April 9, 1928; Overview of the Book

     The effect of starting the novel with disjointed and confusing chapters made the story seem that it would amount to something grand and insightful. At least for me, this method made me intrigued as I tried to figure out why it is that these are memories that Benjy and Quentin recall and what their importance can be to reveal some element of human nature, since that is the way most novels go. However, the more coherent and less personable the writing became, the more the tragedy that has struck the Compton family seemed meaningless and just another mundane part of human life. I believe this was Faulkner’s intention. By starting the novel with characters that fall into streams of conscious when prompted by an external force, it made the reader sympathize more with the Compton family as they traveled along with Benjy and Quentin’s jumbled thoughts. They received bits and pieces of the memories that caused despair in the household, intriguing them to find out what the full story was behind those memories and the actions taken by the character. But by the time we get to Jason’s chapter, those sentimental feelings towards the Compton’s lessen as we realize that nothing profound emerges from these tragedies, only confirmation on vague details from previous chapters and bitterness and self-pity from Jason and his mother. Caddy was just thrown out by her husband and then exiled from her house, the father’s death, and no one seemed to care about the suicide of Quentin. Jason and his Mother seemed to just brush off those deaths and fall back into their self- pity. Jason also just rants on and on in his chapter, sulking about the job Caddy deprived him of, his low status in the town, and his hatred of women. Four chapters tell the same story of the same tragedy from a slightly different perspective, and yet none of the characters could capture the significance of these events. Their narratives were just full of hollow emotions. This novel truly becomes a “tale… full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing”.
You could say that this book is about the downfall of a prestigious Southern family, but that would be wrong since that story never climaxed to anything and nothing profound came directly out of their story. However, through the downfall of the Compton family, this book explores larger thematic ideas, such as the decay and corruption of old Southern values and the struggle to accept, or at least tolerate,  the values of the modern world, which can be seen through the struggle of Quentin as he tries to preserve Caddy. Even with all the bad luck that family has faced, there is also a sense of resurrection and renewal that the book focuses on. It is no coincidence that three of the chapters take place around Easter Sunday, and that the book ends with Disley on Easter. As everything about the Compton family deteriorates, Disley rises stronger than ever because she was grounded in the values of love, family, and faith while the Compton’s dwelled in values that no longer existed or were superficial. Dilsey resurrects these values. The lack of a plotline also shows that life is too complex to be accurately described in words.