The Sound And The Fury

The Sound and the Fury: A Tale of Two Families

The Sound and the Fury, one of William Faulkner’s most celebrated novels, is the story of the Compson family and its inevitable and somewhat tragic downfall. The Compsons, a family which once thrived in distinction and promoted traditional Southern ideals, are doomed to collapse from the beginning of Faulkner’s tale, and the story follows them as they creep slowly toward their demise. Beginning the story from the perspective of Benjy, the youngest of the Compsons, born with some sort of mental deficiency, Faulkner introduces the chaos and dysfunction that plagues the family. Benjy’s thoughts are muddled and, at times, nonsensical, much like the Compson family itself, which contains characters who both love and loathe one another and themselves at different times throughout the book. The family dwells in a state of disorder, self-absorption, and dysfunction, brushing aside its once-treasured Southern values, like family honor and strength, gentlemanly integrity, and feminine purity. This is not to say, however, that no sense of honor, strength, or order is present within the story. Existing alongside the Compsons are the Gibsons, a black family whose members function as servants for the Compsons as well as striking contrasts to the Compson characters. The Gibsons, in almost direct disagreement with the characteristics of the Compsons, are a family of responsibility, both to themselves and to others, as well as of honor, strength, and stability. In creating the Gibson family to coexist with and sharply contrast the Compsons, Faulkner effectively spotlights the flaws in the Compson family membersвЂ"flaws which eventually bring about their downfall.

Faulkner begins to foreshadow the Compson family’s unfortunate end as early as in the first chapter of the book, as he starts to highlight the flaws of the individual characters. The first, possibly most obvious, imperfection is shown in the first section’s storyteller, Benjy, who suffers from severe mental disorder. Benjy’s affliction embarrasses the family, primarily Mrs. Compson, the boy’s mother, to the extent that his name, originally Maury, is changed to Benjy. Though the family argues that Benjy “is a better name for him than Maury was,” their true motive for the adjustment is to prevent blemishing the name Maury, which also belongs to the boy’s uncle (37). Mrs. Compson’s feelings of shame toward Benjy and his helplessness are only the first of a long string of flaws in her character, most of which revolve around her self-pity and narcissism. She reveals more clearly her own preoccupation with herself in the second chapter as she asks “what [she has] done to have been given children like these” and claims that “Benj[y] was punishment enough” (65). Assuming that her children’s problems are a result of her own actions reveals the type of arrogance that saturates Mrs. Compson’s character, becoming one of the major catalysts in the family’s fall from grace. Mr. Compson, the father of the household, also reveals a major flaw of character in the book. His chief imperfection is exposed as he tells his son, Quentin, that “no battle is ever won” and that battles, in fact, “are never fought” (48). His indifference and lack of concern for life and its happenings also contributes to the collapse of the Compson reputation. His attitude, failing to console or comfort Quentin, also becomes a factor in Quentin’s suicide, which Mrs. Compson also views as an elaborate punishment for herself. Such obvious flaws in character easily foreshadow a decline and collapse of the family, especially when combined with the family’s other problems. Caddy’s promiscuity, for example, exists in direct disagreement with the code of values (such as feminine modesty and purity) that the family name had been built upon. Jason’s preoccupation with money and theft from his own niece also pose conflict to the Southern tradition of gentlemanly virtue. The imperfections and shortcomings of the Compsons are undeniable, proving that the family has begun to ignore the values on which it was built, honor, integrity, strength, and responsibility.

The Gibsons, however, possess most of the traits that the Compsons lack, proving that Southern ideals are not completely lost in the tale. The first hint of such strengths in the Gibson family comes in relation to childcare. While Mrs. Compson essentially ignores her children altogether, Dilsey, the head of the Gibson household, sees to their needs and well-being constantly. Even the Gibson children take part in caring for the Compson children, especially Benjy. In the first pages of the book, Luster is responsible for Benjy as they stand near a golf course, watching the golfers and looking for stray golf balls. Luster begs Benjy to “hush,” reminding the boy that he “went all the way to town to buy [him] that cake,” referring to Benjy’s birthday cake (3). Even such simple communication with Benjy suggests that Luster cares more for Benjy’s well-being that most of the Compsons, who rarely interact with him at all. The Gibsons also lack any major flaws in character, perhaps because their position as servants prohibits them from disclosing many of their thoughts in the text. They remain fairly quiet and reserved, and, whatever the reason for this, such a lack of self-expression on the part of the