Upon recognizing Faulkner’s style of paying extreme close attention to detail, the reader can learn to make sense of the lapses in time by observing the similarities beckoned by Benjy between various characters. In specific, the reader can assume that “caddie,” a term for one hired to serve as an attendant by a golfer that is used various times throughout the text, is the verbal sign that triggers memories of his sister, Caddy. Faulkner uses this wordplay to plant a definitive clue to understanding the role and representation of Benjy’s sister.

In the stories of Benjy’s adolescence (though he is incapable of ever fully maturing, I choose to signify the birth of Miss Quentin as the turning point in what would be Benjy’s manhood if he were normal to fit his society’s standards) the servants: Versh, Dilsey, T.P. are in his charge. Benjy’s mother only takes notice of him for fear of looking bad in a “house full of company.” (TSAF, 8) Caddy is the only one of the family members who voluntarily takes Benjy out and sees in him something more than a burden, shame, bother.

The servants, who are in the closest contact with Benjy at all times, have a much more accurate understanding of Benjy’s condition than his own family, save Caddy. It is T.P. who understands Benjy’s heartache on the day of Caddy’s wedding, and he is the one to console Benjy, “hush up, Benjy…come on let’s drink some more sassprilluh, then we can come back if you hush.” (TSAF, 39) It is Dilsey who bakes Benjy a birthday cake, keeping it a secret from his mother knowing she will be scolded for wasting the family’s ingredients. It is Luster, who out of frustration, projects his anger and taunts the crying Benjy, “Beller. You want something to beller about. All right then, Caddy. Caddy. Beller now. Caddy.” (TSAF, 55) 

The lasting impact of Benjy’s condition on his immediate family is the shame he brings not only to the family, but also to the white race itself. Benjy, and his mother’s brother, Maury, who he was originally named after, brings shame to the father as he sarcastically says, “I admire Maury. He is invaluable to my own sense of racial superiority.” 

In this heartless family, it is the servants and Caddy who love and care for Benjy. The servants, we know are African American – Miss. Caroline repeatedly calls the servants “negroes.” Given the aforementioned clue about Caddy and caddie, we can assume that in the South during the 1920s, caddies were almost always African American – in this story, we know it is. The role of the caddie is to assist the golfer at hand by carrying his golf clubs and at times offering moral support.  Additionally, Merriam Webster Dictionary suggests that in Scottish, it means “one who waits about for odd jobs.”

This definition is fitting to Caddy’s role in Benjy’s early life. Beyond the servants, it is she who assists Benjy and offers moral support: “I like to take care of him. Dont I. Benjy.” (TSAF, 63) and “[Jason] cut up all Benjy’s dolls. I’ll slit his gizzle.   Furthermore, in a very Black and White reading (no pun intended) where the African American servants are very clearly the good guys and the White family members to be the bad guys, Caddy is the only one of the family members to act like an African American character in the warmth she shows Benjy. After her marriage, Caddy starts wearing hats, “prissy dresses,” and fancy perfume, Benjy shows his displeasure. Furthermore, the mother begins to call her by her full name, “Candace,” cementing the further removal of Caddy as similar to the African American servants. 

Even though Benjy may not be able to tell his story in a logical chronical order, he is able to relate all events to his feelings. His feelings, his crying, and his childish reactions are the only way the readers can extract time from the text. More importantly, the reactions of other characters to Benjy illuminate the scene. When Quentin, Jason, and Caddy as children are splashing away in the river, the event is logically before Caddy’s wedding but in Benjy mind they are connected through scent. Caddy smells like trees. Trees. Trees. Trees. Crying. Crying. Crying. Benjy is capable of only telling his story in a way that is tangible for him, and his feelings and his senses is how he interprets the world around him. The use of italics, however, marks a shift in the narrative. Whether it be a movement backward or forward, time has altered dramatically when italics are used.

This first chapter is a bit confusing and hard to keep up with. Overall I think that the character of Benjy is a very interesting place for Faulkner to start. He give the reader a chance to just sit back and let the story unfold. The use of exclusive dialog is interesting as well. Correct me if I am wrong, but Benjy has very little to say in this chapter. But by just being able to follow him as travels back and forth through memories we can get a better understanding of the Compson family and their servants.

Another this I noticed about this section is that Benjy’s interacts with the world from within his own little bubble. On one occasion during his winter episodes Benjy notices that he can no longer feel a fence that his hands are resting on, but he can smell that it is cold. He also make a big fuss about his sister smelling like trees. The connection he has with Caddy seems to be the strongest out of all his family members. From the very beginning we see how affectionate Caddy is towards Benjy, always looking after him and calming him down when he has his fits.

