In the first two sections of The Sound and the Fury, the narrators use certain key indicators that give us insight into the sometimes impenetrable parts of the novel. Benjy and Quentin are both mentally unstable in their own ways. Quentin is severely depressed and Benjy is developmentally challenged. These difficulties make it hard to understand their trains of thought. Luckily for us, both narrators repeat phrases and details that help us follow the complex thought processes of the first two narrators.
Repeated phrases in Benjy’s narrative serve the dual purpose of helping us follow the story as well as revealing his mental state at key moments. Skimming the first pages of Benjy’s narrative is a scary thing as a reader. Horrified thoughts of “hey why is that in italics?!” come to mind. Luckily, we have key phrases to guide us. For example, in the first pages of his section, Benjy’s consciousness switches between the present time and a memory with Caddy. We can discern which time period is which by noting that Luster only appears in the present time, while Caddy is only present in Benjy’s memories. Because Benjy cannot talk or comprehend the things around him, we do not gain much insight into Benjy’s thoughts or emotions through his own voice. Whenever Benjy is upset, however, other people are always telling him to hush or stop moaning, so we know something unsettled him—another indicator. Repeated phrases in Benjy’s narrative also prepare the readers for events later in the novel. The most important of these phrases is “Caddy smelled like trees”. We know that Benjy likes when Caddy smells like trees and always notices when she does since he repeats the phrase whenever he thinks about her. It makes sense to us then, later, when Benjy freaks out when Caddy is wearing perfume. The repeated phrase helps us understand that Benjy associates “his” Caddy with the smell of trees and dislikes Caddy’s changing life. Benjy’s narrative is so convoluted that Faulkner had to give us hints that help us to follow the complex narrative style.
Special indicators also help us follow Quentin’s erratic narrative. In Quentin’s narrative, the indicators are usually repeated phrases that show the things that are tormenting him. Without reading the clues, we would never know why Quentin is driven to suicide. Quentin repeats the phrase “no sister” over and over so we learn that Caddy is one of the things that is weighing on his conscience. He also repeats the phrase “Dalton Ames” endlessly throughout the narrative. When we find out about his confrontation with Dalton Ames later on, we already understand that the experience weighs on Quentin’s mind. He also dwells on the fact that the family sold Benjy’s pasture to pay his Harvard tuition. Because he repeatedly thinks about this fact, we infer that he may feel guilty or spiteful toward his education since it hurts his brother. The plot indicators in Quentin’s narrative help us understand the reasons for Quentin’s depression.
In a complex novel like The Sound and the Fury, authors try to plant key hints that help us understand the plot and characters. Without character indicators, we wouldn’t be able to follow the direction of Benjy’s consciousness. Without repeating phrases, we wouldn’t be able to understand Quentin’s depression. Luckily for us, Faulkner thought to use hints and italics to help us understand and enjoy the complexities of The Sound and the Fury. (573)
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Sunday, October 14, 2007
This is Why Chores Are Dangerous
In her short story “I Stand Here Ironing”, Tillie Olsen follows a busy mother as she reflects on her relationship with her eldest daughter, Emily. We quickly learn that the mother cannot always connect with her daughter when she says, “You think because I am her mother I have a key, or that in some way you could use me as a key?” (3). We also sense that she feels that she has made mistakes with her daughter when she says “I will become engulfed with all I did or did not do, with what should have been and what cannot be helped” (4). The big question for the mother is whether or not she could have done more for her daughter, whose life is a constant struggle. We follow the mother as she reflects on Emily’s life and strongly questions whether she has failed her now nineteen-year-old daughter.
After Emily was born, her mother saw her as a “miracle”. She loved Emily for her beautiful, baby-ish qualities and dedicated her life to Emily’s happiness. Unfortunately the family’s poor circumstance caused Emily’s father to leave and forced her mother to work while Emily stayed with a neighbor, “to whom Emily was no miracle at all” (9). Eventually, the mother had to send Emily to live with her ex-husband’s family until she earned more money. Instead of living with her mother who was dedicated solely to her, Emily stayed with people who did not care for her in the way only her mother could. As we might expect, this separation takes a terrible toll on Emily.
