William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury may be the most confusing novel I have ever read. Its lack of transitions, missing punctuations, and fluctuations between the present and the past all have a way of frustrating me. Yet, I cannot seem to stay away. Faulkner’s intertwining of memories into current situations draws the reader in. Though the way the novel is written seems to be of most interest, I find the characters equally intriguing. Caddy, the loving sister, is constantly suffering moral dilemmas. Quentin, the confused older brother, is desperately in love with his sister. And my favorite, Benjy, the baby of the family, whose actions speak louder than his words. Benjy is the most interesting character in the novel because he is the most difficult to understand. Because he cannot speak for himself, he must rely on his family to understand his needs. All of Benjy’s memories, whether good or bad, are centered around Caddy because she cares for him despite his inability to verbalize his thoughts.
Benjy’s desire for Caddy’s attention is not because he is a needy person; rather, it is due to his undying concern of losing her love. Usually, when he cries, he does it because he knows it will attract her attention. Benjy’s sadness is justified—Caddy is the only person who treats him with respect. Luster is always telling him to, “ shut up that moaning and slobbering” (9). In contrast, Caddy tries to figure out why Benjy is crying instead of trying to shut him up, “‘Why, Benjy.’ She said. ‘You musn’t cry. Caddy’s not going away” (42).
Benjy’s deep love for Caddy often reminds him of times when he felt that her attention from him was slipping away; however, he is unable to come to terms with her need to live her own life. Their relationship ultimately drifts when Caddy reaches a stage in her life when she realizes that she has other obligations. The reader first sees evidence of their drifting relationship when Caddy is kissing Charlie. Though she promises Benjy that she, “wont anymore, ever. Benjy” (48), it is a promise that she cannot keep. Caddy ultimately ends up leaving Benjy to get married. Even though she has gone off and married, Benjy is incapable of comprehending such a thing. He continues to go to the gate and wait for Caddy to come home from school. When she has done something wrong, he can always sense it. According to Roskus, “‘He know lot more than folks thinks’” (31). For example, the night that Caddy loses her virginity, Benjy is determined to have her undo her action, “She opened the door to her room, but I pulled at her dress and we went to the bathroom and she stood against the door, looking at me. Then she put her arm across her face and I pushed at her, crying” (69).
Caddy’s love leaves an undying impression on Benjy. Even when he is thirty-three years old, his mind is still full of thoughts of her. He is still brought to tears when he hears her name, and he still thinks that she will one day return to him (529).
Friday, October 26, 2007
Thursday, October 11, 2007
The Progression of an Instable Mind
Set in St. Petersburg, Russia, Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky is a novel that traces the psyche of one man, Raskolnikov. Whether it is before of after Raskolnikov commits two heinous murders, the reader can already identify that there is something seriously wrong with him. Whenever he does a kind deed, he regrets it as though getting involved were none of his business, “As he went out Raskolnikov had time to put his hand into his pocket, to snatch up the coppers he had received in exchange for his rouble in the tavern and to lay them unnoticed on the window. Afterwards on the stairs he changed his mind and would have gone back. ‘What a stupid thing I’ve done,’ he thought to himself, ‘they have Sonia and I want it myself’” (Dostoevsky 28). Dostoevksy’s use of first person narrator allows the reader to delve into Raskolnikov’s deepest thoughts, which are essential to understanding his actions throughout the novel.
The reader can first identify that Raskolnikov is not a stable man when we see that he speaks to himself more than he speaks to others. He simply has no interest in interaction. However, when he does engage in conversation, he feels, “habitual irritabil[ity] and uneasy aversion” (Dostoevsky 14). He is uncomfortable in most—if not all—social situations, thus allowing all his problems to build up. Although he starts off as a problem-ridden individual, the reader can see his progression from bad to worse.
