all the remaining Compson men
Gis symboli5ed and embodied by his castration during his teenage years.
"#entin Compson
The oldest of the Compson children, )uentin feels an inordinate burden of responsibility to live up to the familys
past greatness and prestige. *e is a very intelligent and sensitive young man, but is paraly5ed by his obsession with
Caddy and his preoccupation with a very traditional Southern code of conduct and morality. This Southern code
defines order and chaos within )uentins world, and causes him to ideali5e nebulous, abstract concepts such as
honor, virtue, and feminine purity. *is strict belief in this code causes )uentin profound despair when he learns of
Caddys promiscuity. Turning to 3r. Compson for guidance, )uentin feels even worse when he learns that his father
does not care about the Southern code or the shame Caddys conduct has brought on the family. 2hen )uentin
finds that his sister and father have disregarded the code that gives order and meaning to his life, he is driven to
despondency and eventually suicide.
)uentins Southern code also prevents him from being a man of action. The code preoccupies )uentin with blind
devotion to abstract concepts that he is never able to act upon assertively or effectively. )uentin is full of vague
ideas, such as the suicide pact with Caddy or the desire for revenge against -alton Ames, but his ideas are always
unspecific and inevitably end up either re!ected by others or carried out ineffectively. )uentins focus on ideas over
deeds ma#es him a highly unreliable narrator, as it is often difficult to tell which of the actions he describes have
actually occurred and which are mere fantasy.
Jason Compson I$
+asons legacy, even from his earliest childhood, is one of malice and hatred. +ason remains distant from the other
children. ;i#e his brothers, +ason is fi1ated on Caddy, but his fi1ation is based on bitterness and a desire to get
Caddy in trouble. 4ronically, the loveless +ason is the only one of the Compson children who receives 3rs.
Compsons affection. +ason has no capacity to accept, en!oy, or reciprocate this love, and eventually he manipulates
it to steal money from 3iss )uentin behind 3rs. Compsons bac#. +ason re!ects not only familial love, but romantic
love as well. *e hates all women fervently and thus cannot date or marry and have children. +asons only romantic
satisfaction as an adult comes from a prostitute in 3emphis.
Dnli#e )uentin, who is obsessed with the past, +ason thin#s solely about the present and the immediate future. *e
constantly tries to twist circumstances in his favor, almost always at the e1pense of others. +ason is very clever and
crafty, but never uses these talents in the spirit of #indness or generosity. Though he clearly desires personal gain,
+ason has no higher goals or aspirations. *e steals and hoards money in a strongbo1, but not for any particular
purpose other than selfishness. 7n the whole, +ason is e1tremely motivated but completely without ambition.
+asons lac# of achievement stems primarily from his relentless self"pity. +ason never forgives Caddy for the loss of
the !ob at *erberts ban#, and he is unable to move past this setbac# to achieve anything worthwhile in his later
life. 4ronically, +ason becomes the head of the Compson household after his fathers deathGan indication of the low
to which the once"great family has sun#.
Miss "#entin
3iss )uentin is the lone member of the newest generation of the Compson family. 3any parallels arise between
3iss )uentin and her mother, Caddy, but the two differ in important ways. 3iss )uentin repeats Caddys early
se1ual awa#ening and promiscuity, but, unli#e Caddy, she does not feel guilty about her actions. ;i#ewise, 3iss
)uentin grows up in a meaner, more confined world than Caddy does, and is constantly sub!ect to +asons
domineering and cruelty. /ot surprisingly, we see that 3iss )uentin is not nearly as loving or compassionate as her
mother. She is also more worldly and headstrong than Caddy. Het 3iss )uentins eventual success in recovering her
stolen money and escaping the family implies that her worldliness and lac# of compunctionGvery modern valuesG
indeed wor# to her benefit.
%ilsey
-ilsey is the only source of stability in the Compson household. She is the only character detached enough from the
Compsons downfall to witness both the beginning and the end of this final chapter of the family history.
4nterestingly, -ilsey lives her life based on the same set of fundamental valuesGfamily, faith, personal honor, and
so onGupon which the Compsons original greatness was built. *owever, -ilsey does not allow self"absorption to
corrupt her values or spirit. She is very patient and selflessGshe coo#s, cleans, and ta#es care of the Compson
children in 3rs. Compsons absence, while raising her own children and grandchildren at the same time. -ilsey
seems to be the only person in the household truly concerned for the Compson childrens welfare and character, and
she treats all of the children with love and fairness, even en!y. The last chapters focus on -ilsey implies a hope for
renewal after the tragedies that have occurred. 2e sense that -ilsey is the new torchbearer of the Compson legacy,
and represents the only hope for resurrecting the values of the old South in a pure and uncorrupted form.
Themes& Motifs ' (ym)ols
Themes
Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas e1plored in a literary wor#.
The Corruption of Southern Aristocratic 9alues
The first half of the nineteenth century saw the rise of a number of prominent Southern families such as the
Compsons. These aristocratic families espoused traditional Southern values. 3en were e1pected to act li#e
gentlemen, displaying courage, moral strength, perseverance, and chivalry in defense of the honor of their family
name. 2omen were e1pected to be models of feminine purity, grace, and virginity until it came time for them to
provide children to inherit the family legacy. Faith in Fod and profound concern for preserving the family reputation
provided the grounding for these beliefs.
The Civil 2ar and 6econstruction devastated many of these once"great Southern families economically, socially, and
psychologically. Faul#ner contends that in the process, the Compsons, and other similar Southern families, lost
touch with the reality of the world around them and became lost in a ha5e of self"absorption. This self"absorption
corrupted the core values these families once held dear and left the newer generations completely unequipped to
deal with the realities of the modern world.
2e see this corruption running rampant in the Compson family. 3r. Compson has a vague notion of family honorG
something he passes on to )uentinGbut is mired in his alcoholism and maintains a fatalistic belief that he cannot
control the events that befall his family. 3rs. Compson is !ust as self"absorbed, wallowing in hypochondria and self"
pity and remaining emotionally distant from her children. )uentins obsession with old Southern morality renders
him paraly5ed and unable to move past his familys sins. Caddy tramples on the Southern notion of feminine purity
and indulges in promiscuity, as does her daughter. +ason wastes his cleverness on self"pity and greed, striving
constantly for personal gain but with no higher aspirations. en!y commits no real sins, but the Compsons decline is
physically manifested through his retardation and his inability to differentiate between morality and immorality.
The Compsons corruption of Southern values results in a household that is completely devoid of love, the force that
once held the family together. oth parents are distant and ineffective. Caddy, the only child who shows an ability
to love, is eventually disowned. Though )uentin loves Caddy, his love is neurotic, obsessive, and overprotective.
/one of the men e1perience any true romantic love, and are thus unable to marry and carry on the family name.
At the conclusion of the novel, -ilsey is the only loving member of the household, the only character who maintains
her values without the corrupting influence of self"absorption. She thus comes to represent a hope for the renewal
of traditional Southern values in an uncorrupted and positive form. The novel ends with -ilsey as the torchbearer
for these values, and, as such, the only hope for the preservation of the Compson legacy. Faul#ner implies that the
problem is not necessarily the values of the old South, but the fact that these values were corrupted by families
such as the Compsons and must be recaptured for any Southern greatness to return.
*es#rrection an *enewal
Three of the novels four sections ta#e place on or around 8aster, $%&'. Faul#ners placement of the novels clima1
on this wee#end is significant, as the wee#end is associated with Christs crucifi1ion on Food Friday and resurrection
on 8aster Sunday. A number of symbolic events in the novel could be li#ened to the death of Christ: )uentins
death, 3r. Compsons death, Caddys loss of virginity, or the decline of the Compson family in general.
Some critics have characteri5ed en!y as a Christ figure, as en!y was born on *oly Saturday and is currently
thirty"three, the same age as Christ at the crucifi1ion. 4nterpreting en!y as a Christ figure has a variety of possible
implications. en!y may represent the impotence of Christ in the modern world and the need for a new Christ figure
to emerge. Alternatively, Faul#ner may be implying that the modern world has failed to recogni5e Christ in its own
midst.
Though the 8aster wee#end is associated with death, it also brings the hope of renewal and resurrection. Though
the Compson family has fallen, -ilsey represents a source of hope. -ilsey is herself somewhat of a Christ figure. A
literal parallel to the suffering servant of the ible, -ilsey has endured Christli#e hardship throughout her long life of
service to the disintegrating Compson family. She has constantly tolerated 3rs. Compsons self"pity, +asons cruelty,
and en!ys frustrating incapacity. 2hile the Compsons crumble around her, -ilsey emerges as the only character
who has successfully resurrected the values that the Compsons have long abandonedGhard wor#, endurance, love
of family, and religious faith.
The +ail#re of Lan,#a,e an Narrative
Faul#ner himself admitted that he could never satisfactorily convey the story of The Sound and the Fury through
any single narrative voice. *is decision to use four different narrators highlights the sub!ectivity of each narrative
and casts doubt on the ability of language to convey truth or meaning absolutely.
en!y, )uentin, and +ason have vastly different views on the Compson tragedy, but no single perspective seems
more valid than the others. As each new angle emerges, more details and questions arise. 8ven the final section,
with its omniscient third"person narrator, does not tie up all of the novels loose ends. 4n interviews, Faul#ner
lamented the imperfection of the final version of the novel, which he termed his .most splendid failure.0 8ven with
four narrators providing the depth of four different perspectives, Faul#ner believed that his language and narrative
still fell short.