The mother remembers that when Emily returned home, she had lost her childlike qualities, even though she was still only two-years-old. The mother sent Emily to nursery school because Emily was “old enough, so they said” and because she herself had to work (12). The mother says that even though she sensed the school was a bad place for Emily, she had no choice of schools and sent her anyway. As the mother feared, Emily was miserable at school and even feigned sickness to avoid going. The mother at this point in her thoughts notes the difference between Emily and her other children. Again, the mother feels guilty that Emily was unhappy and she could do nothing. Unlike her other children, however, Emily never threw tantrums about going to school nor openly said she didn’t want to go. This recollection disturbs the mother. She wonders why Emily was different and fears that she scared Emily into obeying her. She then remembers what another neighbor once said to her: “you should smile at Emily more when you look at her” (17). From there, she reflects on how she was different with her children. With Emily, she didn’t smile as she did with the others and now neither did Emily. When she was left alone at night, she would call out to her mother and once threw the clock into the hall because its ticking made her nervous. When she had nightmares, her mother was stern and told her to go back to sleep because she was too tired to sit with her. Emerging from her reflections, the mother regrets how she treated Emily now that Emily refuses to be comforted at night. She feels that Emily now resists comfort because she was denied it for so long. We see that Emily’s mother had no idea how to help her and, in desperation, sometimes made matters worse for her daughter.
Eventually, people at a clinic convinced the mother to send Emily to a group home in the country where she will better cared for Despite her mother’s best intentions, Emily did not improve at the home. The mother was not even allowed to be near Emiliy when she visited and, after eight months of struggle, the mother and her new husband got Emily released from the home. With Emily back, the mother tried to give her more love, but Emily was unreceptive. At this point, the mother could not even make up for the love she never gave. Emily again struggled in school and tried to stay home, and sometimes her mother let her now that she was not working. Even with the mother not working, Emily is emotionally detached and resents her new baby sister, who breaks and loses her things. Looking back at the children, the mother says, “I have edged away from it, that poisonous feeling between them, that terrible balancing of hurts and needs I had to do between the two, and did so badly those earlier years” (40). It seems to the mother that Emily shrank away from her family even more once the other children were born. She could not give Emily the love she needed and manage the household at the same time. With more children and less time, we expect to hear that Emily’s situation worsened as the distance between her and her mother grew.
Instead of worsening, though, Emily’s situation actually improved slightly as she got older. Her mother remembers how she discovered her talent for impressions, even winning a talent show and being asked to perform at other schools. She also remembers how strong and confident Emily seemed on stage and that she could hardly recognize her daughter who was usually so shy. Despite the improvements, Emily was “as imprisoned in her difference as she had been in anonymity” (47). But as we emerge from the mother’s memories, it seems that Emily is now a stronger person than she was as a child.
At the end of the story, the mother escapes from her reflections and we meet the teenage Emily. The mother says “this is one of her communicative nights and she tells [her] everything and nothing as she fixes a plate of food” (51). When she sees Emily, the mother wonders why she was worrying in the first place, because Emily is happy now. She summarizes every bad thing in Emily’s life in her head, everything she did wrong and everything that was beyond her own control. In the end, the mother decides to let Emily be, because even if she does not reach her full potential, she is still a beautiful person. In this decision, she also lets herself be with happy with her daughter, without regret and without guilt.
Discussion Questions:
1. Do you think the mother was responsible for Emily’s problems as a child?
2. Do you think Emily would have had problems had she not been sent away?
3. Could the mother have done more to help or prevent Emily’s problems?
4. The narrator refers to a “you” who suggested that she help with Emily. Who do you think the “you” is?
5. The reaching question. The story seems somewhat unfinished at the end. Do you think Emily’s state will continue to improve or will she always struggle with her anxiety?
After Emily was born, her mother saw her as a “miracle”. She loved Emily for her beautiful, baby-ish qualities and dedicated her life to Emily’s happiness. Unfortunately the family’s poor circumstance caused Emily’s father to leave and forced her mother to work while Emily stayed with a neighbor, “to whom Emily was no miracle at all” (9). Eventually, the mother had to send Emily to live with her ex-husband’s family until she earned more money. Instead of living with her mother who was dedicated solely to her, Emily stayed with people who did not care for her in the way only her mother could. As we might expect, this separation takes a terrible toll on Emily.