He begins by feeling guilty that he has even had such horrible thoughts of murder, “‘Oh, God, how loathsome it all is! and can I, can I possibly. . . .No, it’s nonsense, it’s rubbish!” (Dostoevsky 11). However, as time passes and his hate for Alyona Ivanovna intensifies, his reaches a point when his thought process tells him that her murder would be completely justifiable. Raskolnikov’s absurdity further justifies the murder when it has all been set out in front of him. Superstition leads Raskolnikov to believe that because Alyona’s sister Lizaveta Ivanovna will be out of the house, it is a “suitable opportunity” (Dostoevsky 60). But the thing that really sets him off is the conversation between a young man and an officer in the tavern one night. The young man says Alyona is, “‘as rich as a Jew’” (Dostoevsky 62), and “‘a stupid, senseless, worthless, spiteful, ailing, horrid old woman, not simply useless but doing actual mischief”” (Dostoevsky 63). After hearing these horrible things about Alyona’s nature, the officer comes to the conclusion that, “‘she does not deserve to live’” (Dostoevsky 63). According to Raskolnikov, the conversation in the tavern and Alyona’s being alone both serve as indicators that his job is indeed to do away with the wretched woman before his opportunity expires.
Although his plan did not include the murder of Lizaveta, her intrusion causes Raskolnikov to behave irrationally. After he has killed both women, he is unable to forget what he has done. He is constantly paranoid that there are still traces of their blood left on his clothes. Raskolnikov, unlike a normal individual, does not feel regret; rather, he feels afraid that someone will discover his secret. As the novel progresses, the reader is able to further identify Raskolnikov’s oddities that make him the twisted individual that he is (550).
The reader can first identify that Raskolnikov is not a stable man when we see that he speaks to himself more than he speaks to others. He simply has no interest in interaction. However, when he does engage in conversation, he feels, “habitual irritabil[ity] and uneasy aversion” (Dostoevsky 14). He is uncomfortable in most—if not all—social situations, thus allowing all his problems to build up. Although he starts off as a problem-ridden individual, the reader can see his progression from bad to worse.
He begins by feeling guilty that he has even had such horrible thoughts of murder, “‘Oh, God, how loathsome it all is! and can I, can I possibly. . . .No, it’s nonsense, it’s rubbish!” (Dostoevsky 11). However, as time passes and his hate for Alyona Ivanovna intensifies, his reaches a point when his thought process tells him that her murder would be completely justifiable. Raskolnikov’s absurdity further justifies the murder when it has all been set out in front of him. Superstition leads Raskolnikov to believe that because Alyona’s sister Lizaveta Ivanovna will be out of the house, it is a “suitable opportunity” (Dostoevsky 60). But the thing that really sets him off is the conversation between a young man and an officer in the tavern one night. The young man says Alyona is, “‘as rich as a Jew’” (Dostoevsky 62), and “‘a stupid, senseless, worthless, spiteful, ailing, horrid old woman, not simply useless but doing actual mischief”” (Dostoevsky 63). After hearing these horrible things about Alyona’s nature, the officer comes to the conclusion that, “‘she does not deserve to live’” (Dostoevsky 63). According to Raskolnikov, the conversation in the tavern and Alyona’s being alone both serve as indicators that his job is indeed to do away with the wretched woman before his opportunity expires.
Although his plan did not include the murder of Lizaveta, her intrusion causes Raskolnikov to behave irrationally. After he has killed both women, he is unable to forget what he has done. He is constantly paranoid that there are still traces of their blood left on his clothes. Raskolnikov, unlike a normal individual, does not feel regret; rather, he feels afraid that someone will discover his secret. As the novel progresses, the reader is able to further identify Raskolnikov’s oddities that make him the twisted individual that he is (550).
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Behind the Screen Door
“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” is a story heavily embedded with symbolism. Upon reading Joyce Carol Oates’s short story, I was a bit frightened. It bothered me that fifteen-year old Connie was so careless with her life. Furthermore, I realized how easy it is for vulnerable teenagers to be wooed. After contemplation, it occurred to me that although the story is a bit scary, there are far more underlying messages besides the simple theme of distrust.
