Final Chapter

The final chapter of the Sound and the Fury is where Faulkner's true intent is revealed for the novel as a whole. Throughout the novel, the shift in narrator's went from being very difficult to understand to being more easily comprehensible. This is in order to shield the truth of his narrative in the beginning and force to reader into a different mindset than is traditionally used by authors. Faulkner wants the reader to engage in the sensory experiences that drive Benjy and Quentin in order to be empathetic towards them and in order to make the reader be active in the story and understand the culture surrounding the Compson family.

The final chapter describes the true fall of the Compson family as Quentin runs away and leaves behind the family. This is Faulkner's representation of the fall of southern society, as the Compson family name represents the old southern tradition and Quentin and Caddy represent the new culture growing, the independence of women and the progressive era that was on the rise. Faulkner's narrative is a veil over his true purpose with The Sound and the Fury, with the Compson family as a narrative that is symbolic of the change occurring in the southern culture and tradition during the time period, and this becomes clear during the change from each narrator and their perception of time and their sensory experiences.

Jason

While the first two chapters in the Sound and the Fury are intentionally confusing due to the mental state of the narrator, the third chapter is narrated by Jason who is mentally stable (in some ways). Jason is literate and easy to understand, however he is a very angry person and he is not easy to like. Throughout the chapter Jason reveals that he is prejudiced, jealous, and violent. Even after the death of his brother Quentin he is jealous that Quentin was give the ability to go to Harvard, and Jason was not give that opportunity. Jason also shows his character through his treatment of Caddy and her daughter Quentin. Both of them are treated very badly by Jason throughout the chapter, he extorts both of them for money. Jason's overall treatment of women is bad, his mother, sister, niece, and his lover. Jason also follows the time jump style that Faulkner uses continually but in a way that is easier to understand than Quentin or Benjy.

Quentin's narrative is full of transitions between the present and the past, similar in the way Benjy describes time and what is happening in front of him, the pay continues to come back up to the surface of Quentins consciousness.The way Quentin is unable to focus on the present and is obsessed with the time, and his ever ticking watch makes his mental state appear very unstable and desperate.
Quentins obsession with time suggest that he is running out of time, or his deadline is approaching and he feels that there is nothing he can do to stop it. While he continually stayed in his own narrative, describing things he conserved and thought were important, he is also stalling for the inevitable and only allowing us to see fragments of his true thoughts before they were once again covered up by his paranoia and his observations.

Benjy Chapter

Benjy represents the innocence and the confusion in the Compson household, Benjy begins our story in order to give the reader an overall picture of the family's history, through Benjy we can see the family through different times and how things change and stay the same. Faulkner also begins the book from Benjys perspective in order to give the reader an understanding of what Benjy thinks about, what he perceives. By giving the reader an understanding of Benjys limitations and understanding, it helps the reader to see Benjy as he truly is throughout the rest of the story instead of viewing him as he is perceived by others. Benjy symbolizes the consistency of the society in which the Compson family lives. It was even said about him "he's been three thirty years" because he simply never developed past that point, this is similar to how the South was left behind in the Industrial Revolution and failed to develop its economy to fit the industrial structure.

Faulkner Biography

Faulkner's intention to write about things he knew about as well as make his reading interesting and relatable to multiple people lead to the creation of his fictitious Yoknapatawpha County. Faulkner showed promise in poetry and other artistic pursuits at a young age, and often found schooling to be boring. While visiting France for the publication of his first novel, Faulkner would visit a café that James Joyce often spent time in, however at this time Faulkner was still very shy and never got up the courage to approach Joyce. His fourth book, "The Sound and the Fury" is written from four different perspectives that have different styles and voices and reveal different things about the personalities of the characters, when these different perspectives come together the picture of what is occurring comes together and is revealed to the reader. Faulkner worked as a screenwriter for some time when a movie was being based on one of his short stories. Faulkner bought a plane after the success of the film he helped write, and his brother ended up dying in a plane crash, Faulkner took responsibility for educating his late brother's daughter from that point on.