The mother remembers that when Emily returned home, she had lost her childlike qualities, even though she was still only two-years-old. The mother sent Emily to nursery school because Emily was “old enough, so they said” and because she herself had to work (12). The mother says that even though she sensed the school was a bad place for Emily, she had no choice of schools and sent her anyway. As the mother feared, Emily was miserable at school and even feigned sickness to avoid going. The mother at this point in her thoughts notes the difference between Emily and her other children. Again, the mother feels guilty that Emily was unhappy and she could do nothing. Unlike her other children, however, Emily never threw tantrums about going to school nor openly said she didn’t want to go. This recollection disturbs the mother. She wonders why Emily was different and fears that she scared Emily into obeying her. She then remembers what another neighbor once said to her: “you should smile at Emily more when you look at her” (17). From there, she reflects on how she was different with her children. With Emily, she didn’t smile as she did with the others and now neither did Emily. When she was left alone at night, she would call out to her mother and once threw the clock into the hall because its ticking made her nervous. When she had nightmares, her mother was stern and told her to go back to sleep because she was too tired to sit with her. Emerging from her reflections, the mother regrets how she treated Emily now that Emily refuses to be comforted at night. She feels that Emily now resists comfort because she was denied it for so long. We see that Emily’s mother had no idea how to help her and, in desperation, sometimes made matters worse for her daughter.
Eventually, people at a clinic convinced the mother to send Emily to a group home in the country where she will better cared for Despite her mother’s best intentions, Emily did not improve at the home. The mother was not even allowed to be near Emiliy when she visited and, after eight months of struggle, the mother and her new husband got Emily released from the home. With Emily back, the mother tried to give her more love, but Emily was unreceptive. At this point, the mother could not even make up for the love she never gave. Emily again struggled in school and tried to stay home, and sometimes her mother let her now that she was not working. Even with the mother not working, Emily is emotionally detached and resents her new baby sister, who breaks and loses her things. Looking back at the children, the mother says, “I have edged away from it, that poisonous feeling between them, that terrible balancing of hurts and needs I had to do between the two, and did so badly those earlier years” (40). It seems to the mother that Emily shrank away from her family even more once the other children were born. She could not give Emily the love she needed and manage the household at the same time. With more children and less time, we expect to hear that Emily’s situation worsened as the distance between her and her mother grew.
Instead of worsening, though, Emily’s situation actually improved slightly as she got older. Her mother remembers how she discovered her talent for impressions, even winning a talent show and being asked to perform at other schools. She also remembers how strong and confident Emily seemed on stage and that she could hardly recognize her daughter who was usually so shy. Despite the improvements, Emily was “as imprisoned in her difference as she had been in anonymity” (47). But as we emerge from the mother’s memories, it seems that Emily is now a stronger person than she was as a child.
At the end of the story, the mother escapes from her reflections and we meet the teenage Emily. The mother says “this is one of her communicative nights and she tells [her] everything and nothing as she fixes a plate of food” (51). When she sees Emily, the mother wonders why she was worrying in the first place, because Emily is happy now. She summarizes every bad thing in Emily’s life in her head, everything she did wrong and everything that was beyond her own control. In the end, the mother decides to let Emily be, because even if she does not reach her full potential, she is still a beautiful person. In this decision, she also lets herself be with happy with her daughter, without regret and without guilt.
Discussion Questions:
1. Do you think the mother was responsible for Emily’s problems as a child?
2. Do you think Emily would have had problems had she not been sent away?
3. Could the mother have done more to help or prevent Emily’s problems?
4. The narrator refers to a “you” who suggested that she help with Emily. Who do you think the “you” is?
5. The reaching question. The story seems somewhat unfinished at the end. Do you think Emily’s state will continue to improve or will she always struggle with her anxiety?
Monday, October 8, 2007
This Stuff's Gettin Pretty Heavy Guys....Guys?
In “The Things They Carried”, Tim O’Brien describes the double nature of soldiers at war, exposing both the feeling and unfeeling sides of humanity at war. By showing both of these sides through the men and Jimmy Cross, O’Brien shows the reality that most soldiers embrace their unfeeling sides as a self-defense mechanism.
The soldiers obviously have what we might consider a more humane and feeling side. The most obvious example is Jimmy Cross and his affection for his men and Martha. After Ted Lavender’s dies, Jimmy is overcome with shame and even starts to cry as he mulls over the “fact” that Lavender’s death is his fault because, as he sees it, “he had loved Martha more than his men” (42). Furthermore, he cries because he realizes that he and the woman he loves are in two completely different worlds, a fact that hurts him to the bone. The other soldiers commonly feel shame as well. After particularly terrifying skirmishes, the soldiers often emerge from their battle spots ashamed of the horror and weakness that they submitted to during battle: they “stupid promises to themselves and to Go and to their mothers and fathers, hoping not to die” (65). However, after both of these events, Cross’s and the soldiers’ breakdowns, the characters retreat to their unfeeling sides to avoid the pain and suffering that comes with feeling the full pain of the war.
