Family Dynamic in Sound and the Fury
Reading the first chapter of The Sound and the Fury, I was intrigued by the interaction of the main characters and the personalities of those same characters. His use of the children as the narrators of the book created a sense of innocence around the family. I think it made the book more interesting, in a way, because the point of view was so original. Do you think Faulkner's use of the children as narrators, especially Benjy, was a good move on the part of Faulkner or a bad move on his part?
The interacton of the mother and father was also a major part of the first chapter of the novel. The relationship between them and between them and the kids was a timeless example of what we know to be a real family. I think that the use of Benjy's young voice and mind gave us a very simple and straightforward view of this family. Although hard to get through, the first chapter is an excellent way to introduce complex characters and intertwined character emotions. Do you think that this was Faulkner's goal when writing this novel?
3 comments:
I think that using the children was a good idea, because it gives a different view on the events. When you see it from a parents point of view it usually comes with words of wisdom from there passed experiences. Hearing from the children's point view gives it a feeling that everything is new and being experienced for the first time.
The use of Benjy as a narrator I feel provides for a very interesting point of view. Benjy says and points out things from a very elementary point of view that while it makes the chapter quite confusing the information is given in a way that can be "understood". It helps to make the story "understandable" eventhough Benjy is mentally challenge. He points out things very obviously.
I think it is an interesting idea, but it depends what he intended the reader to think about. If he wanted us to think about how a mentally retarded person thought then it was a good way to present it. If however, he wanted to show relationships situations for how they are, this is not the best nor clearest way to do it. Hemingway did exactly the latter without the confusing chronological order. A normal order to things wouldn’t take away from the actual storyline. By making readers plow through the out-of-order text it could make them focus on certain points like the meaning of consciousness as opposed to other points like the relationships going on within the family. Not that the other points can’t be seen, but they aren’t in the spotlight. Whether this device is good or not depends on what Faulkner was trying to do.
Post a Comment