Another theme I noticed in this section (which i’m sure you all did as well) is how Benjy takes us through the different memories. The changes always see to come when he is reminded of something from the past. The smell of Caddy, or the golfers yelling caddie, or even the feel of the water in the river. I think that Faulkner is giving us a hint at the true capacity of Benjy.

William Faulkner’s “The Sound and The Fury” begin with the narrative account of Benjy Compson, a thirty-three year old man with the mindset of a three year old. Personally I believe this to be an interesting choice on Faulkner’s part to start the novel. The reader is thrown into  this chaotic world Benjy is living in. Benjy is outcasted by his family because of his mental incapabilities. The only other character to show care for him, is his sister Caddy. From the beginning, she cares for him like no other. When they are going to deliver a letter to Mrs. Patterson, she treats him as if she needs him to complete the job. Granted, throughout the text about Benjy, their relationship can be described as  codependent. Caddy acts a certain way around Benjy, which in turn makes him need her.

Laura Nuzzo
Professor Allred
Response One
Benjy
William Faulkner’s, The Sound and the Fury began in the perspective of Benjamin or “Benjy” a 33 year old man forever imprisoned in the mind of a small child. There were many examples of exactly how young he seemed, but the most thought provoking part of the character, what made him seem so immature, was his constant sobbing, quickly ceased by another character telling him to “hush”. This crying seemed to embody how infantile this character is, or so we think.
Depending on the relative or friend his tears are either met with rage or coddling, both of which are met with that word again, “hush.” It brings me backs to this infantile point, the only thing he seems to want to let anyone know is that he is sad or frustrated. But that’s the extent of it, because most of the time, when he cries, his needs are met, so he stops or as he puts it, “hushed”. His point has been made; he has demonstrated his current emotions and got a positive response and that’s all he wanted. The only times the tears seem to go beyond “hush” is when his needs aren’t being met or because the others are emotional. A perfect example of this is on page 47, with Caddy (Benjy’s sister) and Benjy sitting in a room together, when Caddy’s fiancé Charlie walks in. Immediately Benjy’s tears start and as per usual Caddy coos “hush, Benjy” (47). When the tears continue, once again the world seems to bend to his will and Caddy pleas “go away, Charlie. He doesn’t like you” (47). Immediately after this the story goes on to say “Charlie went away and I hushed” (47). After this, Charlie came back, Benjy cried again, Charlie was told to leave, he left, and once again, the tears stopped. This ability to cry on command at the drop of a hat makes me think there is more to these tears than just sympathy.
Benjy throughout this chapter is surrounded by people he knows and is comfortable with, and therefore isn’t fazed by his constant tears. The only time he seems to be very aware of his tears and can almost control them is when he is around the only real strangers in the chapter, the schoolgirls that pass his gate. These girls were very fearful of him, but up until a bit later in the chapter, they had no reason to be. Until one day, the girls were walking home and in fear stayed on the opposite end of the street, until one of the girls reassured the rest that he was of no harm. As Benjy watched them he kept making the point of saying to himself “I wasn’t crying” (52-53). He says this four times in the span of a few sentences, as if repeating this fact made him seem like everyone else. Upon going beyond the gate and grabbing one of the girls, he said he wanted to speak, he wanted to cry, but there was nothing, only silence. This scene for me begged an explanation, why grab her? Was it an act of violence or an act of desperation? And why, now, can’t he seem to cry? Later in the chapter Benjy mentioned this “I got undressed and I looked at myself, and I began to cry. Hush, Luster said. Looking for them aint going to do no good. They’re gone” (73). This must mean castration, inevitably from this act. If this is true, it leads me to think he raped this girl, but if he did, does this mean his tears for power, or sympathy? Maybe he cries because he is unhappy, but it seems more likely he cries for power. Most of the things he cries about are small and insignificant, and while this is common for people with his mental state, it can also be a manipulation tool. As with most young children and adolescents any attention, good or bad, is attention nonetheless. Most of the time Benjy’s attention comes from his crying, but in this case, he did not want to cry to get this girl’s attention. He grabbed her, and once he had her, he just didn’t know what to do. He had no power and perhaps this act was an act of taking control of the one situation he couldn’t manipulate by crying. His character just seemed so predictable to me up until this point and I just want to understand. It killed me that this particular situation just cuts off and changes time periods at its most interesting point. What did he do to this poor girl that warranted castration?