The other side, the unfeeling side, of the soldiers’ personalities is the emotionally numbing response to the horrors of the war. It’s not that the soldiers don’t actually feel anything, but sometimes just separate themselves from the death and pain around them. Immediately after Lavender’s death, for example, the men don’t let themselves mourn for their comrade. They, including Cross, instead sit around smoking his cigarettes and then burn a nearby village. Kiowa later admits that he can’t be sad about Lavender’s death, even though he wants to be, and is mostly just “pleased to be alive” (60). They also hide their fear from each other. As the narrator describes it, “they carried the soldier’s greatest fear, which was the fear of blushing. Men killed, and died, because they were embarrassed not to” (76). After even the worst skirmishes, the men won’t admit how afraid they were to each other. They make jokes that hint how scared they were, only to be countered with another joke that allows them to pretend it wasn’t that scary. The soldiers all put on “poses” to mask their fear: “Some carried themselves with a sort of wistful resignation, others with pride or stiff soldierly discipline or good humor or macho zeal” (67). They also act cruel to separate themselves from the war. Mitchell Sanders, for example, cuts off the thumb of a dead boy to have as a keepsake and the other men also kick corpses and talk about death insensitively, making it less real and terrifying.
We get insight into how the men convert themselves to feel this way through Jimmy Cross. After Lavender dies and he tries to disconnect from Martha, Cross realizes why the men act the way they do—it hurts too much not to. In the end, Cross embraces this unfeeling side, rejecting, or simply hiding, his emotions. He represents, in certain ways, the path of every soldier who has to let go of the pain and suppress his emotions, often for his own sake.
(570)
The soldiers obviously have what we might consider a more humane and feeling side. The most obvious example is Jimmy Cross and his affection for his men and Martha. After Ted Lavender’s dies, Jimmy is overcome with shame and even starts to cry as he mulls over the “fact” that Lavender’s death is his fault because, as he sees it, “he had loved Martha more than his men” (42). Furthermore, he cries because he realizes that he and the woman he loves are in two completely different worlds, a fact that hurts him to the bone. The other soldiers commonly feel shame as well. After particularly terrifying skirmishes, the soldiers often emerge from their battle spots ashamed of the horror and weakness that they submitted to during battle: they “stupid promises to themselves and to Go and to their mothers and fathers, hoping not to die” (65). However, after both of these events, Cross’s and the soldiers’ breakdowns, the characters retreat to their unfeeling sides to avoid the pain and suffering that comes with feeling the full pain of the war.
The other side, the unfeeling side, of the soldiers’ personalities is the emotionally numbing response to the horrors of the war. It’s not that the soldiers don’t actually feel anything, but sometimes just separate themselves from the death and pain around them. Immediately after Lavender’s death, for example, the men don’t let themselves mourn for their comrade. They, including Cross, instead sit around smoking his cigarettes and then burn a nearby village. Kiowa later admits that he can’t be sad about Lavender’s death, even though he wants to be, and is mostly just “pleased to be alive” (60). They also hide their fear from each other. As the narrator describes it, “they carried the soldier’s greatest fear, which was the fear of blushing. Men killed, and died, because they were embarrassed not to” (76). After even the worst skirmishes, the men won’t admit how afraid they were to each other. They make jokes that hint how scared they were, only to be countered with another joke that allows them to pretend it wasn’t that scary. The soldiers all put on “poses” to mask their fear: “Some carried themselves with a sort of wistful resignation, others with pride or stiff soldierly discipline or good humor or macho zeal” (67). They also act cruel to separate themselves from the war. Mitchell Sanders, for example, cuts off the thumb of a dead boy to have as a keepsake and the other men also kick corpses and talk about death insensitively, making it less real and terrifying.
We get insight into how the men convert themselves to feel this way through Jimmy Cross. After Lavender dies and he tries to disconnect from Martha, Cross realizes why the men act the way they do—it hurts too much not to. In the end, Cross embraces this unfeeling side, rejecting, or simply hiding, his emotions. He represents, in certain ways, the path of every soldier who has to let go of the pain and suppress his emotions, often for his own sake.
(570)
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