Connie is young, naïve, and insecure. She, unlike her older sister, is neglected by her family. Thus, she soon begins to rely in finding happiness elsewhere—in her good looks and in boys. For Connie, boys represent something she is lacking: love from her family. However, Oates makes it clear that Connie does not find adequate relief in boys, “But all the boys fell back and dissolved into a single face that was not even a face, but an idea, a feeling mixed up with the urgent insistent pounding of the music and the humid night air of July” (10).
Similarly, music serves as another outlet for her. After Connie decides not to go to the barbecue with her family, she “went inside the house and turned on the radio to drown out the quiet. She sat on the edge of her bed, barefoot, and listened for an hour and a half to a program…” (14). Music is something that seems to settle her always. During her date with Eddie, Connie seems to find satisfaction in something: “her face gleaming with a joy that had nothing to do with Eddie or even this place, it might have been the music” (8). Unlike boys, music is something that will never fail her—that is perhaps why she puts so much faith into it.
During her family’s time at the barbecue, she encounters the sketchy Arnold Friend. After flirting with him for a bit, she realizes he is the same boy that told her he was “gonna get her” (8) when she was on her date with Eddie. To Connie, Arnold almost seems fictional. He comes from a completely different world, and he is determined to make Connie part of it. She soon becomes scared and realizes the peril she is in. The fact that her family does not come home represents their disregard for her. They are unaware of her life, thus allowing her to be swept away forever. When Arnold is convincing her to come with him, he says, “But why lock it…It’s just a screen door. It’s nothing”(18). The screen door represents the barrier between her current life and the life she could potentially lead with Arnold. She realizes that there has always simply been “a screen door” stopping her from starting a new life. In a sense, her family has pushed her in Arnold’s direction. When she ultimately makes the decision to leave with him, she is at the point where there is no other option. Connie’s departure with Arnold does not simply show that she is going off with another boy. Her opening of the screen door represents leaving her old life behind for somewhere she belongs. Her family’s ignorance leads her to make this decision where she will lead a life “out in the country here where it smells so nice and it’s sunny” (154). (558)
Connie is young, naïve, and insecure. She, unlike her older sister, is neglected by her family. Thus, she soon begins to rely in finding happiness elsewhere—in her good looks and in boys. For Connie, boys represent something she is lacking: love from her family. However, Oates makes it clear that Connie does not find adequate relief in boys, “But all the boys fell back and dissolved into a single face that was not even a face, but an idea, a feeling mixed up with the urgent insistent pounding of the music and the humid night air of July” (10).
Similarly, music serves as another outlet for her. After Connie decides not to go to the barbecue with her family, she “went inside the house and turned on the radio to drown out the quiet. She sat on the edge of her bed, barefoot, and listened for an hour and a half to a program…” (14). Music is something that seems to settle her always. During her date with Eddie, Connie seems to find satisfaction in something: “her face gleaming with a joy that had nothing to do with Eddie or even this place, it might have been the music” (8). Unlike boys, music is something that will never fail her—that is perhaps why she puts so much faith into it.
During her family’s time at the barbecue, she encounters the sketchy Arnold Friend. After flirting with him for a bit, she realizes he is the same boy that told her he was “gonna get her” (8) when she was on her date with Eddie. To Connie, Arnold almost seems fictional. He comes from a completely different world, and he is determined to make Connie part of it. She soon becomes scared and realizes the peril she is in. The fact that her family does not come home represents their disregard for her. They are unaware of her life, thus allowing her to be swept away forever. When Arnold is convincing her to come with him, he says, “But why lock it…It’s just a screen door. It’s nothing”(18). The screen door represents the barrier between her current life and the life she could potentially lead with Arnold. She realizes that there has always simply been “a screen door” stopping her from starting a new life. In a sense, her family has pushed her in Arnold’s direction. When she ultimately makes the decision to leave with him, she is at the point where there is no other option. Connie’s departure with Arnold does not simply show that she is going off with another boy. Her opening of the screen door represents leaving her old life behind for somewhere she belongs. Her family’s ignorance leads her to make this decision where she will lead a life “out in the country here where it smells so nice and it’s sunny” (154). (558)
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