Motifs
3otifs are recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that can help to develop and inform the te1ts ma!or
themes.
Time
Faul#ners treatment and representation of time in this novel was hailed as revolutionary. Faul#ner suggests that
time is not a constant or ob!ectively understandable entity, and that humans can interact with it in a variety of
ways. en!y has no concept of time and cannot distinguish between past and present. *is disability enables him to
draw connections between the past and present that others might not see, and it allows him to escape the other
Compsons obsessions with the past greatness of their name. )uentin, in contrast, is trapped by time, unable and
unwilling to move beyond his memories of the past. *e attempts to escape times grasp by brea#ing his watch, but
its tic#ing continues to haunt him afterward, and he sees no solution but suicide. Dnli#e his brother )uentin, +ason
has no use for the past. *e focuses completely on the present and the immediate future. To +ason, time e1ists only
for personal gain and cannot be wasted. -ilsey is perhaps the only character at peace with time. Dnli#e the
Compsons, who try to escape time or manipulate it to their advantage, -ilsey understands that her life is a small
sliver in the boundless range of time and history.
Orer an Chaos
8ach of the Compson brothers understands order and chaos in a different way. en!y constructs order around the
pattern of familiar memories in his mind and becomes upset when he e1periences something that does not fit.
)uentin relies on his ideali5ed Southern code to provide order. +ason orders everything in his world based on
potential personal gain, attempting to twist all circumstances to his own advantage. All three of these systems fail
as the Compson family plunges into chaos. 7nly -ilsey has a strong sense of order. She maintains her values,
endures the Compsons tumultuous downfall, and is the only one left unbro#en at the end.
(haows
Seen primarily in en!ys and )uentins sections, shadows imply that the present state of the Compson family is
merely a shadow of its past greatness. Shadows serve as a subtle reminder of the passage of time, as they slowly
shift with the sun through the course of a day. )uentin is particularly sensitive to shadows, a suggestion of his
acute awareness that the Compson name is merely a shadow of what it once was.
(ym)ols
Symbols are ob!ects, characters, figures, or colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.
-ater
2ater symboli5es cleansing and purity throughout the novel, especially in relation to Caddy. Claying in the stream
as a child, Caddy seems to epitomi5e purity and innocence. *owever, she muddies her underclothes, which
foreshadows Caddys later promiscuity. en!y gets upset when he first smells Caddy wearing perfume. Still a virgin
at this point, Caddy washes the perfume off, symbolically washing away her sin. ;i#ewise, she washes her mouth
out with soap after en!y catches her on the swing with Charlie. 7nce Caddy loses her virginity, she #nows that no
amount of water or washing can cleanse her.
"#entin.s -atch
)uentins watch is a gift from his father, who hopes that it will alleviate )uentins feeling that he must devote so
much attention to watching time himself. )uentin is unable to escape his preoccupation with time, with or without
the watch. ecause the watch once belonged to 3r. Compson, it constantly reminds )uentin of the glorious heritage
his family considers so important. The watchs incessant tic#ing symboli5es the constant ine1orable passage of time.
)uentin futilely attempts to escape time by brea#ing the watch, but it continues to tic# even without its hands,
haunting him even after he leaves the watch behind in his room.
April (eventh& /012
(#mmary
Caddy smells like trees.
0ote2 en!y, the narrator of the difficult first section of the novel, has no
concept of time. *e portrays all events in the presentGApril Seventh, 3456
Gregardless of when they actually occurred in his life. The events that
actually ta#e place on April Seventh are rather insignificant. Far more
important are the memories evo#ed by en!ys e1periences on that day.
The summary below therefore includes not only the events that ta#e
place on April Seventh, but the past events that these cues from the
present cause en!y to recall.
7n the day before 8aster, 3456, a teenaged ./egro0 boy named ;uster is watching after en!y, the severely retarded
youngest son of the aristocratic Compson family of +efferson, 3ississippi. 4t is en!ys thirty"third birthday, and
-ilsey, the Compsons coo# and ;usters grandmother, has ba#ed him a ca#e. ;uster ta#es en!y around the
Compson property to search for a quarter he has lost. ;uster had intended to use the quarter to buy a tic#et to the
minstrel show in +efferson that wee#end.
;uster leads en!y to a nearby golf course, hoping to earn bac# his lost quarter by fetching lost golf balls from the
rough. The golf course lies on a stretch of what used to be the Compson pasture, which 3r. Compson sold to
developers to pay for his son )uentins education at *arvard. 2hen en!y hears one of the golfers calling out to his
caddie, he moans because the sound of the word .caddie0 reminds him of his sister.
;uster helps en!y climb through a fence. en!y catches his clothes on a nail, which brings bac# a memory of a time
when Caddy helped en!y free himself from that same nail twenty"si1 years before. This event occurred around
Christmas, 3475, when en!y was seven years old. 4n this memory, 3rs. Compson and her brother, Dncle 3aury, are
arguing inside the Compson house. Dncle 3aury lives off of the Compsons money and hospitality, and he is also
having an affair with 3rs. Catterson, the Compsons ne1t"door neighbor. Dncle 3aury uses young en!y and Caddy
as messengers to deliver his love letters to 3rs. Catterson. 3rs. Compson worries that en!y will get sic# from the
cold, but she seems more concerned about the prospect of en!ys sic#ness ruining her Christmas party than about
his actual welfare. These memories of Caddy ma#e en!y moan again, which annoys ;uster.
6eturning to 3456, en!y and ;uster wal# past the carriage house on the Compson property, which reminds en!y of
a time he saw the carriage house long ago during a trip to the family cemetery. 4n this memory, from appro1imately
3435 or 3438, en!y and his mother are riding in the Compsons carriage to visit the graveyard where )uentin and
3r. Compson were laid to rest. -ilsey mentions that +ason should buy the family a new carriage, as the current one
is getting old. +ason mentions that Dncle 3aury has been as#ing for money from 3rs. Compson. ;uster chides en!y
for his crying once again.
;uster leads en!y through the Compsons barn. The barn swings en!ys memory bac# to a time in 3475 when he
and Caddy were delivering one of Dncle 3aurys love letters to 3rs. Catterson. en!y then thin#s of a different time
when he was delivering one of the letters by himself. 4n this memory, 3r. Catterson notices en!y delivering the
letter. 2orried, 3rs. Catterson runs over, which scares en!y. 3r. Catterson gets to en!y first and intercepts the
letter, learning of his wifes affair.
ac# in the present, en!y and ;uster wal# down toward the .branch,0 or stream, that runs through the Compson
property. The branch causes en!y to recall the day his grandmother, -amuddy, was buried in 3646. en!y is only
three years old at the time and his disability has not yet been discovered. 4n this memory, )uentin, Caddy, +ason,
and en!y are all playing together in the stream. The childrens blac# attendant, 9ersh, tells Caddy she will be
whipped for getting her dress wet, so she ta#es the dress off. *owever, Caddy gets mud on her underclothes.
2al#ing bac# to the house, Caddy and )uentin worry that +ason will tattle to their parents about Caddys wet
clothes. The children see 6os#us mil#ing a cow in the barn, which shifts en!y to a memory of Caddys wedding in
3437.
4n this memory, en!y and T.C., one of the Compsons blac# servants, have gotten their hands on some champagne
from the wedding, though T.C. thin#s the beverage is merely .sassprilluh.0 The two boys are drun# and #eep falling
down as they watch some cows cross the yard. T.C. and )uentin get into a fight because T.C. has been teasing
)uentin about Caddy. The fighting and the alcohol throw en!ys world into chaos, and he begins to cry. 9ersh
carries en!y up the hill to the wedding party.
en!ys memory of 9ersh carrying him returns his memory to 3646, when 9ersh was carrying en!y up the hill after
the Compson children played in the stream. 4n this memory, 9ersh tells the children that their parents have
company over for dinner. 2hen they reach the house, +ason tattles to 3r. Compson that Caddy and )uentin have
splashed each other in the stream. 3r. Compson answers that the children will have to eat quietly in the #itchen
because he has company over for dinner. -ilsey serves the children their meal, and as they eat, en!y starts crying
again. )uentin as#s -ilsey if 3rs. Compson has been crying, and she deflects the question. Then, even +ason starts
crying. Caddy teases +ason, #nowing that he is upset because -amuddy is sic# and he can no longer sleep in
-amuddys bed. The children wal# down to 9ershs house.
The memory of 9ershs cabin reminds en!y of several occurrences from 3437 and 3435. 4n 3437, -ilsey is singing in
the #itchen, and 6os#us complains that the Compsons are unluc#y. 4n 3435, T.C. ta#es en!y and little 3iss )uentin
GCaddys illegitimate daughterGdown to T.C.s house, where ;uster is playing in the dirt. en!y steals 3iss
)uentins toy, and when she gets upset, he cries. 6os#us reiterates his conviction that the Compsons are unluc#y.
-ilsey and 6os#us tal# about the fact that Caddys name is not to be mentioned around the house because of the
disgrace her promiscuity has brought upon the family. -ilsey puts en!y and ;uster to bed.
2e return briefly to the present, 3456. ;uster has found a golf ball and en!y wants to play with it. This returns
en!y to a series of memories about death. The first is from the evening in 3646 when the children had !ust finished
dinner and wal#ed down to 9ershs house. en!y wants to play with some lightning bugs T.C. has captured in a !ar.