Ashley Persaud
Blog Post 1 

Faulkner’s approach to begin a novel with a narrator who is mentally incapable is an interesting one which leaves more questions than understanding for his readers. One thing which is extremely questionable is the relationship between Benjy and Caddy. Benjy is very attached to Caddy beyond a normal relationship, and Caddy enjoys the role she has taken on in Benjy’s eyes.  

One of the first memories Benjy allows us to see is him waiting outside at the gate for Caddy to come in. After Caddy has arrived and everyone everyone enters the house, Caddy requests to take Benjoy outside once again with her. “You needn’t go, Versh. I’ll keep him for a while.” Caddy insists on being alone with Benjy but we are never told why. “She smelled like trees. You’re not a poor baby. Are you. Are you. You’ve got your Caddy. Haven’t you got your Caddy (p.9).” Benjy continually references Caddy smelling like trees in his memories especially during moments of distress. Caddy also reinforces her role of importance to Benjy. She constantly repeats that he is not helpless but associates that fact with herself.  

The effect Caddy has on Benjy leaves a lasting impression. “I went along the fence, to the gate, where the girls passed with the booksatchels…You cant do no good looking through the gate, T.P. said. Miss Caddy done gone long ways away. Done got married and left you. You cant do no good, holding to the gate and crying. She cant hear you. (p.51) We are pushed forward in time to find Benjy reliving his past. We are introduced to Caddy as a schoolgirl with her books and we are left with Benjy watching these school girls hoping to see Caddy. As readers, we are given the privilege to see Benjy has a stronger mind capacity then the characters of the book can tell. Benjy reminisces everyday at the gate, but he knows she has gone because he hears T. P. say it over and over. 

Faulkner creates an intensely complicated character in Benjy. Benjy though his thoughts and memories are vivid, he lacks the ability to express himself the way he wants too. Benjy and Caddy is an example of a twisted codependent relationship. Benjy depends on Caddy as a source of happiness where as Caddy uses Benjy to feel important. 

Cody Piggott

Professor Allred

Response #1

After reading the first 75 pages of The Sound and the Fury, by William Faulkner, one is left with the desire to comprehend the morbid nature of the many foreboding scenes due to the impediment of Benjy’s condition. The reader isn’t given much because every event is conveyed through the filter of a child’s mind. Benjy, the Compson’s youngest son, who suffers from a severe mental disability, has the mind of a child even at the age of thirty-three. Faulkner allows enough of a framework to wet ones appetite, but the impending calamity is expressed clearly through his character, the arthritic servant, Roskus.

Roskus begins a dialogue with Dilsey: “Taint no luck on this place” (29). The superstitious words anger Dilsey; she doesn’t believe he knows enough to make such a claim. Roskus then points at Benjy, who hears every word but isn’t affected by it, and refers to him as the embarrassing sign of the luckless Compsons (29). On the same page, Roskus proceeds to repeat his first statement and then says, “I seen it at first but when they changed his name I knowed it” (29). Faulkner establishes a prophecy through Roskus, something to look forward to while holding the scattered pieces of Benjy’s memories. It not only opens up the possibility of Benjy’s name change as a vital turn in the narrative, but also the darkness the narrative is heading towards.

Earlier in the novel, between pages 9 through 11, we are given Benjy’s account of a carriage ride with his mother, Caroline. She is introduced in the scene wearing a veil and holding flowers, which insinuates the purpose of the trip, a funeral or a cemetery visit (9). Jason callously responds to Caroline’s request that he accompany her to the cemetery for her safety with, “Father and Quentin can’t hurt you” (11). Faulkner gives up some of the tragic conclusion of the novel, but spares the details. The inclusion is intentionally committed for the purpose of reinforcing the impending misfortunes of the Compsons. The prophecy voiced by Roskus specifically refers to the Compson’s misfortunes as deaths in the family. He exclaims that Benjy can sense when death is near for someone, that “he knowed they time was coming” (31). Faulkner is patiently building towards tragic events with the voice and reason of a child who could very well be the most reliable narrator in the novel.

Faulkner develops a dreamy narrative, full of holes, connected by sensory triggers of a child’s mind. Within such a scattered structure, few developments occur that progress the narrative in a consistent and forward motion. The present day, April 7^th 1928, is much less important, it would seem, than the developments produced from Benjy’s memories. The most valuable events then, surely take place in the past. What happens to the Compson family that would give Roskus such a pessimistic attitude regarding their land, as if it was tainted by misfortune? The next chapter is headed, “June Second, 1910.” The switch in narrators and change in structure should clarify some lingering questions and maturing themes.