William Faulkner’s novel, The Sound and The Fury, exemplifies all the qualities of classic literature. The authenticity of the story line, intricacy of the language and writing style, and the analysis of the prevailing social and political issues of the time period is why this particular work is an undisputed classic. Faulkner induces the audience by expressing powerful statements concerning the corruption of Southern aristocratic values through the many themes of the novel. Each character is of solitary importance, as they come to symbolize various faults within the time period, while portraying the degradation of traditional values as a whole. The novel's appreciation has mainly been due to the technique of its construction. Faulkner’s employs various narrative styles throughout the novel, which were strikingly modern for the era of which the novel was published. In awe of this modernity, appreciation for the content and style of the novel grew, making The Sound and The Fury nothing less then a classic.
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 (“Sparknotes”). 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, while women were expected to show grace, virginity and femininity. Religion was adamant, particularly Christianity, which engrained the strong belief in family reputation (“Sparknotes”). The novel’s focus surrounds the Compson family, whom as a whole symbolize the collapse of these values following the Civil War and Reconstruction era. Each member of the Compson family seems tainted by self-pity, unable to cope with the deterioration of traditional Southern values within their family. The tragic conflict between innocence and sin is evident to further display the moral chaos which entrenches the era. Ironically, neither acts of innocence nor sin prevail. Quentin’s subjectivity to Caddy’s promiscuity drives him to suicide, while Caddy’s sin of promiscuity disowns her from her family. Quentin struggles internally, disturbed by the sinful actions of his sister, but yet, is the only character that strives to maintain traditional values. He dwells upon his Father’s statements, driving him mad attempting to hold the family together. Quentin recalls a conversation with his Father, dwelling upon saving Caddy’s virginity,
“In the South you are ashamed of being a virgin. Boys. Men. They lie about it. Because it means less to women, Father said. He said it was men invented virginity not women. Father said it’s like death: only a state in which the others are left and I said, But to believe it doesn’t matter and he said, That’s what’s so sad about anything: not only virginity and I said, Why couldn’t it have been me and not her who is unvirgin..” (Faulkner 78)
His depression and eventual failure in his attempts symbolize the inevitable demise of the South. Through the consistent lose lose outcome of family relations during the novel, Faulkner implies bold statements of the South’s struggle to reform.
The Sound and The Fury employs a number of different narrative styles. It is separated into four different sections, each written in a style unique to the narrator. Faulkner exhibits the considerable versatility of his writing, adjusting the typical first person narrative style by adapting the sentence structure, punctuation, typography and tone to each character’s personality and way of thinking. Due to Faulkner's ability to recreate the thought patterns of the human mind, The Sound and The Fury became a distinguished piece of literature (“Wikipedia”). His ability to interpret the personalities of the characters was essential to the development of the stream-of-consciousness narrative technique that Faulkner exercised in the first three sections (“Wikipedia”). The plot unfolds through the thoughts, feelings and memories of each character. Through each section, new angles, details and questions arise. Although initially difficult to understand, the stream-of-consciousness technique proves to be highly effective. It allows the reader to associate the style of writing with each character’s individual personality. The first section of the novel, narrated by Benjy, a source of shame to the family due to his autism, reveals the plot immensely through the stream-of-conscience technique. Though his section is not chronologically coherent, he provides unbiased insight into many characters' true motivations (“Wikipedia”). He recalls a memory of their youth, when playing in the stream as a child, Caddy muddies her underclothes, which foreshadows her later promiscuity (“Sparknotes”). Benjy repeats throughout his section “Caddy smelled like trees”. He gets upset when he first smells Caddy wearing perfume. Still a virgin at this point, Caddy washes the perfume off, symbolically washing away her sin. Once Caddy looses her virginity, Benjy states, “I couldn’t smell trees anymore and I began to cry” (Faulkner 40), thus loosing his affection for Caddy. The four different perspectives also allow the plot to unfold throughout gradually the novel. Faulkner’s The Sound and The Fury, exemplifies the effectiveness of different writing techniques, and remains a hallmark in of stream-of-conscience technique ("The Sound and the Fury: About The Sound and the Fury")
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Faulkner explores the concept of human nature throughout The Sound and The Fury. Though the stream-of-consciousness narrative technique, the characters develop not only through their actions, but their thought patterns as well. Clearly illustrating different human reactions to crisis, and in the case of the Compsons, the collapse of Southern tradition. Each character comes to symbolize a different moral downfall evident during the 1900s Southern Reconstruction following the Civil War. Jason, the youngest son, and cynical businessman, comments upon the Northern supremacists, while watching as the cotton market degrades,
“I went back to the store. Thirteen points. Dam if I believe anybody knows anything about the dam thing except the ones that sit back in those New York offices and watch the country suckers come up and beg them to take their money..” (Faulkner 226)
Jason represents inflation, as the whole economic basis of Southern life had to be transformed causing vast economic depression. Quentin displays the failure of traditional values while Caddy embodies the rise of prostitution. Miss Quentin, Caddy’s daughter, shows a modern standpoint during the time in Reconstruction and Dilsey. The old and faithful servant of the household, represents the ineffective dependence upon religion. Faulkner’s understanding of human nature, displayed merely through a family’s actions, effectively constructs a fictional portrayal of Southern life during the era of Reconstruction.
First published in 1929, The Sound and the Fury is recognized as one of the most successfully innovative and experimental American novels of its time (“Sparknotes”). The appreciation of the novel does not wholly lay in use of such modern narrative techniques, but also in the authenticity of the plotline. The plot of The Sound and The Fury accurately reflects the social situations and morals of the Southern Reconstruction era. Faulkner’s The Sound and The Fury is an undisputed classic.