Frony tells the Compson children that a funeral service is going on in the house. -amuddy has died and 3r. and
3rs. Compson have not yet told the children. en!y recalls the death of the Compsons horse, /ancy, and the
bu55ards that circled over the carcass afterward. *e thin#s briefly of 3r. Compsons death in 3435, then returns to
the memory of -amuddys death in 3646. The children worry that bu55ards might pic# at -amuddys bones. Caddy is
not convinced that a funeral is actually ta#ing place, so she decides to spy on the adults through the parlor window.
She climbs a tree and all three of her brothers catch a glimpse of her dirty underwear from below. 2hen en!y sees
Caddys soiled clothes he begins to cry again.
en!ys memory briefly s#ips bac# to his drun#en episode with T.C. at Caddys wedding in 3437. *e then thin#s of a
scene from 3479 when he became upset at the smell of Caddys perfume. 4n this memory, +ason moc#s Caddy for
her .prissy dress0 and claims that she is trying to act older than her age. Caddy washes off her perfume, but en!y
remains upset. en!y thin#s repeatedly that Caddy smells li#e trees. This returns him to the moment in 3646 when
Caddy is up in the tree spying on the adults. 4n this memory, -ilsey reaches up, pulls Caddy down from the tree,
and scolds the children for being outside past their bedtime.
ac# in the present, ;uster is still standing with en!y as he plays in the stream. ;uster tells en!y not to approach
the nearby swing because 3iss )uentin is there with her boyfriend, the man with the red tie. This ma#es en!y
recall a time years ago when he saw Caddy and Charlie, her first suitor, #issing on the swing. 4n this memory, en!y
begins to cry very loudly when Caddys suitor approaches. Charlie grows angry at en!ys intrusion, which upsets
en!y even more. Caddy ta#es en!y up to the house and cries, as she #nows en!y is upset with her for #issing
Charlie. Caddy apologi5es to en!y and washes her mouth out with soap.
en!ys consciousness then returns to the present day, 3456. *e approaches the swing and interrupts 3iss )uentin
and the man with the red tie #issing on the swing. 3iss )uentin gets upset with ;uster for letting en!y approach,
and she runs bac# up to the house. ;uster pic#s up an unused condom on the ground, thin#ing at first that it is his
lost quarter. The man with the red tie as#s where ;uster found it. ;uster replies that men come to visit 3iss )uentin
every night and that she always climbs down the tree outside her window to meet them outside. en!y and ;uster
wal# along a fence and come to a gate, where they see some schoolgirls wal#ing by.
The gate and schoolgirls remind en!y of a day in 3437, when he ran out of the house to loo# at some girls who were
wal#ing by the same gate. 4n this memory, en!y manages to open the gate and run through it, scaring the girls.
2anting to tell the girls how much he misses Caddy, he catches up with one of them. The girl screams in terror. The
scene ends as an unspecified assailantGpresumably the father of one of the girlsGattac#s en!y. That night, 3r.
Compson is concerned and wants to #now how en!y got past the gate. *e and +ason mull over the idea of having
en!y castrated as a precaution.
The narrative returns to the present. ;uster tries to sell his golf ball to one of the golfers on the course, but the
golfer ta#es the ball away from ;uster. 2hen the golfer calls for his caddie, en!y starts moaning again because the
word reminds him of Caddy. ;uster gives en!y a flower to try to calm him, and he tells en!y that when 3rs.
Compson dies, +ason is probably going to send en!y off to an insane asylum in +ac#son.
;uster and en!y finally reach the Compson house. -ilsey yells at ;uster, thin#ing en!y is crying because ;uster
has been teasing him. en!y sits down in front of the fire, which briefly reminds him of a time when he and Caddy
sat near the fire !ust after his parents changed his name from 3aury to en!y. ac# in the present, -ilsey lights the
candles on en!ys birthday ca#e, and ;uster and en!y eat some of the ca#e. en!y reaches into the fire, burns his
hand, and bursts into tears. 3rs. Compson enters the room, e1asperated at her sons wailing. She goes on a tirade
of self"pity, complaining that she is ill and cannot get any rest with en!y ma#ing so much noise. ;uster ta#es en!y
to the library to quiet him.
The library causes en!y to remember another time he was in the library with Caddy. This was in 3477, when he was
only five years old. 4n this memory, Caddy is trying to pic# en!y up to comfort him, but 3rs. Compson argues that
en!y is big enough to wal# by himself. 2hen Caddy attempts to comfort en!y by letting him play with a cushion,
3rs. Compson complains that Caddy spoils en!y too much. +ason and Caddy get into a fight because Caddy finds
out that +ason has maliciously cut all of en!ys paper dolls into pieces.
6eturning to the present, en!y continues to fuss while he and ;uster sit in the library. +ason enters the room,
clearly e1asperated with en!y. ;uster as#s +ason if he can borrow a quarter to go to the minstrel show, but +ason
disdainfully refuses. 3iss )uentin comes in and is still furious at ;uster for allowing en!y to snea# up on her when
she was with the man with the red tie. -ilsey calls the family to supper. en!y then recalls the evening in
appro1imately 3474 when Caddy went on a date and lost her virginity. 4n this memory, Caddy comes home from the
date, and en!y cries loudly when he sees her. She is ashamed and runs up to her room to avoid en!y, which
ma#es him very upset.
ac# in the present, the family is seated at dinner. 3iss )uentin complains that she does not li#e living in the
Compson house. +ason rebu#es her, and she threatens to run away. The argument between +ason and 3iss )uentin
escalates, and -ilsey tries unsuccessfully to mediate. en!ys mind remains stuc# in the past throughout this
section, but the argument going on around him in the present #eeps intruding. 3iss )uentin curses +ason and
storms off. en!y runs off to an empty room and gets undressed. *e and ;uster see 3iss )uentin snea# out of her
bedroom window and run away.
en!ys memory returns a final time to the night in 3646 when -amuddy died and Caddy soiled her underwear. 4n
this memory, -ilsey is putting en!y and the other Compson children to bed. Caddys rear end is still muddy, but
-ilsey does not have time to bathe her before bed. Caddy as#s 3r. Compson if 3rs. Compson is sic#, but he says
she is not. Caddy holds en!y as he falls asleep.
Analysis
This first section of The Sound and the Fury is very difficult to navigate. en!y, whose eyes are our
only window on the Compsons thus far, is one of the most incomprehensible and challenging narrators in all of
literature. en!ys severe mental disability has left him with virtually no capacity for sub!ective thought. From his
perspective, life is merely a string of images, sounds, and memories that he is unable to interpret, e1press, or
organi5e in any meaningful way. en!y does not understand any of the abstract concepts that underpin human
e1istence, such as birth, death, love, family, virginity, intimacy, and marriage.
The greatest barrier to en!ys ability to narrate is the fact that he has no concept of time. en!y lives in an endless
present tense. *e interprets all events and memories as ta#ing place in the presentGApril Seventh, 3456Gregardless
of when they actually occur in his life. 9isual and auditory cues from the present cause en!y to remember events
from the past, but he does not understand that these remembrances are memoriesGhe regards them !ust as if they
were e1periences from the present.
Faul#ner uses en!ys limitations to introduce one of the novels #ey motifs, the human e1perience of time. 3ost
humans rely on time to create a system of order out of the chaos of sensation, memory, and e1perience. For en!y,
however, time is a constant, not a flow, and is almost meaningless. The struggle we endure in reading en!ys
narrative forces us to confront what life would be li#e without the solidifying presence of time. en!y offers us a few
shattered pieces of truth, but they are difficult to discern.
4ndeed, reading the chapter can be very disorienting. en!ys flashbac#s occur frequently and without warning,
sometimes even mid"sentence. Faul#ner sometimes mar#s these leaps in time with italici5ed te1t, but not always.
The easiest way to tell when we are in the present is if we sense the presence of ;uster: he plays a role only in the
scenes from 3456. Compounding the temporal confusion of this section is the fact that several characters have the
same names. en!ys brother )uentin can easily be confused with 3iss )uentin, Caddys illegitimate daughter.
;i#ewise, en!ys brother +ason can be confused with the boys father, 3r. Compson, who is also named +ason.
Finally, we learn only implicitly that en!y and 3aury are the same person, as the Compsons renamed en!y when
they discovered his mental disability in 3477. The presence of 3rs. Compsons brother, Dncle 3aury, confuses events
in the novel even further.
7ne of Faul#ners primary reasons for using en!y as the narrator of this first section is to hint at the tragic events
and circumstances of the Compson family history through a completely ob!ective voice that offers no commentary.
en!ys ob!ectivity is based on his powerful, innate sense of order and chaos. *e interprets the world by comparing
his perceptions and e1periences to the pattern of order and familiarity that e1ists in his mind. en!y immediately
notices if somethingGespecially something involving CaddyGseems wrong or out of place. Any such deviation from
en!ys pattern of familiarity creates chaos in his mind and upsets him, ma#ing him cry or moan. en!ys first whiff
of Caddys perfume, for instance, shoc#s his sense of orderGhe detects something awry and it disturbs him greatly.
en!ys almost inhuman ob!ectivity contrasts sharply with the perspectives of )uentin and +ason, who, as we will
see in the ne1t two sections, are both so s#ewed by their obsessions with Caddy that neither can narrate without
significant embellishment or pre!udice. en!ys ob!ectivity, on the other hand, allows us to gather clues on our own.
