Soung And That Fury :: essays research papers

There are four Compson children, and four chapters in The Sound and the Fury. Each ofthe three previous chapters has been narrated by one of the Compson children the just nowone left is Caddy. Since Caddy is in many ways the most important character in the book,it would be natural to expect Caddy to be the narrator of the fourth section. But instead,Caddy is cut out of the novel completely this chapter is narrated by a third-personomniscient narrator, and the focus of the section, bewilderingly, is on Dilsey, theCompsons Negro cook.The supplant of the novel, and the symbolic ending of the Compson clan, does not occur witha climactic bang, but rather with a kind of fizzling away into insignificance. Jasons lossof the seven thousand dollars--four of which did not belong to him (hence his claim tothe sheriff that he had lost three thousand dollars)--and his subsequent, ineffectual chaseof Miss Quentin and the man in the red tie are just exciting, moving, or tragical events.More impo rtant is Dilseys simple, strong, cheerive presence, the only thing holding theCompson family together. Dilseys simple piety enables her to love Benjy and feelunashamed when she takes him to church. Faulkner once called the Compsons "tragic"people and Dilsey a "good" person. This contrast sheds light on the roles of the charactersthroughout the novel. Dilsey is not obsessed with the passage of time, and is notovercome by the chaos of bugger off in the same way as the "tragic" characters. Rather,she simply endures through happiness and sadness with the same incorruptible faith andthe same will to protect those she cares about.For just a split second at the end of the novel we are taken back into the mind of Benjy,