Jason the Jerk

This post is going to be a little disjointed, because my thoughts on Jason are pretty disjointed. There's a few different topics that have to be covered, and their only real common thread is my (very obvious) poor opinion of Jason.

When a character opens their narration with "Once a bitch, always a bitch, I say," (pg. 119) you know they're going to be horrible. I think one of the reasons I, and I'm sure other readers, despise Jason is because he embodies every jerk guy you've ever known. He's manipulative, dismissive, aloof, sexist, racist, and, to top it all off, steals money from his struggling niece. Jason has been like this since the time when, as a child, he destroyed Benjy's paper dolls. Now that he's grown up and has more power in a sense, he's taken it to the next level and has become a full blown mean man.

Jason's chapter seems to follow the earlier pattern of centralizing on Caddy, as I predicted earlier. However, I don't really see a "fixation" on Caddy anywhere near the caliber of Benjy's or Quentin's obsessions. He seems in a pretty sound mental state, unlike his two brothers. (But let's be honest, no one in this family is 100% all there.) Why does Faulkner seem to have Benjy's and Quentin's mental states relate to the degree of their fixations with Caddy? But anyway...perhaps this, combined with his ugly personality, is why Jason seems to be interested in berating and belittling Caddy and her daughter more than gaining a close relationship with Caddy. In fact, I think that the issues with Quentin that dominate the chapter tend to satisfy the Caddy quota of this chapter, seeing as she is Caddy's daughter. Maybe treating Quintin terribly fulfills Jason's bad attitude towards women as well as disapproval of his sister. 

I think I've made it pretty clear I don't like Jason as a character. I'm realizing I'm weirdly passionate about my hatred for a literary character, but Faulkner wrote him to be so...hateable. Jason is very sexist and racist. He's forever making jabs at women, disrespecting them with his words. This is quite different from his brother Quentin, who has the Old South belief that women are to be respected. Jason's first line says a lot about him and his view on women. Another instance that shows his demeaning beliefs about women is when he says, "I never promise a woman anything nor let her know what I'm going to give her. That's the only way to manage them. Always keep them guessing. If you cant think of any other way to surprise them, give them a bust in the jaw." Who says that!?! Oh yeah, Jason does. He says stuff like that alllll throughout the chapter, then goes on to throw around these intensely racist comments  and thoughts about African Americans in particular, with a few jabs at Jewish people thrown in. He thinks himself to be much better than the African American family, even though he does little to no work and they work all day. Dilsey is mentioned a lot in this chapter, and is constantly trying to protect Quentin from Jason. This is a way for Faulkner to comment on the fact that race has nothing to do with the type of person someone is - Jason is white and a jerk, Dilsey is kind and African American. Another thing I found disgraceful about Jason is his obsession with money. He pilfers money that should go to Quentin and keeps it for himself, only allowing her $10 from every $200 check. He also shows intense materialism when he charges Caddy $100 to see her own daughter.

Something else I noticed was that Jason's forever a downer. When he was a kid, he was mean. As an adult, he's mean. It's a good contrast to Caddy's dynamic personality, Benjy's floundering thoughts and associations, and Quentin's madness. 

Quick thought...What does Jason represent about the South? I've noticed, especially through our in-class discussions, that many of the characters in some way reflect Faulkner's thoughts about the changing South, as well as the Old South.

In all honesty, I think Dilsey sums up Jason better than I ever could when she says, "You's a cold man, Jason, if man you is," she says. "I thank de Lawd I got mo heart dan dat..."