*is narrative gradually gives us an understanding of the relationships that govern the Compson household.
3r. Compson is a distant figure, lost in his own cynicism and alcoholism. ;i#ewise, 3rs. Compson is clearly
ineffectual as a mother to her children, and her understanding of en!ys needs is astonishingly feeble. She is
constantly absorbed in self"pity and is neurotically insecure about her ascomb family name. For whatever reason,
3rs. Compson favors +ason, the most wic#ed of her children. The only true role model and parent to the Compson
children is -ilsey, who is the only real source of stability in the household. Though illiterate, -ilsey is faithful,
devoted, and competent. She treats the children firmly but #indly, with clear concern for their welfare and
character.
The Compson childrens vastly differing personalities are apparent from a very young age. Caddy acts as a mother
figure to en!y and is his only real source of affection. *owever, Caddy seems somewhat headstrong, as we see
when she insists that the other children .mind0 her instead of minding -ilsey. Additionally, Caddys muddying of her
underwear in the stream as a young child foreshadows her later promiscuity. Caddy literally dirties herself, and the
fact that -ilsey is unable to wipe the mud off suggests that Caddys indiscretions will irreparably taint the family
name.
)uentin is quiet and e1tremely close to and dependent upon Caddy. *e is inordinately concerned with Caddys
welfare and neurotically protective of her. +ason, on the other hand, is distant from the other children. 2e see that
he is cruel even as a young child, when he maliciously cuts up en!ys paper dolls and tells on Caddy and )uentin
for playing in the stream. Also, the fact that +ason constantly has his hands in his poc#ets hints at his future
stinginess. 4ndeed, we see an e1ample of this stinginess in +asons refusal to lend ;uster a quarter for the minstrel
show.
The #ey events of the Compson familys history gradually begin to fall into place as well. 2e can construct a rough
timeline of the events in en!ys section based on a number of conte1t clues embedded in the te1t. Since en!y is
turning thirty"three on April Seventh, 3456, he must have been born in 3649. 4n 3646, -amuddy died and Caddy got
herself dirty in the stream. The Compsons changed en!ys name from 3aury to en!amin in 3477. en!y and Caddy
got caught carrying the love letter from Dncle 3aury to 3rs. Catterson in 3475. Caddy first used perfume in 3479, lost
her virginity near the swing in appro1imately 3474, and was married in 3437. )uentin committed suicide at *arvard
shortly thereafter. en!y scared the neighborhood girls and was castrated in 3437, and 3r. Compson died of
alcoholism in 3435.
These events reveal a pattern of moral decay within the Compson family. 2e see the first e1amples of this decay in
Dncle 3aurys affair with 3rs. Catterson and his use of the unwitting Caddy and en!y as accomplices in his
adultery. Dncle 3aury is a member of the ascomb family( his immorality is partly responsible for 3rs. Compsons
obsession about her old family name and her decision to rename her son en!amin. *owever, 3rs. Compsons
symbolic attempts to distance herself from her brothers immorality are not effective, as we soon see Caddy
e1hibiting similar indiscretions.
The mud on Caddys underwear prefigures her later promiscuity. 2e see that Caddy begins e1perimenting with boys
at a young age, wearing perfume and having amorous encounters on the swing near the stream. en!y senses that
something is amiss or out of place, which disrupts the familiar patterns in his mind. *e can sense Caddys
promiscuity, which in his mind is lin#ed to the smell of her perfume. 4ndeed, en!y becomes upset and cries every
time he smells Caddys perfume. The first time he smells the perfume, in 3479, Caddy washes it off. Still a virgin at
this point, she is literally able to wash away the evidence of her indiscretions. *owever, when Caddy comes home
from a date in 3474, en!y cries loudly when he sees her. Caddy #nows that she cannot simply wash away her sin as
she could before. Aware that en!y is upset, Caddy avoids him. This evasion ma#es en!y cry even louder.
Some critics argue that the moment the three Compson boys loo# up into the tree and see Caddys muddy
underwear represents one of the climactic moments in the novels theme of moral decay. 2hether or not they #now
it at the time, all three boys are made aware of the curse on the Compson name at this moment. The promiscuity
heralded by Caddys dirty pants eventually unravels each brothers emotional or mental stability. )uentin commits
suicide due to his despair over Caddys lost purity. +ason lives a life of resentment and hatred after Caddys
promiscuity ruins his chances of getting the !ob that Caddys husband had promised him. Caddys banishment from
the Compson household destroys the order in en!ys world, leaving him confused, haunted, and longing futilely for
her return.
The parallels we see between Caddy and her daughter, 3iss )uentin, indicate that this moral decay in the Compson
family will not end with Caddys generation. ;i#e Caddy, 3iss )uentin discovers illicit se1uality on the swing near
the stream. Additionally, !ust as he interrupted Caddy and Charlie #issing, en!y interrupts 3iss )uentin and the
man with the red tie doing the same. 4t is notable, however, that 3iss )uentin feels no guilt or need to wash away
her sin as Caddy does. ecause her mother has set a precedent of indiscretion, 3iss )uentin does not feel that she
has committed any wrong.
The events en!y recalls reveal not only this pattern of moral decay within the Compson family, but also a pattern
of death. Chronologically, the earliest past event that en!y recalls is -amuddys death. -amuddy never appears in
the novel herself while alive. As a member of the older generation, she represents the old South of the nineteenth
century, and her death can be seen as a mar#er of the end of that world. 4mportantly, the first event in the
Compsons spiral of tragedy is this symbolic death of the old generation. en!ys castration can be seen as an
e1tension of this specter of death to the ne1t generation, as castration is a powerful symbol of the death of a family
line.
en!y also recalls the deaths and funerals of 3r. Compson, )uentin, and 6os#us. The deaths are lin#ed in his mind
by the image of bu55ards circling over the carcass of the Compsons horse /ancy, and by the sound of the
Compsons blac# servants ritual moaning over the dead. 4t is significant that en!y recalls 6os#uss death alongside
)uentins and 3r. Compsons, since this !u1taposition allows us to contrast -ilseys suffering and mourning with the
Compsons. 2hile the CompsonsGespecially 3rs. CompsonGare shattered and unable to recover from the deaths in
their family, -ilsey demonstrates considerable strength of spirit in her recovery from her husbands death. 4n this
regard, -ilsey is the foundation of the hopes for resurrection and regeneration within the Compson family, which
are hinted at later in the novel.
4ronically, the only people in the Compson household who seem aware of the familys decay and impending downfall
are those who are least able to do anything in response: en!y and the Compsons blac# servants. en!ys acute
sense of order and chaos enables him to sense -amuddys death, Caddys promiscuity, )uentins death, and other
signals of the Compsons decline. *owever, en!ys disability prevents him from responding to these signals in any
other way but moaning and wailing. ;i#ewise, on the day of 3r. Compsons death, 6os#us notes that the household
is unluc#yG.Taint no luc# on this place.0 Though the blac# servants seem to have a sense for the Compsons curse
and anticipate the familys downfall, their position as servants ma#es it unli#ely that their warnings will ever be
heard or ta#en seriously.
J#ne (econ& /0/3
(#mmary
If Id just had a mother so I could say Mother Mother
)uentin Compson wa#es up in his dorm room at *arvard, hearing his watch tic#ing. *e reali5es that it is between
seven and eight ocloc# in the morning. )uentin remembers his father giving him the watch and saying that the
watch might allow )uentin an occasional moment when he could forget about time. *e thin#s about the inevitability
of his own awareness of time and remembers that St. Francis called death his .;ittle Sister,0 though, )uentin
thin#s, St. Francis never had a sister. )uentin gets up briefly, then goes bac# to bed. *e has a memory of his sister
Caddys wedding announcement: .3r and 3rs +ason 6ichmond Compson announce the marriage of. . . .0 Caddy was
married in April !ust two months ago.
)uentins roommate Shreve interrupts )uentins thoughts, appearing in his doorway to remind him that the class
bell will ring in only two minutes. )uentin says he had no idea it was so late, and that he will hurry to class. *e tells
Shreve not to wait for him. 2hen Shreve leaves, )uentin goes to the window and watches the students rushing by.
*e spends a moment ga5ing at the unhurried Spoade, a *arvard senior who once moc#ed )uentins virginity by
calling Shreve his husband. *e thin#s about both his and Caddys virginity.
)uentin suddenly remembers falsely confessing to his father that he had committed incest, and that he, not -alton
Ames, was the father of Caddys child. *e muses on -alton Amess name and remembers his father telling him that
his great tragic feelings were meaningless and that there was no help to be had.
)uentin brea#s the glass face of his watch against the corner of his dresser, cutting his finger in the process. The
watch continues to tic#. )uentin cleans up the glass and then pac#s a suitcase. *e ta#es a bath and shaves. *e puts
the #ey to his trun# in an envelope along with two notes, which he addresses to his father. At the post office he
mails the envelope, then tuc#s a similar note to Shreve inside his front poc#et. 7utside, )uentin loo#s for -eacon, a
blac# man he #nows, but when unable to find him he goes to a store for brea#fast. )uentin then goes into a cloc#
shop and shows his bro#en watch to the proprietor, but then tells the man not to fi1 it. )uentin as#s if any of the
cloc#s in the window are correct, but then as#s not to be told what time it is.
)uentin buys a set of tailors weights, hoping they will be .heavy enough,0 but he does not say for what. *e goes to
the train station and boards a train. As he rides, he remembers counting the seconds to himself as a child in school.
