The Sound and the Fury William Faulkner 1929

The Title 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. Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player, That struts and frets his hour upon the stage, And then is heard no more. It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing. Macbeth V. v. 19-28 WN: How does this speech about death relate to the title and opening narrator of The Sound and the Fury?

The Compsons in a Word Father Mother Caddy Quentin Jason Benjy Dilsey Miss Quentin

Frequently Missed Benjy can smell death. Miss Caroline/Mother is a hypochondriac. There is nothing wrong with her. Dilsey mourns her husband Roskus. Father hates Uncle Maury. The bright shapes occur when Benjy closes his eyes, falls, or is being hit. Stars and fire are soothing because they occupy his attention and are beautiful. The slipper is Caddy’s.

Frequently Missed, cont. The wire is some kind of device used to open and close the door to the fire. Benjy smells Caddy’s innocence and promiscuity. The story ends with Benjy in childhood because it is a warm, loving memory of the small children tucked into bed together. Time is irrelevant. The memories both haunt and calm Benjy. It doesn’t really matter when something happens if it affects your daily life. Time does not heal everything. Time is rarely linear in our memories.

Your Questions

Quentin The Old South Family Being a man Being a lady Race relations Being an aristocrat

Quentin Assignment For tomorrow, read through the glossary. Meet in Lab 320. We will be on the hypertext site again. http://www.usask.ca/english/faulkner/ As you read, you will take notes on how Quentin attempts to keep a desperate hold on the ways of the Old South. Write down passages. Use quotation marks. Use page numbers. Make a page in your notebook for Family, Man, Woman, and Issues of race. At least five each.

Quentin Honeysuckle, shadows, clocks, sister Watch for other people’s voices inside his head—especially those of his father, mother, and Caddy. We will read in class at least some of each class period. You will need to be finished with Quentin and his notes by Thursday, January 27.

Ex. Being a Man “In the South you are ashamed of being a virgin. Boys. Men. They lie about it. Because it means less to women…” (78).