Final Reflection + Dilsey

After four chapters of varying narration styles and themes, I've noticed a few prevalent themes that constitute what the book is "about." At first, I was confused about the overall topic of The Sound and the Fury, and was feeling pretty lost on why this book was even written. I'm sure I missed important things or certain bits of analysis, but my current feeling is that this book is all about family, and covers the issue of the old vs new south. Other big themes and issues addressed are the changing South, as well as racism. The varying narration brings the characters to life, showing the readers more about the characters than just their words ever could by putting readers inside Benjy, Quentin, and Jason's heads. It also shows the journey from chaos to a more organized life. I also think the book is centralized on Caddy for a reason. Her character is an interesting one because her placement in the novel covers the themes of women and sexuality. It's interesting because every character responds differently to her promiscuous behavior - depending on whether their character reflected the old or new south.

I thought the Dilsey chapter was a great way to end the novel. It was nice to read a chapter that wasn't terribly confusing, or made me mad because I hated the narrator so much. (#JASON). It was the perfect ending chapter because it acted a bit like a shock absorber, just allowing the author to internalize everything they'd already read, as well as gain some affirming info. Although (like every chapter) chapter 4 exposes the dysfunction in the family, it also gave me hope in a way. Dilsey is there to take care of them, and in my opinion, really keeps the family from falling completely apart. Even mother, old and thinking she's wise, needs Dilsey to take care of her. The Dilsey chapter also might correspond with the direction Faulkner sees the New South going in - up. (Or at least staying where it is. Not getting any worse.) The old, but also the changing values are what led to Benjy's banishment, Quentin's suicide, and Jason's lack of respect for women and other people around him. On that note, I noticed The Sound and the Fury is also largely about racism. The Dilsey chapter was a perfect way to end because it showed how incredibly loving Dilsey's heart is. She is African American, and she's much more genuinely kind than the other characters. She sees people for what and who they are. It's important that Faulkner made such a good character African American, because Faulkner is saying that it doesn't matter what color a person's skin is. Color = regardless. People need to be looked at according to the content of their character.

At the beginning of the book, I was skeptical of the writing style and setup of the book, I'll admit. However, as I continued to read, I grew to appreciate Faulkner's intriguing choice to retell the same tale in different times and different narrators. I think this writing technique keeps the book interesting. Without the different perspectives, there'd really be no book - just a short story without the punch and impact the different perspectives and backgrounds give to the novel. Including different perspectives with varying levels of difficulty say a lot about people in general, but one thing I really got from it was point of view. Each person, in this book and in life, sees the world and situations differently based on the people and experiences that have been a part of their life prior to the events going on.

I can honestly say I did enjoy this book. It was the most challenging one for me so far, but I was really intrigued and impressed by the way Faulkner incorporated so many different themes consistently in so many characters. I found almost everything had some other meaning, which was often hard to figure out. Usually, during our in-class discussions, I'd realize my analysis had been totally wrong...but I learned from that experience.