*e remembers that he never counted correctly, and never was able to guess e1actly when the bell would ring.
)uentin briefly remembers the day en!ys name was changed from 3aury. The train stops and )uentin gets off. *e
wal#s to a bridge and loo#s down at the water, thin#ing of shadows and of drowning.
)uentin sees Ferald land, a swaggering *arvard student, rowing across the river. )uentin goes through a series of
painful memories, thin#ing of Caddys promiscuity and her marriage to *erbert *ead. *e remembers his mothers
letters about Caddy and *erbert, and *erberts promise to give +ason a !ob in his ban#. )uentin thin#s vaguely
about his mothers pride and emptiness, musing that Caddy never had a real mother and that he himself could
never turn to his mother in times of need. )uentin finds -eacon, the blac# man he was see#ing earlier. *e gives
-eacon the note he has written for Shreve, and as#s him to ta#e it to Shreve tomorrow.
)uentin rides a trolley, thin#ing abstractly about time and about his past. *e remembers tal#ing to *erbert *ead
two days before the wedding, and that he and *erbert nearly came to blows before Caddy came in and sent *erbert
away. )uentin remembers telling Caddy she was sic# and that if she was sic# she could not be married. Caddy
replied that because of her pregnancy she had .got to marry somebody.0 )uentin as#ed Caddy if she had slept with
many men, and she answered vaguely. *e then as#ed her whether she #new the identity of the father of her unborn
child, and she again answered vaguely. )uentin then recalls another memory, when his father told him that the only
reason )uentin was upset at Caddys pregnancy was because he himself was still a virgin. 3r. Compson was
relatively unconcerned with Caddys pregnancy because he said that virginity was !ust a meaningless concept
invented by men.
)uentin stands on a bridge loo#ing down into the river. *e remembers the time when he tried to persuade Caddy
not to marry *erbert. )uentin told Caddy that *erbert was a .blac#guard0 who was thrown out of his club at
*arvard for cheating at cards. *e tried to convince Caddy to leave +efferson with him, saying they could live off of
the money meant for his *arvard tuition. Caddy refused, saying that )uentins tuition money was raised through
the sale of en!ys favorite pasture, and that )uentin cannot drop out. Caddy is concerned that after their fathers
death en!y will be put in the mental hospital in +ac#son.
)uentin meets a little 4talian girl in a ba#ery. *e buys the girl some bread and she follows him. )uentin tries to find
out where she lives. Finally, the girls older brother +ulio sees them and attac#s )uentin, accusing him of #idnapping
his sister. A constable arrives. As )uentin is being ta#en away to the squire, he sees Shreve, Spoade, Ferald land,
and 3rs. land driving with some young girls. )uentins friends accompany him to the squires office. )uentin pays
seven dollars in fines and is quic#ly released.
As they drive, Ferald land regales the group with stories about his e1ploits with women. )uentin remembers his
confrontation with Caddy after discovering that she had had se1 with -alton Ames. )uentin frantically suggested to
Caddy that they both #ill themselves. Then he suggested that they claim it was )uentin who had ta#en Caddys
virginity and that they could go away together and even believe that it was true. 4ndifferently, almost numbly,
Caddy accepted all of )uentins suggestions. Afterward, in a fren5y, )uentin confronted -alton Ames and
threatened to #ill him.
)uentin suddenly as#s Ferald if he has a sister. Ferald says he does not, and )uentin hits him. Ferald fights bac#
and gives )uentin a blac# eye. )uentin finds a trolley and rides bac# to *arvard. 4n his room, )uentin cleans a
bloodstain off his vest and thin#s about his mother. *e remembers the time he told his father he had committed
incest with Caddy, and that his father did not believe him. *is father told )uentin that his feelings of despair about
Caddys behavior would quic#ly pass. The class bell rings outside. )uentin puts his watch in Shreves des#, brushes
his teeth, ta#es up his hat, and leaves the room.
Analysis
This section of the narrative relates )uentins tormented and !umbled inner thoughts on the day that he commits
suicide. Faul#ner uses )uentins narrative to continue his e1ploration of the human e1perience of time. Though not
quite as disorienting as en!ys narrative, )uentins is nonetheless very abstract. en!y is able to offer only vague
impressions and ob!ective observation. )uentin, however, has a conscious, sub!ective voice and frequently tends
toward abstract thought. )uentins narrative plunges us into questions of human motivation, cause and effect, and
circumstance that en!y is unable to identify or consider.
;i#e en!y, )uentin has memories of the past that intrude on his narrative constantly and without warning.
)uentins memory is complicated because it is largely intertwined with his fantasies. Sometimes it is difficult to tell
which of his memories are based on events that actually occurred and which are based on fantasy or wishful
thin#ing. )uentins mind is far more comple1 than en!ys, and, unli#e en!y, he is clearly aware that his flashbac#s
are !ust memories. )uentin, however, is !ust as li#ely as en!y to associate past events with people or ob!ects from
the present.
Faul#ner emphasi5es the importance of time and memory in )uentins world through the frequent appearance of
cloc#s and watches. )uentin is effectively trapped in time, obsessed with his past and memories. *e always notices
the bells of the *arvard cloc# tower. The tic#ing of his watch haunts him even after he brea#s the watch against his
dresser. )uentin as#s the owner of the cloc# shop whether any of the cloc#s is correct, but does not want to #now
what time it is. Additionally, )uentin repeatedly mentions wal#ing into and out of shadows, which are constant
reminders of time as gauged by the position of the sun throughout the course of a day. Dnli#e en!y, who is
oblivious to time, )uentin is so obsessed and haunted by it that he sees suicide as his only escape.
Clearly, the main thrust of )uentins section is his struggle with Caddys promiscuity. )uentin is horrified by Caddys
conduct, and he is obsessed by the stain it has left on the familys honor. )uentin, li#e en!y, has a strong sense of
order and chaos. *owever, while en!ys order is based on patterns of e1perience in his mind, )uentins order is
based on a traditional, ideali5ed Southern code of honor and conduct. This code is a legacy of the old South, a
highly paternalistic society in which men were e1pected to act as gentlemen and women as ladies. )uentin believes
very strongly in the ideals espoused under this traditional code: family honor( gentlemanly virtue, strength, and
decency( and especially feminine purity, modesty, and virginity.
Caddys promiscuity deeply hurts )uentin because he views it as dirty and shameful, a blatant violation of the ideal
of femininity found in his Southern code. )uentin ta#es his code very seriously, as it forms the basis of order in his
world. 2hen Caddys promiscuity brea#s the code, )uentin attempts to maintain his sense of order by responding in
a manner he considers honorable. Thin#ing that suicide is the only way to salvage the family name, )uentin tells
Caddy that he will #ill himself if she does the same. 2hen she is uninterested, )uentins ne1t idea is to falsely
accept the responsibility for fathering Caddys childGa lie, but one he considers honorable and gentlemanly.
)uentins anguish is compounded when he learns that his father really could not care less about Caddys
promiscuity. 3r. Compson is an articulate but cynical man. 6ecogni5ing the source of )uentins torment, he
discourages his son from ta#ing himself so seriously. 3r. Compson argues that the concepts of virginity and purityG
cornerstones of )uentins paternalistic sense of Southern moralityGare hogwash. 3r. Compson claims that virginity
is a flimsy, unnatural idea that men have constructed. *e believes that the concept is meaningless to women and
should not be ideali5ed. )uentin, on the other hand, finds his fathers indifference completely dishonorable to the
Compson name. Though )uentin never actually had se1ual relations with his sister, he brings the story up again in
front of his father. For )uentin, the false confession is a desperate attempt to assume Caddys guilt and atone for it
himself. *owever, 3r. Compson, li#e Caddy, dismisses )uentins concerns. 2hen )uentin sees that no one else in
his family shares his code and his convictions, he reverts to suicide as the only remaining option, a means of e1it
while preserving his ordered universe.
)uentins struggle to reconcile Caddys actions with his own traditional Southern value system reflects Faul#ners
broader concern with the clash between the old South and the modern world. ;i#e a medieval code of chivalry, the
old Souths ideals are based on a society that has largely disappeared. 3en and women li#e )uentin, who attempt
to cling to these increasingly outdated Southern ideals, sense that their grasp is slipping and their sense of order
disappearing. Their reliance on a set of outdated myths and ideals leaves them unequipped to deal with the realities
of the modern world. Several characters in The Sound and the Fury embody this changing of the guard from old
ideals to modern realities. -amuddy, the lone representative of the old South left in the Compson family, dies
before any of the other action in the novel ta#es place. 3iss )uentin, the lone member of the Compsons new
generation, is not only a bastard child, but has continued in Caddys promiscuous ways without displaying any of the
guilt Caddy feels about doing something wrong.
)uentins obsession with his moral code is !ust one indication of his overall tendency toward thought rather than
action. )uentin is clearly very bright, but his fi1ation on abstractions paraly5es him. *e spends all his time thin#ing
about nebulous conceptsGtime, honor, virginity, and so onGthat have no physical presence. 81isting only as words,
these abstractions are difficult to act upon tangibly. 4ndeed, we see that )uentin is largely incapable of effective
action: he frequently comes up with ideas, but never carries them out successfully. )uentin devises the double
suicide pact with Caddy as a means of escape, but Caddy re!ects the idea and escapes the Compson family without
him. ;i#ewise, )uentin tal#s frequently about confronting -alton Ames and Ferald land, but his words win him
nothing but two embarrassing beatings. The only actions we see )uentin ta#e are meaningless and impotent,
conforming to his Southern code but having no real outcome.
