In "The Sound and The Fury", anxieties over newly emerging race relations are displaced onto sexuality and a preoccupation with sexual and familial purity. Discuss.
The Sound and the Fury is a brilliantly crafted modernistic masterpiece written by William Faulkner in the 1930's. It cleverly tells the story of the Compson family from Jackson, Mississippi in the early 1900's. The novel is divided into four sections and collectively narrated in each section by different characters in the novel. The Compson family throughout the novel, struggle to relate to the newly developing race relations that are occurring throughout America. As a direct result of these difficult changes, the family over compensates by placing a greater importance on sexual and familial purity. Such is the case with Benjy, who narrates the first section of the novel. .
Benjy is the severely mentally retarded son of the Compsons". His disability causes the narrative to be confusing due to Benjy's memory, which jumps back and forth in time. As the novel progresses, we discover that April 7th is Benjy's 33rd birthday. Benjy is the third child in the Compson family and was named after Mrs. Compsons wealthy brother, Maury. Upon realising that their son is mentally retarded, they decided to change his name. Quentin suggested the biblical name Benjamin, which is usually shortened to Benjy or Ben. The character of Benjy can be directly identified with Christ. In the novel, Benjy is thirty-three, the age of Christ at his death. The main series of events in the novel take place between Good Friday, the day of the Crucifixion, and Easter Sunday.
At the conclusion of the novel, Luster gives Benjy a narcissus, a traditional symbol of Christ in order to quieten him. Such parallels can lead the reader to conclude that Faulkner created Benjy's character to demonstrate the goodness in the Compsons and the possibility of a saviour bringing peace and forgiveness to a suffering family.