In
the last chapter, Faulkner finally gives us readers a break from the
conflicting narrative the Compson's provided. Dilsey is not the narrator of
her chapter (unlike Benjy, Quentin (male), and Jason (son of Mr. Jason Compson and Caroline Bascomb), her chapter is in
third person. Also, she is the only one that thinks just in the present. Her
life did no go in the gutter like the others because she took life as it came,
not worrying about the past, or writing about the future. In a way, she is similar
to Benjy because neither care about time, however she is not constantly pulled
into the past by her senses.
To
be honest, I am not sure what the meaning of the book is. It talks about the
Old South fighting for survival and the New South emerging. It touches on
racism and the treatment of the mentally challenged. This book is different
than anything I have ever read. It has no "real" beginning and
seems to go on forever. The ending of the book didn't feel like an ending, it
felt like it was going to continue. I think this is Faulkner telling us, again,
that time does not matter because it can all blur together.
However,
he is also saying, through Dilsey that living in the present will make any
one's life more bearable. If I were Dilsey, I would have
hightailed it out of the Compson's house a long time ago.
But she didn't, instead she stayed because her ability to live in the present
(and her love of God) made Mrs. Compson's ridiculous
"illness" and demands, along with Jason's existence, bearable. I
honestly admire her for this.
Another
thing Faulkner did was create his own four synoptic gospels. Benjy, Quentin, (even)
Jason, and Dilsey are the scribe for the
god (Faulkner) of this fictional, yet realistic, family. I am not saying he
thought that he was a god; rather he was using this writing technique to make
his point stronger.
I was confused about the overall meaning of the book too! I love your line about Dilsey taking life as it comes. It's so true. She didn't worry about the past or the future and maybe that's why she didn't fall with the rest of the cast.
ReplyDeleteGreat interpretation! I was also kind of confused with the overall meaning, but I kinda thought it just revolved around Caddy and her being the symbol of the New South while everyone else was a symbol for the Old South? I like how you said Benjy, Quentin, Jason, and Dilsey represented scribes of God. That's an interesting point!
ReplyDeleteThis book truly is different from any novel I read. I like your point that the book didn't seem to have a real beginning or end, which made the story seem infinite. It really does enforce Faulkner's idea of the time. Your post also made me realize a couple things that I missed. It was not apparent to me about the contrasting ways the characters viewed time, like Jason focused on the future, Quentin and Benjy focused on the past, and Dilsey focused on the present.
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