Though )uentins moral code plays a large part in his anguish over Caddys promiscuity, we get the sense that
there is something more going on beneath the surface of this brother"sister relationship. 2hen )uentin encounters
the 4talian girl in the ba#ery, he refers to her as a .little dirty child,0 which evo#es a memory of Caddy. After
)uentins first encounter with a girl, Caddy disapproved of the girl and called her dirty. +ust as )uentin seems
!ealous of the men Caddy encounters, we sense that Caddy is !ealous not only of this first girl but of any girl
)uentin might pursue. Faul#ner implies that there is an unconscious se1ual frustration between )uentin and Caddy,
and that each of them might use his or her lovers to ma#e the other !ealous. Since )uentin is still a virgin, it seems
li#ely that Caddy has made him far more !ealous than he ever made her. 2hile the shame of Caddys promiscuity is
clearly upsetting to )uentin, his despair may also contain elements of !ealous rage.
April (i4th& /012
(#mmary
I wouldnt lay my hand on her. The bitch that cost me a job, the one chance I ever had to get ahead,
that killed my father and is shortening my mothers life everyday and make my name a laughing stock
in the town. I wont do anything to her.
4t is the morning of Food Friday, $%&', the day before en!ys narration ta#es place. +ason Compson is in the
Compson house, fighting with his mother and with his niece, 3iss )uentin. +ason thin#s bac# on his family and his
own personal history. *is sister Caddys marriage to *erbert *ead crumbled in $%$$, when it became apparent to
*erbert that Caddys unborn child was not his. 3rs. Compson refused to ta#e Caddy in, but 3r. Compson and -ilsey
saw to it that the family too# in Caddys child, 3iss )uentin. +ason assumed control of the household when 3r.
Compson died of alcoholism. *erbert *ead had offered +ason a !ob at his ban#, but rescinded that offer when he
divorced Caddy. This retraction left +ason no choice but to wor# at the local farm"supply store. Though 3rs.
Compson hopes +ason will own the store one day, +ason is bitter about having lost his ban# !ob and having been
forced to wor# in the farm"supply store.
/ow in his mid"thirties, +ason has grown into a devious and mean"spirited man. *e has concocted an elaborate
scheme to poc#et the money Caddy sends him to support 3iss )uentins upbringing. 3rs. Compsons poor eyesight
and blind love for +ason have prevented her from detecting his scheme. So far, +ason has stolen nearly fifty
thousand dollars from his sister and niece over the course of fifteen years. *e uses this e1tra money to play the
cotton mar#et and to pay for a prostitute in 3emphis. Caddy is the only one who distrusts +ason and suspects that
he is scheming.
The seventeen"year"old 3iss )uentin is a headstrong, rebellious, and somewhat promiscuous girl who frequently
s#ips school. +ason constantly argues with 3rs. Compson and 3iss )uentin over what should be done with 3iss
)uentin and how she should be treated. +ason threatens and insults 3iss )uentin and nearly beats her with his belt
until -ilsey, as always, intervenes. +ason is finally forced to let 3iss )uentin go, but ma#es a snarling promise that
things are not yet settled between them.
+ason returns to his unfulfilling !ob at the farm"supply store and finds four letters, including one from Caddy and
one from Dncle 3aury. +ason recalls his fathers funeral, after which he agreed to loo# after 3iss )uentin as long as
Caddy stayed away and continued to send money. The letter from Caddy contains a money order for 3iss )uentin
rather than the customary chec#. This turn of events throws a wrench in +asons scheme, as 3iss )uentin will have
to sign the money order before it can be cashed. *owever, when 3iss )uentin comes in to collect her money, +ason
bullies her into thin#ing that the money order is for a mere ten dollars. *e forces 3iss )uentin to sign it without
loo#ing at the amount and sends her on her way.
ac# at the Compson house for dinner, +ason barely tolerates his mothers self"pitying melodrama and the annoying
sight of his idiot brother en!y. +ason is deeply embarrassed about en!y and wants to send him to the mental
hospital in +ac#son as soon as possible. After returning to wor#, +ason argues with his boss, 8arl, about how long he
can ta#e for his dinner brea#. 8arl accuses +ason of having stolen money from his mother to pay for his car. Several
moments later, while +ason is in the bac# room tormenting 8arls blac# assistant, he sees 3iss )uentin go by with a
man wearing a red tie. +ason chases after them through the bac# alleys of +efferson. *e is interrupted by a boy with
a telegram, who tells +ason that his account in the cotton mar#et is significantly down.
+ason angrily goes home, and, driving bac# into town, is nearly run down by a Ford driven by the man with the red
tie. +ason chases the Ford and loo#s for 3iss )uentin and the man in some underbrush. *e gets out, hoping to
catch 3iss )uentin red"handed with the man. +ason suddenly hears their car start and blow its horn. *e runs bac#
to his car and finds that 3iss )uentin and the man have let the air out of one of his tires.
+ason ma#es it bac# to town, finishes his day at wor#, and returns home. ;uster tells +ason that 3iss )uentin and
3rs. Compson are upstairs fighting, and that -ilsey is trying to #eep the peace. ;uster wants to go to the minstrel
show very badly and tells +ason he needs a quarter to buy a tic#et. +ason has two tic#ets that he does not want, but
he #nows ;uster does not have any money, so he burns up the two tic#ets in the stove while ;uster watches.
+ason goes inside and -ilsey serves dinner. +ason does not e1plicitly mention that he saw 3iss )uentin with the
man in the red tie, but alludes to it indirectly several times. 3iss )uentin angrily as#s 3rs. Compson why +ason is
always so hostile to her, and claims that she misbehaves because +ason has made her that way. 3iss )uentin goes
up to her room to study, but +ason suspects that she plans to snea# out of the house.
Analysis
Faul#ner sets the tone of +asons section from the first sentence: .7nce a bitch always a bitch, what 4 say.0 +ason
has grown into a petty, sadistic, and bitter man, and we see that the form of his narrative reflects this hardened
mind. +asons narrative is clear, precise, swift, and almost completely emotionless. *is clarity helps reveal several
#ey plot details that the two previous sections have merely implied. +ason confirms that en!y has been castrated,
that )uentin drowned himself, and that Caddy was divorced. *owever, though a relief after the chaotic stream of
consciousness of en!ys and )uentins narratives, +asons section is ultimately disturbing in its clear depiction of
the hatred and cruelty with which +ason runs the Compson family.
Though cunning and clever, +ason does not put his talents to good use. 4nstead, he succumbs to his own hatred and
wallows in a sense of victimi5ation. *e resents Caddy for costing him the !ob at *erberts ban#, but fails to
appreciate the fact that without Caddy he would never have been offered the !ob in the first place. The simple
wic#edness +ason displayed as child has intensified in his adulthood. *e ta#es pleasure in tormenting everyone
around him and ta#es strength from a conviction that, because he has been wronged, he is always right.
Considering that +ason is the new head of the Compson household, the family truly has sun# to an unfathomable
low. 2hereas his grandfather was a Civil 2ar general and his great"grandfather the governor of 3ississippi, +ason
wor#s as a cler# in a farm"supply store and steals from his own family. *e is hardly of the same material as the
ancestors who built up the family name. 4ronically, however, +ason is the only one of the Compson children to win
3rs. Compsons love. +ason abuses his mothers trust, using it to blind her to the fact that he is stealing large sums
of money from her. 4t is unclear why 3rs. Compson favors +ason so much, but perhaps it is because he shares 3rs.
Compsons tendencies toward misery and self"pity much more than the other children.
+ason is not bothered by failing to live up to his ancestors greatness because he is completely unconcerned with the
past. Dnli#e en!y and )uentin, +ason is wholly focused on the present and on manipulating the present for future
personal gain. *e does recall past events, but only concentrates on the effect those events have on him here and
now. +ason dwells on Caddys divorce, for e1ample, only because it has left him in a menial and unfulfilling !ob.
*owever, despite +asons constant attempts to twist present circumstances to his own benefit, he does not really
have any aspirations. *e maintains overwhelming greed, selfishness, and focus on future gain, but does not use
these to wor# toward any higher goal. +ason is all motivation with virtually no ambition.
April 5i,hth& /012
(#mmary
Whoever God is, e would not !ermit that. I am a lady. "ou might not believe it from my offs!ring, but I
am.
4t is 8aster Sunday, $%&', the day after en!ys narration and two days after +asons. -ilsey wal#s up to the
Compson house and manages to get the #itchen up and running despite the interference of 3rs. Compson and
;uster. ;uster tells -ilsey that +ason is angry because someone has bro#en the window in his room. en!y eats his
brea#fast and whimpers. +ason emerges and testily sends -ilsey to call 3iss )uentin to brea#fast. There is no
answer from 3iss )uentins room. +ason suddenly springs up the stairs, sei5es his mothers #eys, and unloc#s 3iss
)uentins door. The window is open and 3iss )uentin is gone.
