Quentins Divided Self in William Faulkners The Sound and the Fury - Essay Example

Quentin’s Divided Self in William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury As expected of Faulkner, who is known to employ stream of consciousness narrative, discard any notion of chronological order, use multiple narrators, shift between the present and past tense, and tend toward impossibly long and complex sentences, The Sound and the Fury is not an easy novel to read. Getting into the mind of Quentin is another challenging experience. Like Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Hamlet, Faulkner’s Quentin is torn within himself. In his severe inner struggle, his ultimate end is suicide which is his last manifestation of courage and his so-called “sanity.” Divided within himself, he cannot last long to face the brutal reality of life. The following passage may have been told by Quentin, a young Harvard student, speaking in June, 1910. For Quentin, Caddy serves as a mother figure and symbol of affection thus when Caddy begins to behave immorally, he was greatly troubled. It all happened before he goes to Harvard so in an attempt to put things back in order he lies to his father to claim false responsibility for the pregnancy, saying that he and Caddy have committed incest but his father remains indifferent and urges him to leave early for the Northeast. It was Quentin’s inability to accept Caddy’s sin in addition to the sense that the Compson family has disintegrated to a mere shadow of its former greatness that pushed him to commit suicide by drowning himself in the Charles River just before the end of his first year at Harvard. My God the cigar what would your mother say if she found a blister on her mantel just in time too look here Quentin were about to do something well both regret I like you liked you as soon as I saw you I says he must be a damned good fellow whoever he is or Candace wouldnt be so keen on him listen Ive been out in the world now for ten years things dont matter so much then youll find that out lets you and I get together on this thing sons of old Harvard and all I guess I wouldnt know the place now best place for a young fellow in the world Im going to send my sons there give them a better chance than I had wait dont go yet lets discuss this thing a young man gets these ideas and Im all for them does him good while hes in school forms his character good for tradition the school but when he gets out into the world hell have to get his the best way he can because hell find that everybody else is doing the same thing and be damned to here lets shake hands and let bygones be bygones for your mothers sake remember her health come on give me your hand here look at it its just out of convent look not a blemish not even been creased yet see here To hell with your money No no come on I belong to the family now see I know how it is with a young fellow he has lots of private affairs its always pretty hard to get the old man to stump up for I know havent I been there and not so long ago either but now Im getting married and all specially up there come on dont be a fool listen when we get a chance for a real talk I want to tell you about a little widow over in town Ive heard that too keep your damned money Call it a loan then just shut your eyes a minute and youll be fifty Keep your hands off of me youd better get that cigar off the mantel Tell and be damned then see what it gets you if you were not a damned fool youd have seen that Ive got them too tight for any half-baked Galahad of a brother your mothers told me about your sort with your head swelled up come in oh come in dear Quentin and I were just getting acquainted talking about Harvard did you want me cant stay away from the old man can she Go out a minute Herbert I want to talk to Quentin Come in come in lets all have a gabfest and get acquainted I was just telling Quentin Go on Herbert go out a while Well all right then I suppose you and bubber do want to see one another once more eh Youd better take that cigar off the mantel Right as usual my boy then Ill toddle along let them order you around while they can Quentin after day after tomorrow itll be pretty please to the old man wont it dear give us a kiss honey Oh stop that save that for day after tomorrow Ill want interest then dont let Quentin do anything he cant finish oh by the way did I tell Quentin the story about the mans parrot and what happened to it a sad story remind me of that think of it yourself ta-ta see you in the funnypaper Well Well What are you up to now Nothing Youre meddling in my business again didnt you get enough of that last summer Caddy youve got fever Youre sick how are you sick Im just sick. I cant ask. Shot his voice through the Not that blackguard Caddy In the above passage, Quentin feels an unreasonable burden of responsibility to live up to the familys past greatness and prestige, “My God the cigar what would your mother say if she found a blister on her mantel just in time too look here Quentin were about to do something well both regret.” For emphasis, this reference to the mantel is repeated “Keep your hands off of me youd better get that cigar off the mantel,” and again, “Youd better take that cigar off the mantel.” Moreover, his concept of money and the refusal to take it is another evidence of his clinging to the past power “To hell with your money” and “Ive heard that too keep your damned money/Call it a loan then just shut your eyes a minute and youll be fifty.” He seems to contradict himself though by appearing to forget the past and yet he lives in its shadows as shown in the lines “here lets shake hands and let bygones be bygones for your mothers sake remember her health come on give me your hand here look at it its just out of convent look not a blemish not even been creased yet see here.” Though he is a very intelligent and sensitive young man, his obsession with Caddy and his preoccupation with a very traditional Southern code of conduct and morality keep him stock-still. He must have referred to Caddy and the man who impregnated her in the line, “I like you liked you as soon as I saw you I says he must be a damned good fellow whoever he is or Candace wouldnt be so keen on him.” This Southern code defines order and chaos within Quentins world, and causes him to idealize indefinable, abstract concepts such as honor, virtue, and feminine purity. His strict belief in this code causes him deep melancholy especially when he learns of Caddys promiscuity, “Caddy youve got fever Youre sick how are you sick/Im just sick. I cant ask./Shot his voice through the/Not that blackguard Caddy. When his father, Mr. Compson cannot even provide fatherly guidance, Quentin feels all the more depressed when he realizes that his father does not even care about the Southern code and was indifferent of the disgrace Caddys conduct has brought on the family. These realizations pushed him down the abyss of despair that eventually ends in suicide. Quentins belief in the Southern code also thwarts him from making tough and manly decisions and action, “yet lets discuss this thing a young man gets these ideas and Im all for them does him good while hes in school forms his character good for tradition the school but when he gets out into the world hell have to get his the best way he can because hell find that everybody else is doing the same thing and be damned to.” This belief drowns him with fanaticism to abstract ideas that he is never able to act upon assertively or effectively. The much disorganized presentation of his thoughts and ideas are a glimpse of the disturbed and chaotic self he is experiencing. His narration shifts from one topic to another, from one point of view to another, and so on, such that the reader may think that Quentin has lost his mind too. Faulkner seems to imply that if man does not choose to take his own life, as Quentin does, the only alternatives are to become either a cynic and materialist like Jason, or an idiot like Benjy, unable to see life in its reality but just a meaningless series of sounds and images. Moreover, Faulkner implies that the problem is not necessarily the values of the old South, but the fact that these values were corrupted by families such as the Compsons and must be recaptured for any Southern greatness to return. Actually, William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury’s major characters are chaotic and disorganized especially the three narrators: Benjy, Jason and Quentin. The level of difficulty in understanding the character Quentin particularly in the passage quoted above is a manifestation of the genius of the writer in providing the reader a glimpse and a taste of the chaotic, disturbed and obsessed mind of the major character. His inner struggles are justified and exposed thus making him a plausible character. Such disturbance and divisiveness of intellect and emotions can surely lead one to a definite downfall. This divided self can also be construed as multiple identities, a kind of mental disturbance that results from severe mental and emotional anguish. Work Cited Faulkner, William. The Sound and the Fury. (15 November 2008). Read More