THEME

Set in the first half of the nineteenth century, Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury signifies the degradation of Southern families’ tradition, morals and the inability to cope with the modernizing world. The families in this time period were expected to embody the typical aristocrat values. Men were brave, masculine, and carried the responsibility to continue the family name. Women were expected to show grace, femininity, virginity, and to marry and bare children. There was a strong appeal for religion, particularly Christianity, and a strong belief in family reputation.

The Compson family as a whole symbolized the collapse of these values following the Civil War and Reconstruction era. Each member of the Compson family seemed tainted by self-pity, unable to cope with the collapse of traditional Southern values within their family. Mr. Compson, condemned with alcoholism, believes that he cannot control what befalls on his family. Mrs. Compson lives in a haze of selfishness, continually wallowing in self-pity. Caddy, the daughter, becomes promiscuous, and is disowned by the family, as she defies traditional Southern morals. Quentin, the eldest son and the only character who strongly embodies the aristocrat values, cannot cope with society, eventually killing himself. While Jason, the youngest son, is filled with hatred and greed. Disley, the servant who cherishes her relationship with God, is the only character to maintain her morals. Her character symbolizes a hope and perseverance of Southern values.

All of the characters in The Sound and the Fury display ironic opposites to the typical Southern values, demonstrating through fiction the effects the ending of the Civil War had on Southern lifestyle. Faulkner was very much preoccupied with the question of the ideals of the old South could be maintained through a time of reconstruction, using each character’s life to exemplify different changes within society’s values. As a whole, the Compson family could be interpreted as an examination of the corrosion of traditional Southern morals, only to be replaced by modern helplessness.