As -ilsey tries to comfort 3rs. Compson, +ason rushes to his strongbo1 and finds that it has been forced open. *is
papers are there, but all his money is gone. +ason calls the police and as#s them to send a deputy to the house. *e
storms out. 3eanwhile, -ilsey ta#es ;uster, Frony, and en!y to an 8aster service at the local blac# church, where
6everend Shegog gives a boisterous sermon about the life and death of Christ. 2hen they return to the house, they
find that +ason still has not returned. +ason has gone to see the sheriff to demand help in trac#ing down 3iss
)uentin. *owever, the sheriff is suspicious of +asons claim and sharply critical of the way he runs the Compson
family. The sheriff refuses to help without more substantial evidence of 3iss )uentins wrongdoing.
+ason gasses up his car and goes to find 3iss )uentin. 7n the way, +ason thin#s about ;orraine, his mistress in
3emphis. This thought reminds him of how angry he is to have been ripped off by a woman yet again. +ason drives
to the town where the minstrel show is stopping ne1t, since he believes that 3iss )uentins loverGthe man with the
red tieGwor#s for the show. +ason rudely as#s an old man where 3iss )uentin and her lover are, but the old man
ta#es offense and becomes violent, and +ason #noc#s him down. +ason tries to leave, but the old man comes after
him with a hatchet. The man who runs the minstrel show rapidly leads +ason around the corner and convinces him
that 3iss )uentin and her lover are not there. +ason pays a blac# man to drive him bac# to +efferson.
ac# in town, ;uster is driving en!y in the carriage. As they arrive at the cemetery, ;uster deviates from the usual
course T.C. used to ta#e, and en!y begins howling at the unfamiliar route. +ason comes across ;uster and en!y.
*e hits ;uster across the head, ordering him never to turn off the route en!y is used to ta#ing, and stri#es en!y in
an attempt to quiet him. en!y continues to howl. *owever, as ;uster drives en!y home, the familiar faIades,
doorways, windows, signs, and trees of the town of +efferson all appear to en!y in their ordered place, and he
finally quiets.
I seed de beginnin, en now I sees de endin.
Analysis
The Sound and the Fury ends with the symbolic completion of the Compsons downfall, but also hints at the
possibility of resurrection or renewal. 4mportantly, this last chapter ta#es place on 8aster Sunday, the day of
Christs resurrection and thus a powerful symbol of redemption and hope.
2e may e1pect Caddy to narrate the last section, since she is in many ways the most important character in the
novel, and the only one of the Compson children who has not had a chance to spea#. *owever, Faul#ner narrates
this section himself, from a third""person perspective. This viewpoint ta#es us a step bac# from the Compsons inner
world and provides a more panoramic view of the tragedy that has unfolded. The narrative voice Faul#ner adopts is
an ob!ective oneGsimilar to en!ys in its ability to view the Compson world without resentment, but unli#e en!ys
in that it is omniscient and relies on a more traditional mode of storytelling.
2hen 3iss )uentin flees, the Compson name is definitively ruined. Caddy has been banished and neither of the
remaining brothers is emotionally or mentally capable of passing the Compson name on to an heir. The storied,
near"mythic past of the Compson family has disintegrated, with nothing remaining but a slobbering idiot and a
bitter, wifeless, and now penniless farm"supply cler#. The Compsons are finished.
3iss )uentins successful escape emphasi5es the impotence and failure of the Compson men, especially in relation
to the Compson women. 3r. Compson sets this precedent, constantly bowing to his wifes complaining and allowing
her to pervert the family with her self"pitying and dependent nature. ;i#ewise, we have seen that en!y, )uentin,
and +ason have all been dominated by Caddy in one way or another: en!y cannot function without the sense of
order Caddy provides him, )uentin cannot carry on with the #nowledge of Caddys promiscuity, and +ason cannot
get past the fact that Caddys out"of"wedloc# pregnancy cost him a !ob. *owever, Caddy has never actively
attempted to dominate her brothers. 8ach brothers impotence comes from an internal wea#ness or a form of self"
absorption: en!ys internal sense of order that relies entirely on Caddy, )uentins neurotic ideal of feminine purity,
and +asons relentless self"pity. Caddy herself has never really done anything to harm her brothers directly.
-espite the Compsons wea#ness and downfall, one source of hope and stability remains to hold the family together
G-ilseys simple, strong, protective presence. -ilsey adheres to the same traditional Southern values of religion
and family upon which the original Compsons built their name. *owever, unli#e the Compsons, -ilsey does not
allow these values to be corrupted by self"absorption. 2hen -ilsey arrives at the house to coo# brea#fast, she stays
true to the tas# of setting the house in order despite constant interruption by the rest of the family. Dnli#e the rest
of the family, she is not ashamed to bring en!y to church with her. She loves en!y as only Caddy has, and
believes that Fod loves en!y regardless of his lac# of intelligence. -ilsey is not obsessed with the passage of time
as )uentin is, and she is not overcome by the chaos of e1perience as the other Compsons are. 6ather, she endures
happiness and sadness with the same incorruptible will to carry on and sense of duty to protect those she loves.
She loo#s on the Compson tragedy with sadness, but does not let it contaminate her own spirit. 4n her words, .4
seed de beginning, en now 4 sees de ending.0
-ilseys words imply that the Compsons downfall is part of a larger cycle. 4ndeed, -ilsey has, in effect, resurrected
the original values of the Compsons ancestors. The Compsons become carried away with the greatness of their own
name, neglecting the strength of family in favor of self"absorption. -ilsey, on the other hand, is the antithesis of
self"absorption. She maintains a strong spirit and a profound respect for an unpretentious, unadorned, yet powerful
code of values. -ilsey is the redeemer of the Compson legacy, and provides an almost graceful landing after the
resounding fall of the once"great household. 4n some respects, -ilseys new role represents a reversal of the
traditional Southern order: a blac# servant, once considered the lowest position in Southern society, is now the only
torchbearer for the name of a prestigious white family.
The novel closes where it started, with en!y. For a brief moment, we return to the world of order and chaos that
e1ists in en!ys mind. en!y is almost unable to bear it when the carriage turns in an une1pected direction, as this
deviation shatters his familiar, ordered routine. 2hen ;uster steers bac# onto the familiar route, en!y becomes
peaceful. 7rder prevails, and the elements of en!ys e1perience return to the places where he e1pects to find
them. Faul#ner implies a hope that the Compson name itself, under -ilseys guardianship, will li#ewise be set in
order.
Important "#otations 54plaine

#. $addy smells like trees.
81planation for )uotation J$
en!y remar!s several times throughout his section that Caddy smells li!e trees or leaves.
Caddy is en"ys only mother figure and source of affection when he is young, and she
provides the cornerstone of comfort and order in en"ys mind. en"y has relied heavily on
his sister, and her absence plunges him into chaos. 'n his earliest memories of Caddy, en"y
pleasantly associates her youthful innocence with the smell of the trees in which they used
to play. &hen Caddy becomes se*ually active, en"y notices the change she has
undergone. #he troubling realization corrupts his sense of order. Caddy !nows en"y is
upset and begins to avoid him. en"y laments this new distance between himself and his
sister by saying that Caddy suddenly does not smell li!e trees. #rees are a pleasant memory
associated with the affection and repose that Caddy has brought to en"ys life, and when
that order disappears, en"y ceases to associate Caddy with that memory.
%. If Id just had a mother so I could say Mother Mother
81planation for )uotation J&
#his :uotation occurs several times toward the end of )uentins section. %uentin is reflecting
on how little affection his mother gave him as a child. Consumed by self-absorption and
insecurities about her family name, Mrs. Compson showed affection for only one of her
children, Jason. %uentin and Caddy formed a close bond as neglected, unloved outsiders, and
%uentin developed an inordinately strong attachment to his sister. #his bond leads to
%uentins despair over Caddys promiscuity, which ends with his suicide. #he ob"ect of
%uentins focus during the last hours of his life-his mothers absence and neglect-shows
how significant and damaging Mrs. Compsons failure as a mother has been.
&. I wouldnt lay my hand on her. The bitch that cost me a job, the one chance I ever had to get ahead,
that killed my father and is shortening my mothers life every day and made my name a laughing stock
in the town. I wont do anything to her.
81planation for )uotation JK
'n this :uotation, in the final section of the novel, Jason e*plains to the sheriff why he is
chasing after 3iss )uentin. Jason is characteristically sarcastic and demonstrates the self-
pitying notion that he is a victim. $e resents Caddy for divorcing $erbert $ead and costing
Jason the ban! "ob $erbert had promised. Jason has spent much of his adult life in this way,
resentful of others and cruel in return. Jason is furious that Miss %uentin has escaped with
his money, and proceeds to blame her for all the familys misfortune. $e is stung by the
!nowledge that he has been dependent on Miss %uentins presence as a source of stolen
money. Jason !nows that he will never truly succeed because he never ta!es responsibility
for his own failures. #he irony here is that when Jason says he will not do anything to Miss
%uentin, his words are really true2 she is now beyond his grasp, which deepens his
frustration.
'. Whoever God is, e would not !ermit that. Im a lady. "ou might not believe that from my offs!ring,
but I am.
81planation for )uotation JL
Mrs. Compson says these words in the final chapter, upon learning that 3iss )uentin has run
away. She initially believes that Miss %uentin might have !illed herself, but she dismisses
the thought, believing that ;od would never allow her children to hurt her in such a way.
#his comment provides a great deal of insight into Mrs. Compsons thought process. <irst,
it demonstrates the depth of her self-absorption, as she implies that she interpreted her son
)uentins suicide as an attempt to defy or hurt her. She still has no concept of the depth of
despair that %uentin e*perienced, and she arrogantly assumes that his motivation for !illing
himself was merely to spite her. .dditionally, Mrs. Compson seems to thin! that her
aristocratic social status gives her special privileges in the eyes of ;od. Mrs. Compson
displays this selfishness, obliviousness, and materialism throughout the novel. She has
discarded and corrupted the values upon which her family was founded, yet still relies on
ancestry to "ustify her position in the world. Mrs. Compson is obsessed with the concept of
family-the greatness of her family history and name-but she shows no capacity to love
or care for her children, the last hope she has for maintaining her legacy.
(. I seed de beginnin, en now I sees de endin.
81planation for )uotation JM
-ilsey says these words during the =aster church service in the final section of the novel, "ust
after she learns that 3iss )uentin has left. /ilseys comment reveals her insight into the
Compson family tragedy and her ability to see it in the conte*t of a greater cycle. /ilsey
has been present since the beginning, when the Compson children were only babies, and
she is still here at the end, the culmination of the familys disintegration. 'n this sense,
/ilsey represents a constant in the novel. She has maintained the pure Southern values of
faith, love, and family that the Compsons have long abandoned. /ilsey endures the test of
time, surviving because she has conviction and faith in her own vision of eternity that is
completely free of worldliness or petty human concerns. /ilsey has no preoccupation with
time because she has faith in a spiritual eternity, which enables her to see the tragedies of
the Compson family with perspective and distance. $er acceptance of the passage of time
ma!es her a calming and comforting presence. /ilsey accepts that she, li!e the Compson
family, has a beginning and an end. She uses the time she is given to do as much good as
she can, rather than wasting it on obsessions with the past.
Ney Facts
f#ll title O The Sound and the Fury
a#thor O 2illiam Faul#ner
type of wor6 O /ovel
,enre O 3odernist novel
lan,#a,e O 8nglish
time an place written O $%&'( 71ford, 3ississippi
ate of first p#)lication O $%&%
p#)lisher O +onathan Cape and *arrison Smith
narrator O The story is told in four chapters by four different narrators: en!y, the youngest Compson son(
)uentin, the oldest son( +ason, the middle son( and Faul#ner himself, acting as an omniscient, third"person narrator
who focuses on -ilsey, the Compsons servant.
point of view O en!y, )uentin, and +ason narrate in the first person, as participants. They narrate in a stream of
consciousness style, attentive to events going on around them in the present, but frequently returning to memories
from the past. The final section is narrated in third"person omniscient.
tone O The world outside the minds of the narrators slowly unravels through personal thoughts, memories, and
observations. The tone differs in each chapter, depending on the narrator.
tense O Cresent and past
settin, 7time8 O Three of the chapters are set during 8aster wee#end, $%&', while )uentins section is set in +une,
$%$,. *owever, the memories the narrators recall within these sections cover the period from $'%' to $%&'.
settin, 7place8 O +efferson, 3ississippi, and Cambridge, 3assachusetts <*arvard Dniversity?
prota,onist O The four Compson children: Caddy, )uentin, en!y, and +ason
major conflict O The aristocratic Compson familys long fall from grace and struggle to maintain its distinguished
legacy. This conflict is manifest in Caddys promiscuity, her out"of"wedloc# pregnancy, her short marriage, and the
ensuing setbac#s and deaths that her family members suffer.
risin, action O Caddys climbing of a tree with muddy drawers( en!ys name change( Caddys pregnancy and
wedding( )uentins suicide( en!ys castration( 3r. Compsons death from alcoholism
clima4 O 3iss )uentins theft of +asons money, and her elopement with the man with the red tie
fallin, action O -ilseys ta#ing en!y to 8aster Sunday service and en!ys trip to the cemetery
themes O The corruption of Southern aristocratic values( resurrection and renewal( the failure of language and
narrative
motifs O Time( order and chaos( shadows( ob!ectivity and sub!ectivity
sym)ols O 2ater( )uentins watch( Caddys muddy underclothes( Caddys perfume
foreshaowin, O Caddys muddy drawers when she climbs the pear tree foretell an inevitable dirtying of the
Compson name that will never wash away.
(t#y "#estions ' 5ssay Topics
(t#y "#estions
$. The opening section of The Sound and the Fury is considered one of the most challenging narratives in modern
American literature. 2hat ma#es this section so challengingP
en!y narrates the first section of the novel. /ue to his severe mental retardation, he has no
concept of time. #his ma!es his narrative incoherent and frustrating at times because he
cannot separate events in the past from those in the present. en"y can only associate the
images of his daily e*istence, such as the golf course and fencepost, with other occurrences
of those images in the past. en"ys fusion of past and present e*plains why he still haunts
the front yard waiting for Caddy to come home from school-he does not understand that
Caddy has grown up, moved away, and will never return.
en"ys distorted perspective conveys <aul!ners idea that the past lives on to haunt the
present. en"ys condition allows <aul!ner to introduce the Compsons struggle to
reconcile their present with a past they cannot escape. #his uni:ue narrative voice provides
an unbiased introduction to )uentins e:ually difficult section, in which %uentin struggles
with his own distorted vision of a past that eventually overwhelms and destroys him
&. Shortly after The Sound and the Fury was published, the noted critic Clifton Fadiman dismissed the novel,
claiming that its themes were too .trivial0 to deserve the elaborate craftsmanship Faul#ner lavished on them. 3any
other critics have countered that the novels themes e1tend beyond the story of the Compson family specifically,
and grapple with issues central to human life in general. 4n what way might the themes of the novel e1tend beyond
the story of the Compsons declineP
.lthough the plot of #he Sound and the <ury is rather vague, the novel demands a broader
consideration of the history of the South and the e*tended aftermath of the Civil &ar. #he
novel is set in the first thirty years of the twentieth century, but many of the issues facing its
characters involve old-fashioned, outdated traditions and codes of conduct that are vestiges
of the days before the Civil &ar. #o appreciate the novels themes, we must view the
events in the Compson household as a microcosm of a succession of events resulting, more
or less, from the Souths defeat in the Civil &ar. 'n many of his novels, <aul!ner focuses
on this ultimate decline of the Southern aristocracy since the Civil &ar. .s the Compsons
belong to this aristocracy, #he Sound and the <ury portrays their inevitable demise. #he
members of the family-especially Mrs. Compson and )uentin-fade away because they
lead their lives according to outdated Southern aristocratic traditions that are incompatible
with the more modern, more integrated South of the early twentieth century. #he Compsons
are guilty of living in the past and, li!e many Southern aristocratic families, they pay the
ultimate price of seeing their legacy gradually dissolved by the onset of modernity.
K. Faul#ner has said that the character of Caddy was his .hearts darling0Gher character inspired him to write the
novel. 2hy is Caddy driven to pitfalls li#e promiscuityP 2hat do you ma#e of 3r. Compsons e1planation that
virginity is an ideal invented by men, which is utterly irrelevant to womenP
Caddy is at the center of most of the problems plaguing the Compson children. )uentin is
obsessed with her. Jason is vindictive toward her and "ealous of her. en!y is utterly reliant
on her comforting presence. 'ndeed, despite her young age, Caddy serves as a central force
that holds the disparate members of the family together. #his loving, unifying presence
becomes the root of Caddys and the Compsons demise. &hen Caddys husband discovers
that she is pregnant by another man, he divorces her, setting off a chain of events that
ultimately ruins the family. <irst, Jason loses the "ob Caddys husband had promised him.
Jason resents Caddy so much that he blames Caddy and her illegitimate daughter for all of
his own problems. $is resentment builds into a hatred that haunts him relentlessly,
undermining every other opportunity that arises.
%uentins obsession with Caddy drives him to suicide after she loses her virginity. Mr.
Compson foresees the danger in %uentins obsession long before it pushes his son to
suicide. $e tries to calm %uentin by e*plaining that virginity is "ust a tradition and code of
the old South, and that it ultimately only matters to men who ta!e those traditions and
codes too seriously. 'n a sense, Mr. Compsons insight provides a refreshing alternative to
the strict adherence to past traditions that the rest of the Compson family follows. .ny
hope, however, that Mr. Compsons advice might lead to a turnaround in his sons
obsession vanishes with %uentins suicide, which devastates Mr. Compson and li!ely
contributes to his death from alcoholism not long thereafter. #he cold, selfish,
compassionless Jason '( rises up to run the family, which eventually leads to the
Compsons demise.
(#,,este 5ssay Topics
/. 7ne of the most wrenching sections of the novel is )uentins confrontation with Caddy following the loss of her
virginity. 2hat drives )uentin to propose mutual suicide and to conceive of the idea of incest as a solution to their
problemsP 8ven in the absence of se1 between them, is there something incestuous about )uentin and Caddys
relationshipP
1. Compare and contrast the three ma!or narrators of the novel: en!y, )uentin, and +ason. *ow are their sections
ali#eP *ow do they differP 2hat are the consequences of Faul#ners decision not to introduce an easily readable
chapter until the second half of the novelP
9. Thin# about en!ys character. 2hat purpose, if any, does he serve beyond the novels opening sectionP 4s he a
believable characterP
:. Cerhaps the single most important theme in The Sound and the Fury is the presence of time in human life. *ow
is that relationship e1plored throughout the four sections of the novelP
;. 2hy do you thin# the fourth section of The Sound and the Fury, the section focusing on -ilsey, is so technically
different than the other threeP For e1ample, why would Faul#ner write this section in the third person while the
others are all written in the first personP